The Fathers and Saviors of Our Country: A Presidential Sale

9 3/4 x 7 3/4 in. printed broadside. (Light wear resulting in loss at corners, minor soiling.)

LINCOLN PUBLICLY REPRIMANDS GENERAL MCCLELLAN.

General George B. McClellan was in many ways the polar opposite of Abraham Lincoln. Born into an upper-class Philadelphia family, he finished second in his class at the Military Academy at West Point and proved to be an adept commander on the battlefield during the Mexican War. During the opening months of the Civil War, he gained a reputation as the "Napoleon of the Present War," for which Lincoln decided to award him command of the Army of the Potomac.

As the war went on, however, disturbing patterns in McClellan's leadership began to emerge. Despite being personally distasteful toward President Lincoln, he was often insubordinate. The failure of the 1862 Peninsula Campaign led to McClellan's relief from command, only to be reinstated when Major Pope proved far less capable. The present broadside was issued in response to McClellan's complaints that he was ill-equipped to properly battle the rebels. His unwillingness to pursue General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Antietam led to his final sacking in September 1862. A year and a half later, McClellan would announce his candidacy for the presidency of the United States on a platform of a cessation of hostilities and a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy.