McClellan's War
Subtitle: The Failure of Moderation in the Struggle for the Union
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 2011
Language: eng
Number of pages: 544
ISBN-13: 9780253006110
Subjects: Mcclellan, george brinton, 1826-1885; United states, history, civil war, 1861-1865, campaigns; Strategy; Generals, biography; United states, army, biography
Description: This biography of the controversial Union general George B. McClellan examines the influences and political antecedents that shaped his behavior on the battlefield, behavior that so frustrated Lincoln and others in Washington that he was removed from his command soon after the Union loss at Antietam. Rather than take sides in the controversy, Ethan S. Rafuse finds in McClellan's politics and his desire to restore sectional harmony ample explanation for his actions. Rafuse sheds new light on the general who believed in the rule of reason and moderation, who sought a policy of conciliation with the South, and who wanted to manage the North's military resources in a way that would impose rational order on the battlefield.