216-583: Fort McClellan , originally Camp McClellan , is a decommissioned United States Army post located adjacent to the city of Anniston, Alabama . During World War II , it was one of the largest U.S. Army installations, training an estimated half-million troops. After the war it became the home of the Military Police Corps , the Chemical Corps and the Women's Army Corps . From 1975 until it
432-635: A saddle , dubbed the McClellan Saddle , which he claimed to have seen used by Hussars in Prussia and Hungary. It became standard issue for as long as the U.S. horse cavalry existed and is still used for ceremonies. McClellan resigned his commission January 16, 1857, and, capitalizing on his experience with railroad assessment, became chief engineer and vice president of the Illinois Central Railroad , and then president of
648-614: A status quo antebellum. Two weeks after a treaty was signed (but not ratified), Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans and siege of Fort St. Philip with an army dominated by militia and volunteers, and became a national hero. U.S. troops and sailors captured HMS Cyane , Levant and Penguin in the final engagements of the war. Per the treaty, both sides (the United States and Great Britain) returned to
864-602: A 22,168-acre (86.7-km) tract was purchased for $ 675,000 and used for artillery and heavy mortar ranges, tank firing, and bivouac areas. This is directly north of another Army facility, the Anniston Army Depot . The range was initially called Morrisville Maneuvering Area and later changed to Pelham Range, named for John Pelham , a hero in the Confederate cavalry during the American Civil War , who
1080-404: A 22-page letter objecting in detail to the president's plan and advocating instead his Urbanna plan, which was the first written instance of the plan's details being presented to the president. Although Lincoln believed his plan was superior, he was relieved that McClellan finally agreed to begin moving, and reluctantly approved. On March 8, doubting McClellan's resolve, Lincoln again interfered with
1296-627: A charge in the Battle of San Juan Hill . In 1912, there was renewed interest in Anniston for having a nearby Army training facility. Alabama's Third District congressman Henry D. Clayton Jr . brought to the Department of War 's attention the potential of the Choccolocco Mountains for artillery training. Twenty-thousand National Guardsmen were sent to the area for maneuvers. Officials of the participating Army War College found
1512-516: A close friend of McClellan's father. McClellan's experiences in the war would shape his military and political life. He learned that flanking movements (used by Scott at Cerro Gordo ) were often better than frontal assaults, and the value of siege operations ( Veracruz ). He witnessed Scott's success in balancing political with military affairs and his good relations with the civil population as he invaded, enforcing strict discipline on his soldiers to minimize damage to property. McClellan also developed
1728-614: A commander who was as outnumbered as McClellan thought he was, but McClellan in fact rarely had less than a two-to-one advantage over the armies that opposed him in 1861 and 1862. That fall, for example, Confederate forces ranged from 35,000 to 60,000, whereas the Army of the Potomac in September numbered 122,000 men; in early December 170,000; by year end, 192,000. The dispute with Scott became increasingly personal. Scott (as well as many in
1944-576: A critical analysis of the siege and a lengthy description of the organization of the European armies. He also wrote a manual on cavalry tactics that was based on Russian cavalry regulations. Like other observers, though, McClellan did not appreciate the importance of the emergence of rifled muskets in the Crimean War, and the fundamental changes in warfare tactics it would require. The Army adopted McClellan's cavalry manual and also his design for
2160-597: A defensive network of the region spanning Cheat Mountain, Allegheny Mountain all the way to Gauley Bridge in Kanawha. McClellan chose Rosecrans as his successor and briefed him on the situation before departing for Washington upon being summoned to reorganize the routed Union Army of Northeastern Virginia after the defeat at Bull Run . After the defeat of the Union forces at Bull Run on July 21, 1861, Lincoln summoned McClellan from western Virginia, where McClellan had given
2376-404: A disdain for volunteer soldiers and officers, particularly politicians who cared nothing for discipline and training. McClellan returned to West Point to command his engineering company, which was attached to the academy for the purpose of training cadets in engineering activities. He chafed at the boredom of peacetime garrison service, although he greatly enjoyed the social life. In June 1851, he
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#17327823719902592-508: A facility to quarter a Military reserve force from Alabama should the hostilities start anew. Anniston was on a north–south railroad that continued to Mobile, Alabama , a major seaport for Cuba -bound departures, and successfully sought the reserve facility. Camp Shipp was established in August 1898 within the northwest city limits of Anniston; an artillery range was planned to be on the nearby Blue Mountain. By October, nearly 10,000 troops of
2808-651: A few months. The war remains the deadliest conflict in U.S. history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 men on both sides. Based on 1860 census figures, 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6.4% in the North and 18% in the South . Following the Civil War, the U.S. Army had the mission of containing western tribes of Native Americans on the Indian reservations . They set up many forts, and engaged in
3024-483: A functional area. However, officers continue to wear the branch insignia of their former branch in most cases, as functional areas do not generally have discrete insignia. Some branches, such as Special Forces , operate similarly to functional areas in that individuals may not join their ranks until having served in another Army branch. Careers in the Army can extend into cross-functional areas for officers, warrant officers, enlisted, and civilian personnel. Before 1933,
3240-524: A group of former service veterans from Fort McClellan compiled original environmental engineering sources papers that strongly indicates that the Fort was a former remote test location for the Chemical Weapons experiments program out of Edgewood, Maryland and the former Biowarfare Germ Program out of Fort Detrick, Maryland. The veterans are currently working towards obtaining a new GAO Office report on
3456-556: A medical match to the industry known health risks from each of the ten toxic spill sites that makes up their exposure profile. Clinical lab testing for the veterans is not a viable detection option because they have been away from the original toxic sources at Fort McClellan for a time that exceeds the active Half-Life period for all of the known toxic sources at the base. 33°42′39″N 85°44′14″W / 33.71083°N 85.73722°W / 33.71083; -85.73722 United States Army The United States Army ( USA )
3672-407: A momentary rest before continuing the retreat. McClellan planned to encircle Porterfield's command at Philippi through a complex plan that required coordination between three separate forces. This coordination failed, and the bombardment of the village commenced with a false signal. The Confederates at Philippi were completely routed , but they did not retreat towards a prepared line of Union troops as
3888-531: A month of preparation, just before he was to assault the Confederate works at Yorktown, McClellan learned that Johnston had withdrawn up the Peninsula towards Williamsburg . McClellan was thus required to give chase without any benefit of the heavy artillery so carefully amassed in front of Yorktown. The Battle of Williamsburg on May 5 is considered a Union victory—McClellan's first—but the Confederate army
