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General Lee said, to be a good soldier you must love the army, to be a good general you must be prepared to order the death of the thing you love, and therein lies the great trap of soldiering. When you attack you must hold nothing back. " Thomas J. Jackson was both a good soldier and a good general. In the Mexican War he fought with all his heart for his country.
When the Civil War came, he was a general. He never hesitated to send his men forward. He held nothing back. George McClellan also fought with all his heart for his country in the Mexican War. When the time came to send his men forward in the Civil War, he couldn't do it.
He loved the army to much to order its death. Even though McClellan wasn't very good at letting his men go and making decisions, he was great at bringing the men's spirits up when they were down. Every man under his command loved and cherished George B. McClellan. Stonewall was also respected by his men but not loved like McClellan. The name Stonewall Jackson put fear into the hearts of the Union soldiers, and he was respected for that.
Jackson was always ready to fight for his country. When he was young he went to train at West Point to become a soldier and leader. He wasn't as bright as some of the other students, but he worked hard pushing to succeed. In the end he ended up 17 th in his class, giving him the chance to become 2 nd Lieutenant of Artillery in the Mexican War.
He lived through the war with no problems. He was admired by the army for his courage, he never backed down. After the Mexican War he went to VMI (Virginia Military Institute) to teach. He had two classes, Natural & Experimental Philosophy and Artillery tactics. He was no professor but a great artillery instructor. When the time came for the Civil War Jackson was ready.
He left VMI to become a colonel and lead a brigade of men in the Battle of Bull Run. This is the battle where he received his nickname. When General Bee saw Jackson holding his position he said, "There is Jackson standing like a stonewall. Rally behind the Virginians. " He held his ground at Bull Run so he was promoted to General Jackson.
His next task was to succeed in an almost impossible campaign. While in the Shenandoah Valley Jackson encountered three armies. He was outnumbered 4 to 1 with men coming from the north, east, and west. Jackson sent his men back and forth battling 3 armies at once.
This caused the Union to overestimate the number of men making them cautious. It was a miracle but he held the Union army. From the Shenandoah Valley he headed to Antietam to participate in the bloodiest day of the Civil War. Jackson had half of the forces at Antietam and held off repeated attacks even though the Confederates w! ere outnumbered 2 1 / 2 to 1. It came time for Stonewall's final battle.
Lee and Jackson came up with a great plan for the Battle of Chancellersville. Great confusion caused men to be scattered throughout the woods. Jackson went personally to check the Union's position. He told his men to watch for Union soldiers. On his way back from his expedition he was attacked. His own men jumped up and shot him in many places.
They thought he was a Union general but they were mistaken. Jackson had his arm amputated and was sent away to recover. He lived for awhile but he caught a bad case of pneumonia that killed him. Jackson lost his left arm but Lee lost his "right arm." George McClellan got involved in the army at a young age. At 15 years old he went to West Point. He was an extremely bright student and he finished 2 nd in his class.
He went to the Mexican War as an engineer. His jobs were to make land travel able and to make maps. Like Jackson he was respected for his courage. After the Mexican War McClellan was sent to observe the Crimean War with high ranking officials. He brought back some ideas used by the army like the pup tent and the bayonet drill. He left the army in 1857 to go into the railroad business.
He became president of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. When the Civil War came along McClellan rejoined the Union army as Major General of the Ohio Volunteers. McClellan was afraid to leave Washington until he had a large army so he stayed in Washington training and raising an army. He had no battles except for a small battle near Washington called the Battle of Balls Bluff. It was a humiliating defeat so he kept training and building his army.
Finally Lincoln ordered him to move out on February 22. McClellan wanted to go right to the heart of the CSA. He wanted to strike Richmond, Virginia via a sea route. He transported 100, 000 men by ship down the rivers and unloaded the closest to Richmond he could. He was up against Johnston who was afraid to fight. He kept pulling back towards Richmond without a fight.
Johnston was wounded in a small battle and was replaced by General Lee. McClellan was always one to overestimate the other force. He though the Confederates had 200, 000 men even though it was really about 80, 000. McClellan wa! s afraid of losing his army so he held men back. Lee held nothing back and defeated McClellan in the Seven Days Battle.
When Lincoln heard of this he relieved McClellan and sent two of his corps to Second Bull Run. There the Union was defeated and it looked as if the Confederates would win the war. Lee pushed on towards Washington and Lincoln knew he had to give McClellan his army back to rally them. McClellan's next battle was the Battle of Antietam. He was in command of almost 90, 000 men against Lee's 35, 000. Again McClellan overestimated the Confederate force causing him to not throw everything into his attack.
The battle raged on with equal casualties on both sides. It was the bloodiest day of the Civil War. Lee retreated during the night and into the next morning with no interference from McClellan. When Lincoln heard McClellan let Lee get away he was furious. He took McClellan army away for the final time. McClellan thought he would make a great president now that he wasn't in the army.
He ran against Lincoln is 1864 but lost. He decided to leave the US to travel around Europe. After the Civil War he returned and became the Governor of New Jersey. George B. McClellan died of heart failure on Oct. 29, 1885. Jackson and McClellan were very different.
They had a few similarities but not many. One similarity was they both went to West Point. Both Jackson and McClellan fought in the Mexican War. Another similarity is that they were both generals when they fought at the battle of Antietam. One very important similarity was they were both respected leaders. They had many differences like McClellan finished 2 nd in his class and Jackson finished 17 th.
Another difference was McClellan was an engineer and Jackson was an artillery man. McClellan was a general throughout the Civil War and Jackson had to work to be a general. McClellan was a more important general than Jackson. He had a full army and Jackson only had 1 / 2 an army at the most. One very important difference was McClellan was a bad decision maker in the heat of battle and Jackson made great decisions. Unfortunately Jackson was killed in battle, but McClellan lived a long life and died of natural causes.
Jackson was an eccentric! man, but not McClellan. The most important difference of all was Jackson fought for the South and McClellan fought for the North. As you can see these generals were very different. Each general had their faults like Jackson didn't get along with his aides and McClellan couldn't commit his army, but they were both good generals in their own way. McClellan could rally any man in the army but couldn't make a decisions.
Jackson could rally most men, but he made great plans and decision. I think Jackson was a better general because he was respected and he made great plans and decisions. I think Lincoln never should have given McClellan his army back after his mistakes during the Peninsula Campaign. But everyone has their own opinion of these two great generals.
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