George Brinton McClellan left the army at the rank of captain but, upon the start of the Civil War, soon found himself a major general in overall command of all Union operations.  He was called to Washington to restore order after the disaster at First Manassas, and he built the Army of the Potomac into a first-rate fighting force.  But before long, due to his overly cautious nature, the administration began to run out of patience.  In the Spring of 1862, he took his army to the Virginia Peninsula for an assault on Richmond from the southeast.  On the Peninsula, he encountered an adversary able to expose his weaknesses in Robert E. Lee.  

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