George McClellan may not have many fans among Civil War buffs, but in Trenton, New Jersey he was a hero, at least during his life. In fact, if you go to Riverview Cemetery to look for his grave, just look for the biggest monument in the most prominent place in the burying ground.
McClellan was born just a short way from where he is buried. He was born in Philadelphia across the Delaware River in 1826. A precocious child, McClellan was admitted to the University of Pennsylvania when he was fourteen. He soon set his sights on a miliary career and he was accepted into the class at West Point when he was only fifteen. He graduated second in his class in 1846. By October of that year he was on his way to Mexico to participate in the war.
In 1856 he was sent as an official observer of the Crimean War, where he saw modern European tactics. The next year he resigned his commission and became chief engineer of the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1860, he became president of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad.
When the Civil War broke out, McClellan was given command of the Ohio state militia. While he volunteered in April of 1861, he was a Democrat with many friends in the ranks of Confederate officers. McClellan was against secession, but he was indifferent on the issue of slavery.
Very quickly after taking over the command, McClellan moved his forces into what would become West Virginia to secure the B&O rail line to Ohio. Confederate forces fell back and on June 3, 1861 the Confederates were routed at Philippi, making McClellan a national hero.
The front of the monument gives the dates of McClellan’s life. Over it are his sword and field glasses.
Of course, when I went to photograph the monument, it was raining.
With the defeat of Irwin McDowell at Bull Run in July, McClellan was the most prominent Union officer at the time and Lincoln turned him to come to Washington and lead the Union forces against Richmond. The monument is adorned with two stars symbolizing McClellan’s promotion to Major General and the inscription says that he was the “ORGANIZER AND LEADER” of the Army of the Potomac, the principal Union army in the East.
After training the Army of the Potomac for six months and completely reorganizing forces in the East. In March of 1862 he began the Peninsula Campaign which took his army to the gates of Richmond. His unsuccessful attempt to capture the city and his disagreement with Lincoln over ending slavery led to his rapid decline in administration support. The defeat of General Pope at Second Bull run again made McClellan the man to turn to and he was able to turn back Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Maryland at Antietam in September of 1862. After weeks of failing to carry out Lincoln’s policies, he was removed from command.
In 1864 he mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the presidency against Lincoln.
It also notes that in 1862 he was assigned to command all the Union armies in the country. On another side, the monument gives credit to the “FRIENDS” of McClellan for erecting this very large monument.
McClellan’s sword is again depicted on the monument.
Finally, it credits McClellan as the governor of his adopted state, New Jersey.
A ten minute drive from Riverview Cemetery is the State Capitol Building at 125 West State Street. It was built in 1792, and this is where McClellan presided during his tenure as Governor of New Jersey. In 1877, McClellan was a resident of West Orange, New Jersey when the Democratic Party nominated him for governor. McClellan had not campaigned for the nomination, but he did accept it when he was nominated.
McClellan was not born in the state, but he was a resident there for fourteen years after he left the Army of the Potomac. In his response to the Democratic Party, McClellan wrote that “the nomination was unsought renders it doubly satisfactory to me.”
The Democrats were happy that George McClellan accepted. He went on to win the governor’s race and his party won both houses of the legislature. McClellan won his race by 52% to 45%. In January 1878 he was sworn in and delivered an address to the large crowd on the capitol ground. While he addressed state issues, he also discussed Federal issues. He said that “I am sure that we all agree on accepting as final the emancipation of the negro, and his claim to full and ample protection in all the rights of a free man.” While he made a call for the protection of Black rights, he also noted that the South now had peace and that New Jersey’s people should accept the “existing settlement of the Southern question as final.”
Results from 1877 Election:
After retiring from the Governor’s Office, McClellan devoted himself to writing his memoirs and defending his record during the Civil War. While McClellan is among the most remembered generals of the Civil War, his tenure at the center of Union forces only lasted a year.
Sources:
New York Times September 25, 1877, Page 1
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