00838 - General George McClellan
"If he can't fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight."
Abraham Lincoln
Having been given command of the Army of the Potomac, General George Brinton McClellan's inner engineer took over. He began by organizing every detail of the army. From standardization of uniforms and weapons to discipline and drills, the volunteers began to feel like real soldiers. Furthermore, his men were intensely loyal to McClellan.
Despite all of his meticulous planning and preparations, McClellan was reluctant to send his soldiers out to fight. He chronically overestimated the strength of enemy units and would not use all available troops in battle. Eventually, Lincoln removed McClellan from command.
After the war, Ulysses S. Grant was asked to evaluate McClellan as a general. He replied, "McClellan is to me one of the mysteries of the war."