4104-726: A month – known as battle assemblies or unit training assemblies (UTAs) – and conduct two to three weeks of annual training each year. Both the Regular Army and the Army Reserve are organized under Title 10 of the United States Code , while the National Guard is organized under Title 32 . While the Army National Guard is organized, trained, and equipped as a component of the U.S. Army, when it
4320-598: A myriad of conflicts and operations. In the last generation, we were singularly responsible for providing our Army with the world's finest military police and chemical soldiers. Our pride is justified by our spectacular success! At the time of closure, Fort McClellan was home to the U.S. Army Chemical School, the U.S. Army Military Police School, the Training Brigade, and the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute. The Chemical School, Military Police School, and
4536-487: A new Army Command (ACOM) in 2018. The Army Futures Command (AFC), is a peer of FORSCOM, TRADOC, and AMC, the other ACOMs. AFC's mission is modernization reform: to design hardware, as well as to work within the acquisition process which defines materiel for AMC. TRADOC's mission is to define the architecture and organization of the Army, and to train and supply soldiers to FORSCOM. AFC's cross-functional teams (CFTs) are Futures Command's vehicle for sustainable reform of
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#17327823719904752-430: A particular function (infantry, artillery, ammunition, etc.). Overall, about 1,500 buildings were built, including a base hospital with 118 buildings. The Anniston city limit at that time was a circle 1.3 miles (2.1 kilometers) in diameter. The Camp McClellan reservation was approximately a square some 3.0 miles (4.8 kilometers) on each side, adjoining the northeast quarter arc of the city limits and extending northward along
4968-480: A predominantly combat support role. The army converted to an all-volunteer force with greater emphasis on training to specific performance standards driven by the reforms of General William E. DePuy , the first commander of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command . Following the Camp David Accords that was signed by Egypt, Israel that was brokered by president Jimmy Carter in 1978, as part of
5184-506: A private preparatory school for the University of Pennsylvania . He began attending the university in 1840, when he was 14 years old, resigning himself to the study of law after his family decided that medical educations for both McClellan and his older brother John were too expensive. After two years at the university, he changed his goal to military service. With the assistance of his father's letter to President John Tyler , McClellan
5400-456: A regional-sized PCB contamination zone from 1950 to 1998 stemming from a Monsanto Factory in the neighboring town where Fort McClellan soldiers had to use public travel stations, and a retail district that soldiers used for their off-duty hours. There was also a total of three landfills which were found to be toxic and leaching which required remedial cleanup actions. Fort Detrick had also used the site for spraying germ warfare bacteria spores around
5616-605: A registry of persons who were exposed to chemical agents during their military service at Fort McClellan. The Military Police Corps is one of the youngest branches of the U.S. Army, being officially established in September 1941. A Military Police School, earlier operating at Fort Gordon , Georgia, was officially transferred to Fort McClellan on July 11, 1975. The Military Police School provided training programs in general policing activities, corrections and detention operations, police and criminal intelligence operations, combat support operations, and security. The School also operated
5832-618: A role in the invasions of Grenada in 1983 ( Operation Urgent Fury ) and Panama in 1989 ( Operation Just Cause ). By 1989 Germany was nearing reunification and the Cold War was coming to a close. Army leadership reacted by starting to plan for a reduction in strength. By November 1989 Pentagon briefers were laying out plans to reduce army end strength by 23%, from 750,000 to 580,000. A number of incentives such as early retirement were used. In 1990, Iraq invaded its smaller neighbor, Kuwait , and U.S. land forces quickly deployed to assure
6048-494: A series of attacks that became known as the Seven Days Battles. The first major battle, at Mechanicsville , was poorly coordinated by Lee and his subordinates and resulted in heavy casualties for little tactical gain. However, the battle had a significant impact on McClellan's nerve. The surprise appearance of Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson 's troops in the battle (when they had last been reported to be many miles away in
6264-481: A state of emergency in the capital. By August 19, he estimated 150,000 rebel soldiers on his front. In this, McClellan was perhaps influenced by his questioning of Confederate deserter Edward B. McMurdy, whose testimony was not accepted by Lincoln, Secretary of State Seward, or General-in-Chief Scott, but reaffirmed for McClellan the numbers he had convinced himself of. McClellan's feeling of facing overwhelming odds in subsequent campaigns throughout his tenure as General of
6480-686: A strategy of seizing the coastline, blockading the ports, and taking control of the river systems. By 1863, the Confederacy was being strangled. Its eastern armies fought well, but the western armies were defeated one after another until the Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862 along with the Tennessee River. In the Vicksburg Campaign of 1862–1863, General Ulysses Grant seized the Mississippi River and cut off
6696-569: A temporary armistice in which the forces of Gen. Zachary Taylor awaited action, McClellan was stricken with dysentery and malaria , which kept him in the hospital for nearly a month. Malaria would recur in later years; he called it his "Mexican disease." He served as an engineering officer during the war, was frequently subject to enemy fire, and was appointed a brevet first lieutenant for his services at Contreras and Churubusco and to captain for his service at Chapultepec . He performed reconnaissance missions for Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott ,
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6912-523: A train that was carrying men to vote illegally in another county, enabling Douglas to win the county. In October 1859, McClellan was able to resume his courtship of Ellen Mary; they were married in Calvary Church , New York City, on May 22, 1860. At the start of the Civil War in 1861, McClellan's knowledge of what was called "big war science" and his railroad experience suggested he might excel at military logistics. His old report from his tour in
7128-454: A variety of suitors, including his West Point friend, A. P. Hill . Ellen accepted Hill's proposal in 1856, but her family did not approve and he withdrew. In June 1854, McClellan was sent on a secret reconnaissance mission to Santo Domingo at the behest of Jefferson Davis. McClellan assessed local defensive capabilities for the secretary. (The information was not used until 1870 when President Ulysses S. Grant unsuccessfully attempted to annex
7344-564: A work place for more than 3,000 employees. In 2003, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service , an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior , established the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge on 9,016 acres (36.1 km) in undeveloped land on the reservation of the former Fort McClellan. It takes its name from some of the last-remaining mountain longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) forests in
7560-833: Is currently owned by the Alabama Army National Guard and is used as a training facility for units from all across the state, also housing the Alabama Army National Guard’s Officer Candidate School, for enlisted soldiers looking to earn their commission. Located in the Choccolocco Foothills of the Appalachian Mountains , Woodstock, Alabama, was founded as a private industrial town by the Woodstock Iron Company in 1872. Woodstock
