The Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan

February 1, 1989
The author of Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam and a biography of McClellan here presents previously unpublished military dispatches and personal letters that show this ``Young Napoleon'' in a wide variety of wartime roles: army commander, military executive, strategist, tactician, political partisan and presidential can didate. McClellan's gross over-estimates of Confederate strength and his conviction that the administration in Washington failed to support him are two of the familiar themes brought into clearer focus. Of special note are McClellan's uninhibited letters to his wife, Mary Ellen, in which the general's contempt for President Lincoln, his policies and his advisers is on vivid display. After Lincoln replaced him as commander of the Army of the Potomac (following the missed opportunity to win a decisive victory at Antietam), McClellan was nominated by the Democratic party in the 1864 presidential election. The pertinent letters reveal, among other things, that McClellan devoted most of his campaign efforts to a futile attempt to win the army vote.

February 15, 1989
McClellan biographer ( George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon, LJ 11/1/88) Sears has collected a treasure-trove for serious Civil War scholars: 813 letters, telegrams, memos, and other documents, over half of which are here published in their entirety for the first time. Of special interest are 192 uncensored letters to his wife, which best reveal the character of this complex man. Nothing of importance concerning his military strategies and tactics or the politics, policies, and issues of the war has been omitted. Sears has edited the collection with consummate economy and skill, and his introductory essays to the book's 11 sections weave the disparate facets of McClellan's wartime experiences together. Essential for any serious Civil War collection.-- Thomas E. Schott, Office of History, Engineering Installation Div., Timber Air Force Base, Okla.

Copyright 1989 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.