Mcclellan
Mcclellan names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Mcclellan GEORGE BRINTON, an American military officer
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
GEORGE BRINTON, an American military officer; born in Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 3, 1826; was graduated at the United States Military Academy in 1846; joined the army as 2d lieutenant of engineers; took an active part in the Mexican War, where he distinguished himself under General Scott, in the battles of Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec, and was promoted to a captaincy; was one of the three American officers sent to observe the campaigns in the Crimea. At the commencement of the Civil War in 1861, he was appointed Major-General of the Ohio volunteers, but by the advice of General Scott he was tendered, by President Lincoln, the position of General of the army. After a Majorsuccessful campaign in West Virginia, he commanded and reorganized the Army GEN. GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN of the Potomac; in the spring of 1862 invaded Virginia, and advanced near to Richmond, but was defeated in a series of battles in July, and compelled to retreat and finally to evacuate the peninsula; after the defeat of General Pope in the second battle of Bull Run, in 1862, which was followed by a Confederate invasion of Maryland, he reorganized the army at Washington, marched rapidly at N., met the forces of General Lee Antietam, and compelled him to recross the Potomac; he followed the Confederates into Virginia, but being opposed to the policy of the extreme war party he was superseded by General Burnside. In 1864 he left the army and was the Democratic candidate for the presidency. He died Oct. 29, 1885.
Mcclellan GEORGE BRINTON, son of Gen
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
GEORGE BRINTON, son of Gen. McClellan, named above. Graduate of Princeton. Admitted to the bar, 1892. President New York Board of Aldermen, 1893-1894. United States Congressman, 1895-1903. From 1903 to 1909 he was Mayor of New York City. He was a member of the staff of Princeton University as Stafford lecturer and professor of economic history from 1912. He wrote "The Heel of War" (1915).
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The dates and battles in Collier's 1921 sketch still hold, but the framing has shifted. Where Collier's says McClellan met Lee at Antietam and "compelled him to recross the Potomac," then was superseded by Burnside because "he was opposed to the policy of the extreme war party," modern historians treat Antietam as a bloody tactical draw and a squandered chance — McClellan had a copy of Lee's captured Special Orders 191 — and see Lincoln's removal of him in November 1862 as punishment for chronic slowness rather than politics. Collier's also passes over the outcome of 1864: McClellan lost to Lincoln by 212 electoral votes to 21, and afterwards served as Governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881. The son, mayor of New York until 1909, taught at Princeton until 1931 and died in 1940; his candid memoir of Tammany politics appeared posthumously in 1956 as "The Gentleman and the Tiger."
Written for this edition, 2026.