7776-533: Is not in federal service it is under the command of individual state and territorial governors. However, the District of Columbia National Guard reports to the U.S. president, not the district's mayor , even when not federalized. Any or all of the National Guard can be federalized by presidential order and against the governor's wishes. The U.S. Army is led by a civilian secretary of the Army , who has
7992-670: Is that each brigade will be modular, i.e., all brigades of the same type will be exactly the same and thus any brigade can be commanded by any division. As specified before the 2013 end-strength re-definitions, the three major types of brigade combat teams are: In addition, there are combat support and service support modular brigades. Combat support brigades include aviation (CAB) brigades, which will come in heavy and light varieties, fires (artillery) brigades (now transforms to division artillery) and expeditionary military intelligence brigades . Combat service support brigades include sustainment brigades and come in several varieties and serve
8208-630: Is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces . It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services , and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution . The Army is the oldest branch of the U.S. military and the most senior in order of precedence. It has its roots in the Continental Army , which was formed on 14 June 1775 to fight against the British for independence during
8424-518: Is the great obstacle—he will not comprehend the danger & is either a traitor, or an incompetent. I have to fight my way against him." Scott became so disillusioned with the young general that he offered his resignation to President Lincoln, who initially refused to accept it. Rumors traveled through the capital that McClellan might resign, or instigate a military coup, if Scott were not removed. Lincoln's Cabinet met on October 18 and agreed to accept Scott's resignation for “reasons of health”. However,
8640-688: The Alabama Army National Guard (the 32nd Infantry Division). In addition the Post Garrison maintained the headquarters for District "D" of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), handling 45 CCC camps in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee. As World War II approached, the facilities at Fort McClellan underwent considerable expansion. Although the central area of permanent buildings remained
8856-820: The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself a continuation of the Continental Army, and thus considers its institutional inception to be the origin of that armed force in 1775. The U.S. Army is a uniformed service of
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9072-949: The Army Strategy 2018 articulated an eight-point addendum to the Army Vision for 2028. While the Army Mission remains constant, the Army Strategy builds upon the Army's Brigade Modernization by adding focus to corps and division -level echelons. The Army Futures Command oversees reforms geared toward conventional warfare . The Army's current reorganization plan is due to be completed by 2028. The Army's five core competencies are prompt and sustained land combat, combined arms operations (to include combined arms maneuver and wide–area security, armored and mechanized operations and airborne and air assault operations ), special operations forces , to set and sustain
9288-478: The Battle of 73 Easting were tank battles of historical significance. After Operation Desert Storm, the army did not see major combat operations for the remainder of the 1990s but did participate in a number of peacekeeping activities. In 1990 the Department of Defense issued guidance for "rebalancing" after a review of the Total Force Policy, but in 2004, USAF Air War College scholars concluded
9504-473: The Cascade Range . McClellan selected Yakima Pass ( 47°20′11″N 121°25′57″W / 47.3365°N 121.4324°W / 47.3365; -121.4324 ) without a thorough reconnaissance and refused the governor's order to lead a party through it in winter conditions, relying on faulty intelligence about the depth of snowpack in that area. In so doing, he missed three greatly superior passes in
9720-529: The Constitution , and entitled to federal protection wherever it existed (Lincoln held the same public position until August 1862). McClellan's writings after the war were typical of many Northerners: "I confess to a prejudice in favor of my own race, & can't learn to like the odor of either Billy goats or niggers." But in November 1861, he wrote to his wife, "I will, if successful, throw my sword onto
9936-566: The Department of the Ohio , responsible for the defense of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and, later, western Pennsylvania, western Virginia, and Missouri. On May 14, he was commissioned a major general in the regular army. At age 34, he outranked everyone in the Army except Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, the general-in-chief. McClellan's rapid promotion was partly due to his acquaintance with Salmon P. Chase , Treasury Secretary and former Ohio governor and senator. As McClellan scrambled to process
10152-513: The Dominican Republic .) Davis was beginning to treat McClellan almost as a protégé, and his next assignment was to assess the logistical readiness of various railroads in the United States, once again with an eye toward planning for the transcontinental railroad. In March 1855, McClellan was promoted to captain and assigned to the 1st U.S. Cavalry regiment. Due to his political connections and his mastery of French, McClellan received
10368-550: The Kanawha Valley toward Richmond . The second would use the same force to drive south instead, crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky and Tennessee. Scott rejected both plans as logistically unfeasible. Although he complimented McClellan and expressed his "great confidence in your intelligence, zeal, science, and energy", he replied by letter that the 80,000 men would be better used on a river-based expedition to control
10584-739: The Mississippi River and split the Confederacy, accompanied by a strong Union blockade of Southern ports. This plan, which would require considerable patience of the Northern public, was derided in newspapers as the Anaconda Plan , but eventually proved to be the outline of the successful prosecution of the war. Relations between the two generals became increasingly strained over the summer and fall. Governor Dennison encouraged and pressured McClellan to conduct offensive operations in Northwestern Virginia, where unionist sentiment
10800-510: The Mormons , he considered rejoining the Army. He also considered service as a filibuster in support of Benito Juárez in Mexico. Before the outbreak of the Civil War, McClellan became active in politics, supporting the presidential campaign of Democrat Stephen A. Douglas in the 1860 election . He claimed to have defeated an attempt at vote fraud by Republicans by ordering the delay of
11016-505: The Napoleonic style. He proposed that his army should be expanded to 273,000 men and 600 guns and "crush the rebels in one campaign". He favored a war that would impose little impact on civilian populations and require no emancipation of slaves. McClellan's antipathy to emancipation added to the pressure on him, as he received bitter criticism from Radical Republicans in the government. He viewed slavery as an institution recognized in
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#173278237199011232-707: The Netherlands and the United Kingdom , until the 1990s in anticipation of a possible Soviet attack. During the Cold War, U.S. troops and their allies fought communist forces in Korea and Vietnam . The Korean War began in June 1950, when the Soviets walked out of a UN Security Council meeting, removing their possible veto. Under a United Nations umbrella, hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops fought to prevent
