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General George McClellan was the favorite leader of most of the Union soldiers. He graduated top of the class at West Point, was often compared to Napoleon. He cared about his soldiers' safety; he wanted them to be well supplied and have large numbers that would always guarantee easy victories.
In June of 1862, General McClellan exhibited extreme caution fighting Lee, stayed still asking Lincoln to send more men, and as a result lost several engagements in the Seven Days Campaign. This frustrated Lincoln terribly.
In September 1862, just before the battle of Antietam, McClellan had miraculously stumbled on Lee's battle plan wrapped around three cigars; he said that if he couldn't win with this advantage, he should be fired
McClellan also had Lee outnumbered 2 to 1
If this were a football game, the odds were that McClellan was a 6 touchdown favorite
In the end, McClellan ended up losing more men than Lee; the battle was a draw
The only good news was that Lee did not capture the White House as intended
A few days after the battle, Lincoln rode out to the battlefield to have a talk with McClellan
WATCH the explanation of Lincoln & McClellan at Antietam
antietam.mp4DECISION: You are Lincoln. Should you fire McClellan for his failures? He remains the most favorite General of all the troops.
Click here to see what actually happened
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