User:Rithvikn/George B. McClellan

Relationship with Lincoln Over Time
From McClellan's time as businessman, General, and candidate, he and Lincoln had a tumultuous relationship usually caused by obscure actions and negative thoughts from McClellan towards Lincoln. This began even before the Civil War when Lincoln had been working as a lawyer in the Midwest for a railroad company as the upbringings of both men diverged their mindsets. Lincoln had grown up in a single parent poor household whereas McClellan was a rich private school educated man which resulted in this sense of superiority. Later, Lincoln brought McClellan on as the General for the Army of the Potomac. During the early parts of the war, McClellan wrote notes praising Lincoln and his intellectual and moral prowess; however, this did not last for long. Although McClellan has early success, he consistently defied Lincoln's orders resulting a rift on their relationship. Additionally, McClellan was deemed as slow and overly cautious by Lincoln as he failed to capture Richmond during the Peninsular Campaign. The last straw occurred at the Battle of Antietam where McClellan technically won but failed create definitive victory over the much smaller army of General Robert E. Lee. This resulted in the dismissal on McClellan from the army, setting up this bitter rivalry with Lincoln in election of 1860. This was a heated battle between the now rivals as McClellan opposed Lincoln's views on slavery and Civil War as the whole, calling him a "Gorilla" and "Baboon" in private letters.