Book Review

George B. McClellan remains one of the most controversial generals of the Civil War. He has had his defenders, but many historians have criticized McClellan as overcautious, indecisive, and arrogant. Some have even accused him of suffering from psychological dysfunction, diagnosing him as delusional and irrational. He often ranks as one of the war's worst commanders.	1
Thomas J. Rowland believes that history has been unfair to McClellan. His book argues that the former commander of the Army of the Potomac was not as bad as he has been depicted. Rowland maintains that "Unionist historians" have elevated the skills and achievements of Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and Abraham Lincoln at the considerable expense of McClellan.	2
Rowland does not seek to diminish the reputations of Grant, Sherman, or Lincoln. Nor does he see McClellan as faultless. He admits that the general could be vain, petty, and contentious. But Rowland is convinced that an anti-McClellan bias has distorted the facts and overshadowed McClellan's true character and accomplishments. He chides historians for misusing psychological terms and concepts, taking McClellan's letters to his wife too seriously, and underestimating the complex challenges McClellan confronted early in the war.	. . .