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Lincoln names McClellan to command the Union Army, replacing Winfield Scott
McClellan has outranked every officer but Scott since May; now Scott's post is his.
On November 1, 1861, Abraham Lincoln appointed George B. McClellan commander of the Union Army, replacing General Winfield Scott. The war was nearly seven months old, begun when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter on April 12, and McClellan had been a major general in the regular army since May 14, outranked only by Scott. Known as "The Young Napoleon" for his meticulous planning, he now held the top military post in the country. He led the Army of the Potomac into the Peninsula Campaign in 1862, and Lincoln removed him from command that November…
