1-153-644 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

George Brinton McClellan, American soldier, 1861. George B McClellan (1826-1885) was commanding general of the Union army in the early part of the American Civil War. Frustrated by what he perceived as his excessive caution, President Lincoln relieved McClellan of command after he failed to destroy Robert E Lee's Confederate army at the Battle of Antietam in September 1862.