McClellan takes Richmond, you...

[Acbernsen]

are Davis and/or Lee. What do you do? Where do you locate the capital, the army, etc.? What is your plan?

 

[bdtex]

are Davis and/or Lee. What do you do? Where do you locate the capital, the army, etc.? What is your plan?

McClellan takes Richmond when?

 

[Acbernsen]

Sorry, this was a theoretical question - a "what if" as it were - to see what might have been the best response politically and militarily had Little Mac actually made his way to Richmond when he tried to do so in the Peninsula Campaign. Thanks for the clarification opportunity.

 

[bdtex]

Sorry, this was a theoretical question - a "what if" as it were - to see what might have been the best response politically and militarily had Little Mac actually made his way to Richmond when he tried to do so.

Well...if we are talking about 1862,I certainly don't expect that the CSA would've surrendered. I guess that depends too though on how bad the ANV might've been beaten up at that point. A lotta "what ifs?".

 

[JeffBrooks]

are Davis and/or Lee. What do you do? Where do you locate the capital, the army, etc.? What is your plan?

Relocate the Virginia state capital to Lynchburg, the national capital perhaps to Atlanta. Try to hold the Shenandoah Valley and use it as a base to launch raids into Maryland and Pennsylvania to restore public morale and ensure the Northern people and the European governments know that the war is not ended. If McClellan tries to advance westwards or southwards from Richmond/Petersburg, he will move away from his naval support and logistical supply line, thereby presenting an opportunity to attack him at an advantage.

 

[Acbernsen]

Relocate the Virginia state capital to Lynchburg, the national capital perhaps to Atlanta. Try to hold the Shenandoah Valley and use it as a base to launch raids into Maryland and Pennsylvania to restore public morale and ensure the Northern people and the European governments know that the war is not ended. If McClellan tries to advance westwards or southwards from Richmond/Petersburg, he will move away from his naval support and logistical supply line, thereby presenting an opportunity to attack him at an advantage.

Sounds sensible to me.

 

[bdtex]

Relocate the Virginia state capital to Lynchburg, the national capital perhaps to Atlanta. Try to hold the Shenandoah Valley and use it as a base to launch raids into Maryland and Pennsylvania to restore public morale and ensure the Northern people and the European governments know that the war is not ended. If McClellan tries to advance westwards or southwards from Richmond/Petersburg, he will move away from his naval support and logistical supply line, thereby presenting an opportunity to attack him at an advantage.

Atlanta is what I was thinking too but there were a lotta options in 1862.

 

[Acbernsen]

Relocate the Virginia state capital to Lynchburg, the national capital perhaps to Atlanta. Try to hold the Shenandoah Valley and use it as a base to launch raids into Maryland and Pennsylvania to restore public morale and ensure the Northern people and the European governments know that the war is not ended. If McClellan tries to advance westwards or southwards from Richmond/Petersburg, he will move away from his naval support and logistical supply line, thereby presenting an opportunity to attack him at an advantage.

That sounds great.

 

[Acbernsen]

Atlanta is what I was thinking too but there were a lotta options in 1862.

Sounds good to me.

 

[Albert Sailhorst]

McClellan's arrogance would eventually lead to his downfall......I bet he'd let his lines "thin out", over-estimate the size of his enemy, and show belligerence to Lincoln......As a Southern Commander, I would find an appropriate Northern City to attack, then burn it to the ground.....creating unrest and a hatred for McClellan for allowing me to do those things. He might take Richmond, but I bet he'd fail to "contain" the enemy....Even "if" he were to succeed in taking Richmond, he'd end up being, as always, his own worst enemy.

 

[Acbernsen]

McClellan's arrogance would eventually lead to his downfall......I bet he'd let his lines "thin out", over-estimate the size of his enemy, and show belligerence to Lincoln......As a Southern Commander, I would find an appropriate Northern City to attack, then burn it to the ground.....creating unrest and a hatred for McClellan for allowing me to do those things. He might take Richmond, but I bet he'd fail to "contain" the enemy....Even "if" he were to succeed in taking Richmond, he'd end up being, as always, his own worst enemy.

Sounds good to me!

