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General George B. McClellan was born #OTD in 1826, in Philadelphia, PA. After rising to prominence during the #CivilWar, becoming General-in-Chief of the @USArmy, McClellan became @TheDemocrats nominee in the presidential election of 1864, losing to Abraham Lincoln.
McClellan was accepted to @WestPoint_USMA when he was just 16, and graduated 2nd in his class when he was still only 19. Within months he was in Mexico, where he served with distinction at the Battles of Contreras, Churubusco and Chapultepec.
McClellan left the @USArmy in 1857 and became a railroad executive, but returned to service at the outbreak of the #CivilWar. He had great success in command of Union forces in West Virginia, and was called east by President Lincoln after the Battle of Bull Run ( @ManassasNPS).
He became the first commander of the Army of the Potomac, and did an outstanding job organizing and equipping it. At the same time, he demonstrated a frustrating tendency to overestimate confederate strength, and a reluctance to use his new army in battle.
He finally launched a campaign on the Virginia Peninsula in the Spring of 1862, designed to take @RichmondNPS and end the war. Slow to move, as usual, McClellan did ultimately maneuver to within site of the confederate capitol, but withdrew after losses in the Seven Days Battles.
McClellan redeemed himself during the Maryland Campaign, defeating Robert E. Lee at the Battles of South Mountain and @Antietamnps1862, but his failure to capitalize on that success ultimately led Lincoln to remove him from command.
He turned to politics, and counted on war fatigue and the support of his former troops to win the Presidency in 1864. His plan failed, and he won only 3 states and 21 electoral votes as Lincoln routed him for a second term. ( @ALPLM)
After the war, McClellan returned to the railroad industry, and was elected Governor of New Jersey in 1877. He served a single term, then spent his time traveling and writing his memoirs until his unexpected death in October 1885 from a heart attack.