11448-622: The Ohio and Mississippi Railroad in 1860. He performed well in both jobs, expanding the Illinois Central toward New Orleans and helping the Ohio and Mississippi recover from the Panic of 1857 . Despite his successes and lucrative salary ($ 10,000 per year), he was frustrated with civilian employment and continued to study classical military strategy assiduously. During the Utah War against
11664-575: The Pamunkey River (a navigable tributary of the York River ) at White House Landing where the Richmond and York River Railroad extending to Richmond crossed, and commandeered the railroad , transporting steam locomotives and rolling stock to the site by barge. On May 31, as McClellan planned an assault, his army was surprised by a Confederate attack. Johnston saw that the Union army
11880-545: The Shenandoah Valley ) convinced McClellan that he was even more outnumbered than he had thought. He reported to Washington that he faced 200,000 Confederates, perhaps due to a false report on the arrival of another Confederate army P.G.T. Beauregard. The number of men McClellan was actually faced varies, with Joseph Harsh in Confederate Tide Rising placing Lee's army at 112,220 men compared with
12096-510: The Treaty of Versailles (June 18, 1919) officially ending the war, most of the mobilization camps were closed. Nine facilities were placed on "caretaker status"; Camp McClellan was included, intended to be used for special training in the Army's 9th Corps Area. Congress and the public had little interest in maintaining these camps, much less in upgrading them as permanent facilities. In 1926, however, Congress approved funds for permanent facilities, and new buildings were started at Camp McClellan for
12312-518: The Tygart Valley all the way to Cheat River & Cheat Mountain . Confederate general Garnett was killed in a rearguard action on Cheat River at Corrick's ford by Morris' force , and thus Confederate presence had been completely ejected from West Virginia, although Confederate troops were still present in Kanawha under the command of Henry A. Wise and John Floyd . McClellan proceeded to bombastically proclaim that secessionist presence in West Virginia has been completely crushed. McClellan organized
12528-406: The Virginia Peninsula to Richmond, an operation that would be known as the Peninsula Campaign . Then, however, McClellan came under extreme criticism in the press and Congress when it was learned that Johnston's forces had not only slipped away unnoticed, but had for months fooled the Union Army with logs painted black to appear as cannons, nicknamed Quaker Guns . Congress's joint committee visited
12744-442: The fiscal year 2022, the projected end strength for the Regular Army (USA) was 480,893 soldiers; the Army National Guard (ARNG) had 336,129 soldiers and the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) had 188,703 soldiers; the combined-component strength of the U.S. Army was 1,005,725 soldiers. As a branch of the armed forces, the mission of the U.S. Army is "to fight and win our Nation's wars, by providing prompt, sustained land dominance, across
12960-450: The guerrilla hit and run tactics of the communist Viet Cong and the People's Army Of Vietnam (NVA) . During the 1960s, the Department of Defense continued to scrutinize the reserve forces and to question the number of divisions and brigades as well as the redundancy of maintaining two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve . In 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided that 15 combat divisions in
13176-492: The 105,857 under McClellan. Lee continued his offensive at Gaines's Mill to the east. That night, McClellan decided to withdraw his army to a safer base, well below Richmond, on a portion of the James River that was under control of the Union Navy. In doing so, Lee had assumed that the Union army would withdraw to the east toward its existing supply base and McClellan's move to the south delayed Lee's response for at least 24 hours. Ethan Rafuse notes "McClellan's change of base to
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#173278237199013392-434: The 3rd Alabama Volunteer Infantry were at Camp Shipp, but by the end of the year they began to rapidly move out. The camp never fully realized its intended purpose; it was used temporarily as a hospital for patients of the influenza epidemic sweeping Army posts, and then phased out in March 1899. The camp was named for Lt. William E. Shipp of the 10th Cavalry Regiment who was killed in action at Santiago, Cuba while leading
13608-417: The ACS provided numerous courses for officers, non-commissioned officers, and initial-entry soldiers, ranging from general in nature to highly technical. Several allied countries sent their military to train at the School. Upon base closure in 1999 it was transferred to Fort Leonard Wood , Missouri. In 2017–2018, H.R. 3666, The Fort McClellan Health Registry Act, was introduced to Congress, aiming to establish
13824-422: The Alabama National Guard Officer Candidate School . AAFES still runs a post exchange. Fort McClellan is also home to the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) of the Department of Homeland Security . The Noble Training Facility (NTF) was integrated into the CDP training center. In early 1999, the local community leaders of Anniston and Calhoun County established the Fort McClellan Joint Powers Authority for
14040-488: The Anniston to Jacksonville, Alabama , pike. The training blocks were in the northern part of the reservation. An existing Southern Railway line was close by the western boundary; a terminal facility called Remount Depot was built near the southwest corner of the reservation and, farther north, a spur into the camp was constructed. The first troops arrived in late August 1917; by October there were more than 27,000 men from units in New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and
14256-460: The Army (HQDA): See Structure of the United States Army for a detailed treatment of the history , components , administrative and operational structure and the branches and functional areas of the Army. The U.S. Army is made up of three components: the active component, the Regular Army; and two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. Both reserve components are primarily composed of part-time soldiers who train once
14472-401: The Army National Guard members were considered state militia until they were mobilized into the U.S. Army, typically at the onset of war. Since the 1933 amendment to the National Defense Act of 1916 , all Army National Guard soldiers have held dual status. They serve as National Guardsmen under the authority of the governor of their state or territory and as reserve members of the U.S. Army under
14688-411: The Army National Guard were unnecessary and cut the number to eight divisions (one mechanized infantry, two armored, and five infantry), but increased the number of brigades from seven to 18 (one airborne, one armored, two mechanized infantry and 14 infantry). The loss of the divisions did not sit well with the states. Their objections included the inadequate maneuver element mix for those that remained and
14904-452: The Army of the Potomac were strongly influenced by the overblown enemy strength estimates of his secret service chief, detective Allan Pinkerton , but in August 1861, these estimates were entirely McClellan's own. The result was a level of extreme caution that sapped the initiative of McClellan's army and dismayed the government. Historian and biographer Stephen W. Sears observed that McClellan's actions would have been "essentially sound" for
15120-435: The Army of the Potomac, ostensibly so that McClellan would be free to devote all his attention to the move on Richmond. Lincoln's order was ambiguous as to whether McClellan might be restored following a successful campaign. In fact, the general-in-chief position was left unfilled. Lincoln, Stanton, and a group of officers who formed the "War Board" directed the strategic actions of the Union armies that spring. Although McClellan
