The Art of Leadership and Command

They say he was slow-yet McClellan assumed command and in two weeks combined two different forces into one, marched on Lee, and defeated him at Antietam. They say he was not a fighter. Antietam is the bloodiest day in American History. History has not treated General George McClellan kindly, but there is another side to the story-the soldiers' side. No US general of the Civil War was adored more by his troops than McClellan, and with good reason. He gave them confidence and success. He was more respected by his celebrated opponent Robert E. Lee than any other Union general. Rarely do we hear the soldiers' view of the McClellan story because he was such a politically polarizing figure even before he was relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac in 1862. McClellan's difficult personality and his political disagreements with the Union's power structure have dimmed the military reputation he deserves. Mr. Gibson's book examines how McClellan stacks up militarily; as he fought one of the great captains of warfare, Robert E. Lee, in one of the most important battles in American history, Antietam, the true birth of American freedom