 

[67th Tigers]

McClellan's arrogance would eventually lead to his downfall......I bet he'd let his lines "thin out", over-estimate the size of his enemy, and show belligerence to Lincoln......As a Southern Commander, I would find an appropriate Northern City to attack, then burn it to the ground.....creating unrest and a hatred for McClellan for allowing me to do those things. He might take Richmond, but I bet he'd fail to "contain" the enemy....Even "if" he were to succeed in taking Richmond, he'd end up being, as always, his own worst enemy.

Nope. He planned to advance on Lynchburg and connect with Burnside's forces at Greensboro (their planned objective) and Buell's forces at Knoxville via railroad. Then a grand advance to Wilmington by one wing and Atlanta by the other.

 

[JeffBrooks]

Nope. He planned to advance on Lynchburg and connect with Burnside's forces at Greensboro (their planned objective) and Buell's forces at Knoxville via railroad. Then a grand advance to Wilmington by one wing and Atlanta by the other.

So, by McClellan's timetable, the war would have ended around 1920 or thereabouts?

 

[Jamieva]

I agree the VA capital moves to Lynchburg. The national capital goes to Atlanta or back to Montgomery. Lee probably moves to Danville or Raleigh to get access to rail lines and re-groups for the next fight.

 

[TFSmith121]

McClellan's arrogance would eventually lead to his downfall......I bet he'd let his lines "thin out", over-estimate the size of his enemy, and show belligerence to Lincoln......As a Southern Commander, I would find an appropriate Northern City to attack, then burn it to the ground.....creating unrest and a hatred for McClellan for allowing me to do those things. He might take Richmond, but I bet he'd fail to "contain" the enemy....Even "if" he were to succeed in taking Richmond, he'd end up being, as always, his own worst enemy.

Considering the rebels couldn't sustain operations north of the Maryland-Virginia border for more than a week or two, and that was WITH Richmond as a manufacturing and transportation nexus and the railroads northwards from the city as supply lines, if Johnston or Lee or whoever is somewhere down in the southeast part of the state and McClellan et al are in and around Richmond, what "appropriate Northern City" do you think you'd be able to get to, exactly?

Best,

 

[67th Tigers]

So, by McClellan's timetable, the war would have ended around 1920 or thereabouts?

Twenty past seven in the evening? Possibly, that would be about dusk.

However, McClellan intended to have broken the Confederacy in the summer of 1862 with a grand offensive across the entire continent. That Lincoln broke up unified command and scattered resources rather than concentrating them is a sin laid at their door, not McClellans.

 

[TFSmith121]

Twenty past seven in the evening? Possibly, that would be about dusk.

However, McClellan intended to have broken the Confederacy in the summer of 1862 with a grand offensive across the entire continent. That Lincoln broke up unified command and scattered resources rather than concentrating them is a sin laid at their door, not McClellans.

McClellan "intended" many things; his intentions tended, however, to get frustrated by the rebels.

Best,

 

[67th Tigers]

McClellan "intended" many things; his intentions tended, however, to get frustrated by the rebels.

I wouldn't call Lincoln and Stanton "rebels".

 

[TFSmith121]

I wouldn't call Lincoln and Stanton "rebels".

No, Johnston and Lee were the ones who frustrated Little Mac. The commander-in-chief and secretary of war just got exasperated by his failures as a combat commander, which is why they cashiered him.

And he stayed cashiered and never got promoted, unlike generals Brudenell and Bingham. Lt. General and Field Marshal, respectively; amazing what purchase resulted in ... Of course, it makes it even more clear they weren't aberrations when one considers Burgoyne, Cornwallis, Ross, Prevost, Pakenham, Elphinstone, Raglan, Colley, Chelmsford, Buller, Aitken, Townshend, Hamilton, French, Haig, Percival, Hutton, Ritchie, and Irwin, et al.

Best,

 

[67th Tigers]

No, Johnston and Lee were the ones who frustrated Little Mac. The commander-in-chief and secretary of war just got exasperated by his failures as a combat commander, which is why they cashiered him.

Ah, that's why they ordered McClellan to retreat from Richmond against his continued objections?