15336-407: The Base Realignment and Closure commission ( BRAC ), the post employed about 10,000 military personnel (half of whom were permanently assigned) and about 1,500 civilians. It underwent unexploded ordnance ( UXO ) clean up from 2003 to 2014. Since 2010, about 3,000 acres of the post's brownfield land have been redeveloped as a mixed-use community . The portion of the post which has not been redeveloped
15552-566: The Beverely-Fairmont turnpike, retreated in great disorder after hearing of the rebel defeat on Rich Mountain. McClellan in his later report severely criticized Morris for his purported late pursuit of the Confederates after their retreat from there, even though he had extensively instructed Morris earlier to be very cautious and wary in his advance against enemy forces. Rosecrans bitterly complained that his attack on Rich Mountain
15768-570: The British were weakest to wear down their forces. Washington led victories against the British at Trenton and Princeton , but lost a series of battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the Philadelphia campaign in 1777. With a decisive victory at Yorktown and the help of the French, the Continental Army prevailed against the British. After the war, the Continental Army
15984-461: The Canadian province of Upper Canada, British troops who had dubbed the U.S. Army "Regulars, by God!", were able to capture and burn Washington , which was defended by militia, in 1814. The regular army, however, proved they were professional and capable of defeating the British army during the invasions of Plattsburgh and Baltimore , prompting British agreement on the previously rejected terms of
16200-413: The Confederate capital, on May 15. Basing artillery on a strategic bluff high above a bend in the river, and sinking boats to create an impassable series of obstacles in the river itself, the Confederates effectively blocked this potential approach to Richmond. McClellan's army moved towards Richmond over the next three weeks, coming to within four miles (6.4 km) of it. He established a supply base on
16416-406: The Confederates had fortified a line across the Peninsula he hesitated to attack and instead “played it safe”. As Swinton notes "It is possible, however—and there is a considerable volume of evidence bearing upon this point—that General McClellan, during all the earlier portion of the month before Yorktown, had it in his mind, even without McDowell's corps, to undertake the decisive turning movement by
16632-403: The Confederates raised many calls for McClellan's dismissal. McClellan further damaged his reputation by his insulting insubordination to his commander-in-chief. He privately referred to Lincoln, whom he had known before the war as a lawyer for the Illinois Central, as "nothing more than a well-meaning baboon", a "gorilla", and "ever unworthy of ... his high position". On November 13, he snubbed
16848-593: The Crimean war was quickly rushed for publication. This placed him in great demand as the Union mobilized its militia and its armies. The governors of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, the three largest states of the Union, actively pursued him to command their states' militia. McClellan expressed desire to command the state militia of his home state of Pennsylvania, but when the dispatch did not arrive to him as early as he expected it, he departed Illinois for Pennsylvania with
17064-580: The Department of Defense Polygraph Institute. The Military Police School was transferred to Fort Leonard Wood , Missouri, in 1999. The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the U.S. Army. In 1942 it was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and converted to the WAC in 1943. The Women's Army Corps School was founded at Fort McClellan on September 25, 1952. About two years later, official ceremonies were conducted to establish
17280-518: The District of Columbia training at the camp under the 29th Infantry Division , commanded by Major General Charles G. Morton. Other troops included the 1st Separate Negro Company of Maryland, the 6th Division, the 157th Depot Brigade, the 11th and 12th Training Battalions, and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Development Regiments. Following the Armistice with Germany on November 11, 1918, and the signing of
17496-669: The Eastern Theater. Making an amphibious clockwise turning movement around the Confederate Army in northern Virginia, McClellan's forces turned west to move up the Virginia Peninsula, between the James River and York River , landing from Chesapeake Bay , with the Confederate capital, Richmond , as their objective. Initially, McClellan was somewhat successful against General Joseph E. Johnston , but
17712-653: The Eastern Theatre that protected the Capital and the North. He reveled in his newly acquired power and influence: I find myself in a new and strange position here—Presdt, Cabinet, Genl Scott & all deferring to me—by some strange operation of magic I seem to have become the power of the land. ... I almost think that were I to win some small success now I could become Dictator or anything else that might please me—but nothing of that kind would please me— therefore I won't be Dictator. Admirable self-denial! During
17928-533: The Govt. in one way or other." In the fall of 1852, McClellan published a manual on bayonet tactics that he had translated from the original French. He also received an assignment to the Department of Texas, with orders to perform a survey of Texas rivers and harbors. In 1853, he participated in the Pacific Railroad surveys , ordered by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis , to select an appropriate route for
18144-540: The Hart family, whose house was on Rich Mountain, behind the Confederate position, a family with unionist sympathies, walked into McClellan's camp and offered to show the Union troops a route through the woods around the Confederate left, this small trail would eventually turn north and link up with the Buckhannon-Beverly pike that cut through Rich Mountain eastwards to the valley, and then to Cheat River. McClellan
18360-518: The IRTC, there was training at Fort McClellan of special troops such the 92nd Infantry Division with African-American soldiers from all states. The 92nd Division trained during 1942–1943, then were deployed overseas to fight in Italian campaigns. During the war, Fort McClellan became the temporary home for many captured enemy soldiers; a 3,000-capacity Prison Internment Camp for prisoners of war (POWs)
18576-544: The James, however, thwarted Lee's attempt to do this. Not only did McClellan's decision allow the Federals to gain control of the time and place for the battles that took place in late June and early July, it enabled them to fight in a way that inflicted terrible beating on the Confederate army....More importantly, by the end of the Seven Days Battles, McClellan had dramatically improved his operational situation." But McClellan
18792-545: The National Guard, while all states maintain regulations for state militias . State militias are both "organized", meaning that they are armed forces usually part of the state defense forces, or "unorganized" simply meaning that all able-bodied males may be eligible to be called into military service. The U.S. Army is also divided into several branches and functional areas . Branches include officers, warrant officers, and enlisted Soldiers while functional areas consist of officers who are reclassified from their former branch into
19008-521: The North the only engagements bearing a semblance of victory. He traveled by special train on the main Pennsylvania line from Wheeling through Pittsburgh , Philadelphia , and Baltimore , and on to Washington City , and was greeted by enthusiastic crowds that met his train along the way. Carl Sandburg wrote, "McClellan was the man of the hour, pointed to by events, and chosen by an overwhelming weight of public and private opinion." On July 26,
