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Even after the battle was over (and victory claimed), McClellan opted to rest and regroup and wait for reinforcements rather than dogging the fleeing Lee and his men and delivering what would surely have been a deathblow to the Confederate forces, which were scattered, vulnerable, and on the run.

McClellan’s overcautiousness resulted in a lost opportunity that might have foreshortened the war drastically, and indeed provided the Union general with just the sort of platform of heroism and military genius that he desired to support him in his planned run for the presidency. The self-assured general overthought, over-planned, and, as a result, underperformed. By failing to press an engagement based on victory through attrition (which he and his forces would surely have won), McClellan wasted the golden opportunity that fate had presented him, and this eventually resulted in his removal (once again) from command of the Army of the Potomac.

It was only after the actual battle had passed that Lee recognized how lucky he and his men really were. Carelessness in the issuing and protection of orders and laxity in conduct in the field had almost dealt the Confederate forces a mortal blow. It was only by the clearheadedness of his officers, his own grip on the situation in progress, and no small degree of dumb luck that he and his command survived. Lee was grateful that the gods had smiled on him that day, and renewed his commitment to defend the South with his heart, mind, and soul.

McClellan never regained that command or went on to be elected president (though a lesser student at West Point, Ulysses Simpson Grant, did indeed eventually take his place in command and in the White House), and McClellan spent the latter part of his life blaming others for his misfortune and missed opportunities. His memoirs are a model of self-aggrandizement, rewritten history, and self-deception.

You Taught Them What?

There is nothing like training your enemies to fight you. And certainly we have modern examples. It is almost consoling to see that this particular mistake is not a new one.

WILLIAM CLARKE QUANTRILL

KANSAS AND MISSOURI, 1863

Brian M. Thomsen

With the coming of the Civil War neighboring states soon found themselves to be the bloody battlegrounds for a conflict that was only partially based on high ideals such as states’ rights, federalism, and the ever-popular rights of man. Nowhere was it more ambiguous than in the western territories and in the bordering states of Kansas and Missouri, where the lack of a major military presence for either side did little to diminish the carnage and collateral damage that went hand in hand with a time of war.

Many of the Southern/Confederate sympathizers looked for an outlet for their patriotic fervor closer to home rather than enlisting for duty in the predominantly eastern-based military service, and as a result, formed vigilante bands of marauders who would cross state lines to wreak havoc on pro-Union communities and abolitionist enclaves.

These bands became known as bushwhackers, and one of their most famous and successful leaders was William Clarke Quantrill.

Quantrill realized that the war would not be won by military engagements alone. Support and supplies needed to be disrupted as well, and the way to accomplish this was through fear. Quantrill and his men targeted Union sympathizers, executing them on the spot, burning their homes and farms as a message to anyone who even wanted to consider not supporting the Confederacy. They also robbed mail coaches, supply trains, and occasionally banks to divert Union supplies (as well as finance their own actions with a little booty set aside as a reward for their self-styled patriotism).

Quantrill taught his men the basics of guerrilla warfare while sermonizing about the justification for their extreme actions.

Not all Southerners, however, agreed with Quantrill’s methods. Some were even appalled by their actions, and initially the public stance of the Confederacy was one of condemnation, with accusations