Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Am I the only one who can't stand McClellan?
Well, chapter 17 didn’t do anything to make me like McClellan any more. Again he proved to be an incompetent wus. I definitely would NOT have had the patience Lincoln did, which is why I wasn’t meant to fill those shoes. Lincoln had that uncanny ability to ignore the urges he must have been feeling. It goes back to his desire to win the war vs. win the argument. Lincoln was able to recognize McClellan’s strengths. "If he can't fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight." But after listening to McClellan tell his wife how he saved the country yet again, I can’t help but hope Lincoln will take him down a few notches in future chapters.
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Brian,
ReplyDeleteYou aren't the only one that feels that way. I Kept wondering why Lincoln put up with him as long as he did. The more into BCoF I read, the more I wondered what value there was in having him around at all. Lincoln was definitely more patient with him than he was with Burnside, Hooker, McDowell or Pope. One thing I heard of a History Channel show recently that caused me to at least give McClellan some credit. They were interviewing a historian and he said, "Say what you will about McClellan. He was a horrible leader in battle, but the Army of the Potomac wasn't an army until he made it one."