19224-715: The ORC and ERC were combined into the United States Army Reserve . The Army of the United States was re-established for the Korean War and Vietnam War and was demobilized upon the suspension of the draft . Currently, the Army is divided into the Regular Army , the Army Reserve, and the Army National Guard . Some states further maintain state defense forces , as a type of reserve to
19440-531: The Peninsula against McClellan's advance with a vastly smaller force. He created a false impression of many troops behind the lines and of even more troops arriving. He accomplished this by marching small groups of men repeatedly past places where they could be observed at a distance or were just out of sight, accompanied by great noise and fanfare. During this time, General Johnston was able to provide Magruder with reinforcements, but even then there were far fewer troops than McClellan believed were opposite him. After
19656-493: The Potomac grew in number from 50,000 in July to 168,000 in November, becoming the largest military force the United States had raised until that time. But this was also a time of tension in the high command, as he continued to quarrel frequently with the government and the general-in-chief, Lt. Gen. Scott, on matters of strategy. McClellan rejected the tenets of Scott's Anaconda Plan , favoring instead an overwhelming grand battle, in
19872-458: The Revolutionary War progressed, French aid, resources, and military thinking helped shape the new army. A number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben , who taught Prussian Army tactics and organizational skills. The Army fought numerous pitched battles, and sometimes used Fabian strategy and hit-and-run tactics in the South in 1780 and 1781; under Major General Nathanael Greene , it hit where
20088-663: The Southwest. Grant took command of Union forces in 1864 and after a series of battles with very heavy casualties, he had General Robert E. Lee under siege in Richmond as General William T. Sherman captured Atlanta and marched through Georgia and the Carolinas . The Confederate capital was abandoned in April 1865 and Lee subsequently surrendered his army at Appomattox Court House. All other Confederate armies surrendered within
20304-605: The Training Brigade relocated to Fort Leonard Wood , Missouri, integrating with their Engineer School to form the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence . The DoD Polygraph Institute relocated to Fort Jackson , South Carolina. A portion of Fort McClellan continues to be operated by the Alabama National Guard including the Fort McClellan Army National Guard Training Center for field training, as well
20520-662: The U.S. Army School/Training Center and Fort McClellan. During 1969, this Training Brigade, along with the Women's Army Corps Center and the Army Chemical School, made Fort McClellan the only U.S. Army installation in the United States with three major missions. After training more than 30,000 men forces in Vietnam were reduced, and the Training Infantry Brigade was deactivated in April 1970. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 authorized
20736-505: The Union Army, 1861–1862. Camp McClellan was one of 32 mobilization camps formed to quickly train men for World War I . Like the other National Guard mobilization facilities, Camp McClellan used hastily constructed wooden buildings for headquarters, mess halls, latrines, and showers, with rows of wooden-floored tents for housing the troops. There were 26 blocks of training areas composed of central buildings and tents, each designated for
20952-404: The Union armies. The president expressed his concern about the "vast labor" involved in the dual role of army commander and general-in-chief, but McClellan responded, "I can do it all." Lincoln, as well as many other leaders and citizens of the northern states, became increasingly impatient with McClellan's slowness to attack the Confederate forces still massed near Washington. The Union defeat at
21168-480: The United States and is part of the Department of the Army , which is one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense . The U.S. Army is headed by a civilian senior appointed civil servant, the secretary of the Army (SECARMY), and by a chief military officer , the chief of staff of the Army (CSA) who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . It is the largest military branch, and in
21384-540: The United States (the "Union" or "the North") formed the Union Army , consisting of a small body of regular army units and a large body of volunteer units raised from every state, north and south, except South Carolina . For the first two years, Confederate forces did well in set battles but lost control of the border states. The Confederates had the advantage of defending a large territory in an area where disease caused twice as many deaths as combat. The Union pursued
21600-545: The United States Army from November 1861 to March 1862. He was also an engineer, and was chief engineer and vice president of the Illinois Central Railroad , and later president of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad in 1860. A West Point graduate, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican–American War before leaving the United States Army to serve as a railway executive and engineer until
21816-405: The United States Army was maintained as a small peacetime force to man permanent forts and perform other non-wartime duties such as engineering and construction works. During times of war, the U.S. Army was augmented by the much larger United States Volunteers which were raised independently by various state governments. States also maintained full-time militias which could also be called into
22032-572: The War Department) was outraged that McClellan refused to divulge any details about his strategic planning, or even such basic information as the strengths and dispositions of his units. McClellan claimed he could not trust anyone in the administration to keep his plans secret from the press, and thus the enemy. In the course of a disagreement about defensive forces on the Potomac River, McClellan wrote to his wife on August 10: "Genl Scott
22248-468: The abandoned Confederate lines and radical Republicans introduced a resolution demanding the dismissal of McClellan, but it was narrowly defeated by a parliamentary maneuver. The second crisis was the emergence of the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia , which threw Washington into a panic and made naval support operations on the James River seem problematic. On March 11, 1862, Lincoln removed McClellan as general-in-chief, leaving him in command of only
22464-423: The acquisition process for the future. In order to support the Army's modernization priorities, its FY2020 budget allocated $ 30 billion for the top six modernization priorities over the next five years. The $ 30 billion came from $ 8 billion in cost avoidance and $ 22 billion in terminations. The task of organizing the U.S. Army commenced in 1775. In the first one hundred years of its existence,
22680-582: The activity was redesignated a Recruit Training Center. The number of troops being trained dwindled rapidly, and the installation was placed on inactive status on June 30, 1947; only a small maintenance crew remained on the post. Under pressure from the Alabama Congressional Delegation, in early 1950, the Army began plans to again use the area for National Guard training. With the onset of the Korean War in June 1950, these plans were accelerated. Brigadier General Theodore R. Wessels
22896-429: The administration who believed he was attempting to implement the policies of the opposition party. The immediate problem with McClellan's war strategy was that he was convinced the Confederates were ready to attack him with overwhelming numbers. On August 8, believing that the Confederacy had over 100,000 troops facing him (in contrast to the 35,000 they had actually deployed at Bull Run a few weeks earlier), he declared
