George McClellan Civil War Mug

George Brinton McClellan, December 3, 1826 to October 29, 1885, was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly, November 1861 to March 1862, as the general in chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union. McClellan was born in Philadelphia, the son of a prominent surgical ophthalmologist, Dr. George McClellan, the founder of Jefferson Medical College. His mother was Elizabeth Steinmetz Brinton McClellan, daughter of a leading Pennsylvania family, a woman noted for her "considerable grace and refinement".[3] The couple produced five children: a daughter, Frederica; then three sons, John, George, and Arthur; and a second daughter, Mary. McClellan was the grandson of Revolutionary War general Samuel McClellan of Woodstock, Connecticut. He first attended the University of Pennsylvania in 1840 at age 13, resigning himself to the study of law. After two years, he changed his goal to military service. With the assistance of his father's letter to President John Tyler, young George was accepted at the United States Military Academy in 1842, the academy having waived its normal minimum age of 16.