McClellan After Malvern Hill

[Saphroneth]

IMO, Malvern Hill proved Mac's incompetence.

I thought I'd quickly talk about the term "incompetent".

It's obviously a contrast to "competent", and it's quite possible for someone to be (a common phrase...) "competent but uninspired".
This means that competence is basically the ability to not screw up. To be incompetent is to make an unforced error, or to fail to do something that should be within your skills, or to make a mistake which is both; in short, it's lacking the necessary ability, knowledge or skill to do something successfully.

Malvern Hill is actually a pretty clear-cut situation where an army commander (AC) has to exercise his discretion to look past the immediate tactical situation. The immediate tactical situation is "we just won a defensive battle", but the wider operational situation demanded something else and the strategic situation was more critical still - if McClellan's army is lost (which is quite possible if he doesn't step back, Lee is trying to encircle his hungry army and force a surrender) then the entire force left to the Union in the east is John Pope's new Army of Virginia, mostly composed of trained but inexperienced forces and significantly weaker than the Army of Northern Virginia. Under those circumstances not falling back would be incompetence.

You want someone incompetent, just look at Kearny - a man totally unsuited to the increasingly high command positions he obtained through seniority and who had a habit of ordering units not even part of his own command to make heroic unsupported charges into superior enemy positions, leaving his actual job undone. Or even John Pope, who was quite clear that he didn't care for this whole "line of communication" nonsense and promptly got himself completely encircled.

 

[CanadianCanuck]

IMO, Malvern Hill proved Mac's incompetence.

In fairness, that was the Peninsula Campaign in general, and it was less incompetence more indecisiveness. Malvern Hill would have taken an extremely incompetent general to lose as it was an extremely strong position. Though it could be argued that McClellan's performance left much to be desired up to Malvern Hill, where Fitz John Porter really saved the day.

 

[Saphroneth]

In fairness, that was the Peninsula Campaign in general, and it was less incompetence more indecisiveness.

Could I trouble you for some of the missed opportunities?

Malvern Hill would have taken an extremely incompetent general to lose as it was an extremely strong position.

Well, strong, but isolated. Good anchor, not very good as a whole position by itself.

 

[67th Tigers]

In fairness, that was the Peninsula Campaign in general, and it was less incompetence more indecisiveness. Malvern Hill would have taken an extremely incompetent general to lose as it was an extremely strong position. Though it could be argued that McClellan's performance left much to be desired up to Malvern Hill, where Fitz John Porter really saved the day.

Hardly. Porter wasn't involved until the dying hour of the fighting. Porter and McClellan spent much of the combat at Malvern House together. Couch is senior to Morell and commanded that part of the line in the absence anyone else.

Around 1800 Couch signals HQ that the pressure is increasing (as DH Hill attacks) and McClellan orders the sector reinforced. Three brigades were pulled to reinforce the line, and Porter and McClellan start riding towards the front at the head of the Irish Brigade. Porter turns to McClellan and objects to McClellan going so far forwards. McClellan stops and watches the action from Malvern House, with a reserve division in hand (McCall's) ready to commit.

We however should discuss Porter's greatest contribution to the victory; refusing an order from Sumner.

When McClellan recce'd Harrison's he issued to written order placing Sumner in temporary command whilst he was out of telegraph range. Sumner decided to come off Malvern Hill, and Porter refused the order. This was shortly before McClellan returned, and when he did he sided with Porter and sent Sumner back to his corps.