This week’s Coin World had a very interesting article by David T. Alexander. It concerned an 1877 political medalet that was issued against former Union general, George McClellan, when he ran for Governor of New Jersey. I have owned this piece for many years, but never knew the full story. McClellan was the top Union general during the first half of the Civil War. Lincoln removed him from that position a month after the Battle of Antietam when he failed to pursue Robert E. Lee’s army after that battle. He was noted for making the Army of the Potomac into a disciplined fighting force, but he was also noted for hesitancy and reticence in the field. He held back forces when he should have used them, and he often seemed to be reluctant to hit the south hard when it would have benefited the Union cause. The obverse features an attractive portrait of McClellan, but wording is nasty. The obverse reads, “General G(un) B(oat) McClellan. This refers to a time when McClellan stayed in safety on a gun boat five miles from the fighting during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. The phrase “Candied-date / for anything sweet” implies that McClellan stayed in a nice cushy headquarters when his men faced the fighting in the field. The reverse continued the barrage. According to Alexander, “Your Orpheus C. Kerr” translates to “office seeker.” It ends with the comment “I couldn’t be president in 1865, but I’ll be “big Injun” in 1877. I’ll be Governor of New Jersey !! Hooray !!” McClellan was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for President in 1864. His running mate was George Pendleton who was southern sympathizer or “copperhead.” He last by a wide margin to Lincoln. Here is McClellan / Pendleton 1864 campaign piece. This piece is listed as a Civil War token.
McCellan was excellent at creating and training an army. But once he created it, he was afraid of having it messed up by battle. This frustrated Lincoln no end. At one point, he said to other generals, "If General McClellan does not want to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time." Finally, Lincoln fired him and went through a succession of bad to mediocre generals before making Grant head of the army. Grant and his protégé, Sherman, eventually defeated the Confederate forces. Cal
I think after the first Bull Run everyone (especially Little Mac) could figure out what Sherman knew from the very beginning-- it was not going to be a " home by Christmas" war but a war of attrition with very high losses. Grant was hardly a strategic genius. But he was practical and dogged. That was all the Union ever needed. They had everything else.
