McClellan General with biggest ego?

[DanSBHawk]

Didn't Schofield award himself the MOH?

Schofield had an ego but I wouldn't say it was out of control. During the Atlanta campaign he accepted taking a subordinate position to Stanley, who both men knew was junior in rank.

 

[Cavalier]

With "out of control" as a qualifier the only one I believe that might fit the description would be McClellen.

John

 

[Jamieva]

Another vote for Little Mac. I agree his memoir is the clincher to win this category.

 

[bayouace]

Judson Kilpatrick

 

[DanSBHawk]

I'll say Rosecrans. How many Union generals wrote directly to Lincoln trying to get their date of rank backdated?

 

[Bentonville]

"Prince John" Magruder.

True. But he was fond of amateur theater. Gotta keep that in mind.

 

[Bentonville]

Judson Kilpatrick

Yes.

 

[gjpratt]

Without being judgemental, WP trained United States army officers (whether they resigned for the Confederacy or stayed loyal to the Union), had almost to a man (sorry don't believe there were then women in those positions), huge egos. Some expressed this quite openly and were real prima donnas such as McClellan, Custer, Stuart; in contrast some such as Lee and Grant, made good efforts to conceal their ambition and drive. So who had the most out-of-control ego? Maybe start with the officer corps of the Army of the Potomac from beginning to end.

When I was involved in politics in the 1970s, there was an old adage "Don't let your ambition show."

 

[gjpratt]

How can we leave out Gideon Pillow?

 

[Sgt. Tyree]

Judson Kilpatrick

Wade Hampton had him a little nervous at the surrender.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Can't imagine anyone had a larger ego than him, but wondering who the contenders would be.

Persons with bigger egos have an exaggerated sense of their own self-importance which can manifest in showings of conceit and arrogance.

Agree. On either side, thought Mcclellan would be at the top, or close to the top, of any list of Civil War Generals who had the biggest egos. McClellan believed that he was sent as God's instrument to save the country.

McClellan's ego is revealed in various writings to his wife. During 1861, he wrote, …"I feel that God has placed a great work in my hands……Pray for me, that I may be able to accomplish my task – the greatest, perhaps, that any poor, weak mortal ever had to do"….In his other writings, he described Lincoln as …"an idiot….nothing more than a well meaning baboon"…..He also thought cabinet members were geese and that the entire Washington administration was imbecilic.

Even when he was dismissed from Army command after Antietam, McClellan's inflated ego remained intact. McClellan described his own reaction to General Buckingham's delivery to his headquarters of the dismissal order authorized by Washington, when he wrote his wife, …"They have made a great mistake. Alas for my poor country!."…

Given such displays of expression, think McClellan would be hard to surpass for sheer egotism by any other General of the war.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

John A. MeClernand comes to mind

Thought that's a good nomination for a big ego too.

But don't think that Mclernand's ego was of quite the same magnitude as McClellands.

 

[JerryD]

Another vote for Little Mac. I agree his memoir is the clincher to win this category.

Whoever published his memoir after his death did Mac no favors for his reputation. He comes across as a paranoid ego maniac.

 

[gjpratt]

Pillow justified his escape from Ft. Donelson because he was too valuable to the Confederate cause. Not quite up to the McClellan bar, but slightly ahead of McClernand.

 

[GwilymT]

Pillow justified his escape from Ft. Donelson because he was too valuable to the Confederate cause. Not quite up to the McClellan bar, but slightly ahead of McClernand.

Agree on Pillow, he's gotta be up there.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

It would be a shorter list if the opposite were asked. How about Generals with no Egos?

Perhaps an appropriate converse question to ask here could be, 'Which senior General was the most humble or displayed the greatest humility?'. In other words, 'Was there any General 'who left their ego at the door, when they entered a room'. Agree, it would be a much shorter list.

In my view, Ambrose Burnside might take the prize in this category. Thought Burnside was a rather unassuming and modest person, who knew his own limitations, but who got unwillingly promoted to high command positions. Thought, though, that these personal traits might have been significant factors in his failures in both business and the military.

Following the debacle at Fredericksburg thought Burnside felt the full weight of the defeat and fully absorbed all of the blame, without excuse. He would ultimately offer his resignation of Army command which Lincoln accepted. During this period, Burnside declared, …"It is the duty of every public man who found himself an impediment to the accomplishment of the greatest amount of public good, to give way to some other person who possessed the public confidence."… These expressed sentiments by a modest individual were in marked contrast to the egotistical McClelland's reaction in similar circumstances (when facing imminent dismissal from high command). The modest Burnside would again admit his shortcomings in mid-1863 by saying, …"My Fredericksburg campaign failed and I assumed responsibility for the failure."…

Thought the comparison with Burnside's behavior in high command serves to highlight the extent of McClellan's egotism.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

After reviewing the postings in this thread so far, get the impression that the biggest egos were more likely to be found within the command structure of the Union Army, rather than among the comparable ranks of the Confederacy (Thought the Confederate command structure, though, contained a fair share of eccentric or peculiar characters).

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

In my view, Ambrose Burnside might take the prize in this category. Thought Burnside was a rather unassuming and modest person, who knew his own limitations, but who got unwillingly promoted to high command positions. Thought, though, that these personal traits might have been significant factors in his failures in both business and the military.

Good point! Burnside had a very successful career after the war as a popular politician though, serving as the governor of Rhode Island from 1866 to 1869, and in 1874 he was elected as a U.S. senator. So his honesty and modesty didn't hold him back too much.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Good point! Burnside had a very successful career after the war as a popular politician though, serving as the governor of Rhode Island from 1866 to 1869, and in 1874 he was elected as a U.S. senator. So his honesty and modesty didn't hold him back too much.

That makes sense. Despite his failings in business and the military, believe that Burnside was a very amiable and affable character, who was widely popular. Thought these personal qualities might have made him better suited for a career in politics, where perceptions count.

 

[JerryD]

Perhaps an appropriate converse question to ask here could be, 'Which senior General was the most humble or displayed the greatest humility?'. In other words, 'Was there any General 'who left their ego at the door, when they entered a room'. Agree, it would be a much shorter list.

In my view, Ambrose Burnside might take the prize in this category. Thought Burnside was a rather unassuming and modest person, who knew his own limitations, but who got unwillingly promoted to high command positions. Thought, though, that these personal traits might have been significant factors in his failures in both business and the military.

Following the debacle at Fredericksburg thought Burnside felt the full weight of the defeat and fully absorbed all of the blame, without excuse. He would ultimately offer his resignation of Army command which Lincoln accepted. During this period, Burnside declared, …"It is the duty of every public man who found himself an impediment to the accomplishment of the greatest amount of public good, to give way to some other person who possessed the public confidence."… These expressed sentiments by a modest individual were in marked contrast to the egotistical McClelland's reaction in similar circumstances (when facing imminent dismissal from high command). The modest Burnside would again admit his shortcomings in mid-1863 by saying, …"My Fredericksburg campaign failed and I assumed responsibility for the failure."…

Thought the comparison with Burnside's behavior in high command serves to highlight the extent of McClellan's egotism.

Not to hijack my own thread, but Grant comes to mind. By all accounts he was very unassuming, based on his pre-war experience. But agree on Burnside as well.