23112-491: The agreement, both the United States and Egypt agreed that there would be a joint military training led by both countries that would usually take place every 2 years, that exercise is known as Exercise Bright Star . The 1980s was mostly a decade of reorganization. The Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 created unified combatant commands bringing the army together with the other four military services under unified, geographically organized command structures. The army also played
23328-597: The army began acquiring fixed-wing aircraft . In 1910, during the Mexican Revolution , the army was deployed to U.S. towns near the border to ensure the safety of lives and property. In 1916, Pancho Villa , a major rebel leader, attacked Columbus, New Mexico , prompting a U.S. intervention in Mexico until 7 February 1917. They fought the rebels and the Mexican federal troops until 1918. The United States joined World War I as an "Associated Power" in 1917 on
23544-637: The army commander's prerogatives. He called a council of war at the White House in which McClellan's subordinates were asked about their confidence in the Urbanna plan. They expressed their confidence to varying degrees. After the meeting, Lincoln issued another order, naming specific officers as corps commanders to report to McClellan (who had been reluctant to do so prior to assessing his division commanders' effectiveness in combat, even though this would have meant his direct supervision of twelve divisions in
23760-593: The army, I would like to borrow it for a time." On January 12, 1862, McClellan was summoned to the White House, where the Cabinet demanded to hear his war plans. For the first time, he revealed his intentions to transport the Army of the Potomac by ship to Urbanna , Virginia, on the Rappahannock River , outflanking the Confederate forces near Washington, and proceeding 50 miles (80 km) overland to capture Richmond. He refused to give any specific details of
23976-613: The assignment to be an official observer of the European armies in the Crimean War in 1855 as part of the Delafield Commission, led by Richard Delafield . Traveling widely, and interacting with the highest military commands and royal families, McClellan observed the siege of Sevastopol . Upon his return to the United States in 1856, he requested an assignment in Philadelphia to prepare his report, which contained
24192-619: The authority of the president, in the Army National Guard of the United States. Since the adoption of the total force policy, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, reserve component soldiers have taken a more active role in U.S. military operations. For example, Reserve and Guard units took part in the Gulf War , peacekeeping in Kosovo , Afghanistan, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq . [REDACTED] Headquarters, United States Department of
24408-496: The base without ever coordinating with other service units. The McClellan Vets group points to this Bacillus spraying as a direct match to the other CBRNE test sites that included PROJECT SHAD. To date, there are a total of ten significant environmental spill sites that have been identified by the medical patient group of the Fort McClellan service veterans. The veterans argue that the sciences for toxicity have changed over
24624-662: The building, as part of the September 11 attacks . In response to the 11 September attacks and as part of the Global War on Terror , U.S. and NATO forces invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, displacing the Taliban government. The U.S. Army also led the combined U.S. and allied invasion of Iraq in 2003; it served as the primary source for ground forces with its ability to sustain short and long-term deployment operations. In
24840-497: The chemical school and the MP school. The official closing ceremony was held on May 20, 1999, at which Major General Ralph G. Wooten, Commanding General and Chemical School Commandant (1996–1999), conveyed thanks from the Department of the Army to Fort McClellan and the surrounding communities: For more than 81 years, Fort McClellan set the standard of excellence in training America's sons and daughters to defend freedom in two world wars and
25056-563: The citizens there that his forces had no intentions of interfering with personal property—including slaves. "Notwithstanding all that has been said by the traitors to induce you to believe that our advent among you will be signalized by interference with your slaves, understand one thing clearly—not only will we abstain from all such interference but we will on the contrary with an iron hand, crush any attempted insurrection on their part." He quickly realized that he had overstepped his bounds and apologized by letter to President Lincoln. The controversy
25272-466: The combatant commanders for use as directed by the secretary of defense. By 2013, the army shifted to six geographical commands that align with the six geographical unified combatant commands (CCMD): The army also transformed its base unit from divisions to brigades . Division lineage will be retained, but the divisional headquarters will be able to command any brigade, not just brigades that carry their divisional lineage. The central part of this plan
25488-526: The day he reached the capital, McClellan was appointed commander of the Military Division of the Potomac, the main Union force responsible for the defense of Washington. On August 20, several military units in Virginia were consolidated into his department and he immediately formed the Army of the Potomac, with himself as its first commander. This Army became the primary force in the Union army in
25704-472: The defined category of "Commercial Visitors". http://www.annistoncag.org/uploadedFiles/Final_Pathways_Analysis_Report%20%20Nov%2008(1).pdf To date, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs has refused to acknowledge or comply with this important toxic exposure declaration. The Dept. of Veterans Affairs has repeatedly refused to do any health studies whatsoever on the Fort McClellan service veterans, and then has tried to use
25920-452: The emergence of General Robert E. Lee to command the Army of Northern Virginia turned the subsequent Seven Days Battles into a Union defeat. However, historians note that Lee's victory was in many ways pyrrhic as he failed to destroy the Army of the Potomac and suffered a bloody repulse at Malvern Hill . McClellan and President Abraham Lincoln developed a mutual distrust, and McClellan
26136-631: The end of FY2017. From 2016 to 2017, the Army retired hundreds of OH-58 Kiowa Warrior observation helicopters, while retaining its Apache gunships. The 2015 expenditure for Army research, development and acquisition changed from $ 32 billion projected in 2012 for FY15 to $ 21 billion for FY15 expected in 2014. By 2017, a task force was formed to address Army modernization, which triggered shifts of units: CCDC , and ARCIC , from within Army Materiel Command (AMC), and Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), respectively, to
26352-439: The end to the practice of rotating divisional commands among the states that supported them. Under the proposal, the remaining division commanders were to reside in the state of the division base. However, no reduction in total Army National Guard strength was to take place, which convinced the governors to accept the plan. The states reorganized their forces accordingly between 1 December 1967 and 1 May 1968. The Total Force Policy
26568-461: The field). Two more crises would confront McClellan before he could implement his plans. The Confederate forces under General Joseph E. Johnston withdrew from their positions before Washington, assuming new positions south of the Rappahannock, which completely nullified the Urbanna strategy. McClellan revised his plans to have his troops disembark at Fort Monroe , Virginia , and advance up
26784-478: The final ceremony was Major General Mary E. Clarke , the last director of the Women's Army Corps and soon appointed the Commanding General of Fort McClellan (1978–1980), the first female officer ever to command a major U.S. Army installation. In 1966, to meet special infantry needs of the Vietnam War, an Advanced Individual Training Infantry Brigade was activated at Fort McClellan. The Fort was renamed
