My Descending from Gov. - D. A. Sharpe

Register Report for William Bradford
Generation 8
"In 1877, McClellan was nominated by the Democrats for Governor of NewJersey, an action
that took him by surprise because he had notexpressed an interest in the position. He was
elected and served asingle term from 1878 to 1881, a tenure marked by
careful,conservative executive management and minimal political rancor. Theconcluding
chapter of his political career was his strong support in1884 for the election of Grover
Cleveland. He hoped to be namedsecretary of war in Cleveland's cabinet, a position for
which he waswell suited, but political rivals from New Jersey were able to blockhis
nomination.
"McClellan's final years were devoted to traveling and writing. Hejustified his military career in
McClellan?s Own Story, publishedposthumously in 1887. He died unexpectedly at age 58
at Orange, NewJersey, after having suffered from chest pains for a few weeks. Hisfinal
words, at 3 A.M., October 29, 1885, were, 'I feel easy now.Thank you.' He is buried at
Riverview Cemetery in Trenton.
"McClellan's son, George B. McClellan, Jr. (1865 ? 1940), was born inDresden, Germany,
during the family's first trip to Europe. Knownwithin the family as Max, he was also a
politician, serving as aUnited States Representative from New York State and as Mayor of
NewYork City from 1904 to 1909. McClellan's daughter, Mary ('May') (1861? 1945), married
a French diplomat and spent much of her life abroad.His wife Ellen died in Nice, France,
while visiting May at 'VillaAntietam.' Neither Max nor May gave the McClellans any
grandchildren.
"The New York Evening Post commented in McClellan's obituary,'Probably no soldier who
did so little fighting has ever had hisqualities as a commander so minutely, and we may add,
so fiercelydiscussed This fierce discussion has continued for over a century.McClellan is
usually ranked in the lowest tier of Civil War generals.However, the debate over McClellan's
ability and talents remains thesubject of much controversy among Civil War and military
historians.He has been universally praised for his organizational abilities andfor his very
good relations with his troops. They referred to himaffectionately as 'Little Mac'; others
sometimes called him the 'YoungNapoleon.' It has been suggested that his reluctance to
enter battlewas caused in part by an intense desire to avoid spilling the blood ofhis men.
Ironically, this led to failing to take the initiativeagainst the enemy and therefore passing up
good opportunities fordecisive victories, which could have ended the war early, and
therebycould have spared thousands of soldiers who died in those subsequentbattles.
Generals who proved successful in the war, such as Lee andGrant, tended to be more
aggressive and more willing to risk a majorbattle even when all preparations were not
perfect. McClellan himselfsummed up his cautious nature in a draft of his memoirs: 'It
hasalways been my opinion that the true course in conducting militaryoperations, is to make
no movement until the preparations are ascomplete as circumstances permit, & never to
fight a battle withoutsome definite object worth the probable loss.'
"McClellan's reluctance to press his enemy aggressively was probablynot a matter of
personal courage, which he demonstrated well enough byhis bravery under fire in the
Mexican-American War. Stephen Searswrote, 'There is indeed ample evidence that the
terrible stresses ofcommanding men in battle, especially the beloved men of his
belovedArmy of the Potomac, left his moral courage in tatters. Under thepressure of his
ultimate soldier's responsibility, the will to commanddeserted him. Glendale and Malvern Hill
found him at the peak of hisanguish during the Seven Days, and he fled those fields to
escape theresponsibility. At Antietam, where there was nowhere for him to fleeto, he fell into
a paralysis of indecision. Seen from a longerperspective, General McClellan could be both
comfortable andsuccessful performing as executive officer, and also, if somewhat
lesssuccessfully, as grand strategist; as battlefield commander, however,he was simply in
the wrong profession.'
"One of the reasons that McClellan's reputation has suffered isbecause of his own memoirs.
His original draft was completed in 1881,but the only copy was destroyed by fire. He began
to write anotherdraft of what would be published posthumously, in 1887, as McClellan'sOwn
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