General George B. McClellan: A Study in Controversy
- Current Stock:
- Author:
- Maurice G. Daoust
- Pub Date:
- September 2026
- ISBN:
- 978-1-61121-800-8
- eISBN:
- 978-1-954547-82-7
- Binding:
- hardcover, d.j.
- Specs:
- 30 images, 20 maps, 348 pp
- Bookplates:
- Available
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Overly cautious commander or misunderstood strategist? George B. McClellan was a brilliant young engineer who twice organized and led the Army of the Potomac, yet he remains one of the most disputed figures of the Civil War. Even his harshest critics acknowledge his masterful ability to build and inspire an army, yet posterity has branded him as indecisive and timid—particularly during the Peninsula and Antietam campaigns. With General George B. McClellan: A Study in Controversy, Maurice Daoust offers a fresh appraisal of the complex and often-maligned Union general.
Daoust reexamines McClellan's career by drawing upon a wide range of primary sources—letters, reports, diaries, and unpublished archival material. Was he an obstinate and vain general, or a disciplined soldier facing difficult political and logistical challenges? Nowhere is this question more crucial than at Antietam, the single bloodiest day in American history, where McClellan's actions arguably preserved the Union cause at a moment of supreme peril. The strategic Union victory gave President Abraham Lincoln what he needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and set the course for the rest of the war.
Written in a smooth narrative style and supported by considerable evidence and original maps, General George B. McClellan: A Study in Controversy is a must-read for all students of the Civil War. Combining military analysis with rich biographical detail, the book challenges several long-held assumptions and paints a vivid portrait of a man whose intellect, discipline, and conviction shaped the war's early years—and whose reputation, more than a century and a half later, still provokes passionate debate.
ADVANCE REVIEWS
“Maurice G. Daoust gives us a provocative, unbiased, well-researched, and thoroughly documented study of one of the Civil War’s most controversial personalities. For us old-timers there is plenty of information to refute the historical consensus of the timid, slow, and cowardly General McClellan we grew up reading about. Those new to Civil War history will be able to make their own judgments of McClellan based on an impartial presentation of the historical record. Veteran or recruit, General George B. McClellan: A Study in Controversy is a valuable addition to anyone’s bookshelf.”
— Steven R. Stotelmyer, author of Bivouacs of the Dead, Too Useful to Sacrifice, and From Frederick to Sharpsburg
“Misrepresentations and half-truths have long dogged the reputation of Major General George B. McClellan. In this engaging new study, Maurice Daoust offers a full-throated correction of these historical distortions. His thoughtful analysis of the sources is incisive and sure to stimulate renewed debate about the military record Little Mac compiled during his tenure as commander of the Army of the Potomac.”
— Dr. Alexander B. Rossino, author of Calamity at Frederick and Their Maryland
“This is a work of original analysis and new research that will surprise and delight on almost every page, even for readers well versed in Civil War literature. For those new to this material, General George B. McClellan: A Study in Controversy offers a readable and enjoyable review of the early war controversies surrounding a major historical figure. For me, this was the most satisfying read in a decade.”
— Dimitri Rotov, Editor, Civil War Bookshelf book reviewer
“Ulysses S. Grant referred to George B. McClellan as ‘one of the mysteries of the war.’ Historians have long sought to explain that mystery, most often in critical terms. In General George B. McClellan: A Study in Controversy, Maurice G. Daoust undertakes a careful reexamination of McClellan’s Civil War career through a new analysis of numerous primary sources while also engaging with broader interpretations of his generalship. This study provides a balanced contribution to the ongoing scholarship on McClellan and offers readers a thoughtful reassessment of one of the Civil War’s most debated figures.”
— Kevin Pawlak, Antietam Battlefield Guide
“At last we have a study of George McClellan that ignores the political sniping and shop-worn pseudo-psychology that has permeated most other studies of this controversial general. Unlike most studies, Ethan Rafuse’s McClellan’s War excepted, this study ignores the jibes of Lincoln and other politicos and provides a succinct narration of the man who built the Army of the Potomac and led it to victory at Antietam. That same army, under Burnside, Hooker, and Meade, ultimately defeated the Army of Northern Virginia and ended the war. I highly recommend it.”
— Dr. Thomas G. Clemens, Editor, The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 and the forthcoming Ezra A. Carman Papers
An avid lover of history, Maurice G. Daoust developed an interest in the American Civil War in the late 1980s. That interest quickly developed into a passion, and it wasn’t long before he began conducting his own research on various aspects of the war. Throughout the next three and a half decades Maurice, or Moe as his friends call him, devoted most of his research efforts on the ever-controversial George B. McClellan and has published several McClellan-related articles along the way. He is also credited with the discovery of the now famous “12 Midnight” telegram, which has completely altered our perceptions surrounding the time at which McClellan came into possession of Lee’s Lost Order. This is his first Civil War related book. Maurice and his wife, Wanda, reside in the western suburbs of Ottawa, Canada.
