George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 - October 29, 1885) was a Major General during the American Civil War.

In early 1862, McClellan took control of the Union Army of the Potomac. He was briefly given supreme command of all the Union armies by Abraham Lincoln, but was subsequently relieved of that post in favor of Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck.

McClellan reached the gates of Richmond in the spring of 1862, but when Lee defeated him in the Seven Days Campaign, he was relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac. His successor, John Pope, was beaten spectacularly by Lee at Second Bull Run in August. Lincoln then restored McClellan, who won a bloody, almost Pyhrric victory at the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862. Lee's army, checked at last, returned to Virginia.

When McClellan failed to follow up on Antietam, he was replaced by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside.

McClellan would go on to run against Abraham Lincoln in the 1864 U.S. presidential election, losing to Lincoln in the general election.

McClellan would later go on to become Governor of New Jersey from 1878-1881.