27000-580: The following years, the mission changed from conflict between regular militaries to counterinsurgency , resulting in the deaths of more than 4,000 U.S. service members (as of March 2008) and injuries to thousands more. 23,813 insurgents were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. Until 2009, the army's chief modernization plan, its most ambitious since World War II, was the Future Combat Systems program. In 2009, many systems were canceled, and
27216-587: The forces that landed in French North Africa and took Tunisia and then moved on to Sicily and later fought in Italy . In the June 1944 landings in northern France and in the subsequent liberation of Europe and defeat of Nazi Germany , millions of U.S. Army troops played a central role. In 1947, the number of soldiers in the US Army had decreased from eight million in 1945 to 684,000 soldiers and
27432-420: The full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict, in support of combatant commanders ". The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of the United States of America. The United States Army serves as the land-based branch of the U.S. Armed Forces . Section 7062 of Title 10, U.S. Code defines the purpose of the army as: In 2018,
27648-643: The future economic development of the former fort. In 2014, ordnance cleanup was completed after 11 years of environmental remediation . As of September 2015, more than 3,100 acres are back in use 3,000 are for sale, and a little more than 3,000 acres are set to go up for sale in the next three to five years. Carved from the developed portions of the original reservation, McClellan is a 10,000-acre (40.0-km) master-planned, mixed-use community offering opportunities for residential, commercial, industrial, retail, education, research, and technology development. Since its opening, McClellan has become home to over 900 residents and
27864-685: The geographical status quo. Both navies kept the warships they had seized during the conflict. The army's major campaign against the Indians was fought in Florida against Seminoles . It took long wars (1818–1858) to finally defeat the Seminoles and move them to Oklahoma. The usual strategy in Indian wars was to seize control of the Indians' winter food supply, but that was no use in Florida where there
28080-471: The guidance would reverse the Total Force Policy which is an "essential ingredient to the successful application of military force". On 11 September 2001, 53 Army civilians (47 employees and six contractors) and 22 soldiers were among the 125 victims killed in the Pentagon in a terrorist attack when American Airlines Flight 77 commandeered by five Al-Qaeda hijackers slammed into the western side of
28296-481: The headquarters, many new temporary wooden buildings were constructed and all of the buildings remaining from World War I were upgraded. In October 1940, the 27th Infantry Division of the New York National Guard was inducted into federal service and sent to Fort McClellan. New housing for trainees was not yet available; the majority of the men of the 27th lived in tents until leaving at the start of
28512-522: The headquarters, officer quarters, barracks, and a central hospital. On July 1, 1929, by War Department order, the post was designated Fort McClellan and a permanent installation. This would be a post for one regiment of Infantry having 1,500 officers and men and a summer camp with a capacity for 6,400 civilian trainees. As the Great Depression started, unspent funds initially allocated for military construction were diverted into programs to stem
28728-469: The hiring of 500 additional United States Border Patrol Agents. The original Border Patrol academy was not able to accommodate such a large class size, so a satellite academy was built on Fort McClellan. The 226th class of Border Patrol basic training was the only class to utilize the satellite academy. Despite plans for additional basic training classes, the Border Patrol never returned and the idea
28944-452: The intent of commanding its state militia. On his way there, he stopped at Columbus to discuss the military situation in the Ohio valley with Ohio governor William Dennison . Dennison was impressed with McClellan and offered him command of the state militia on the spot, which he accepted. Pennsylvania's governor had in fact already sent a wire to McClellan offering him command of the Pennsylvania state militia, but he did not receive this until
29160-771: The last of the American Indian Wars . U.S. Army troops also occupied several Southern states during the Reconstruction Era to protect freedmen . The key battles of the Spanish–American War of 1898 were fought by the Navy. Using mostly new volunteers , the U.S. forces defeated Spain in land campaigns in Cuba and played the central role in the Philippine–American War . Starting in 1910,
29376-748: The minor Battle of Ball's Bluff near Leesburg in October added to the frustration and indirectly damaged McClellan. In December, the Congress formed a Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War , which became a thorn in the side of many generals throughout the war, accusing them of incompetence and, in some cases, treason. McClellan was called as the first witness on December 23, but he contracted typhoid fever and could not attend. Instead, his subordinate officers testified, and their candid admissions that they had no knowledge of specific strategies for advancing against
29592-482: The mountain. The next day the demoralized Confederate troops retreated from Rich Mountain through trails that took them northwards and then attempted to move eastwards back to Beverly on the Tygart valley. A harrowing pursuit caused several hundred, including Pegram, to surrender next day, and the battle of Rich Mountain ended in a decisive Union victory. Confederate troops 15 km north-west, defending Laurel Mountain on
29808-418: The mountains. This force beset the rebels at Laurel Mountain on July 7. His first personal command in battle was at Rich Mountain , where McClellan was plagued by hesitation and his erroneous idea that he was facing a sizeable Confederate force. McClellan wished to flank the strong Confederate position at Rich Mountain but found no avenue to do so, and ordered his forces into a preliminary siege. A young boy from
30024-494: The name of the CCS was changed to the U.S. Army Chemical Center and School. Also in 1962, the U.S. Army Combat Development Command Chemical Biological-Radiological Agency, moved to Fort McClellan. In 1973 both of these operations were relocated to Edgewood Arsenal , Maryland, aka Aberdeen Proving Ground. In 1979 the moves were reversed, with the U.S. Army Chemical School (ACS) relocating from Edgewood to Fort McClellan. After reorganizing,
30240-522: The near vicinity, which were eventually used for railroads and interstate highways. The governor ordered McClellan to turn over his expedition logbooks, but McClellan steadfastly refused, most likely because of embarrassing personal comments that he had made throughout his adventures. Returning to the East, McClellan began courting his future wife, Ellen Mary Marcy (1836–1915), the daughter of his former commander. Ellen, or Nelly, refused McClellan's first proposal of marriage, one of nine that she received from
30456-486: The next day. McClellan was commissioned a major general of volunteers and took command of the Ohio militia on April 23, 1861. Unlike some of his fellow Union officers who came from abolitionist families, he was opposed to federal interference with slavery. For this reason, some of his Southern colleagues approached him informally about siding with the Confederacy, but he could not accept the concept of secession . On May 3 McClellan re-entered federal service as commander of
30672-411: The north side of the York. In this event, it would not only be in the direction of his plan to make no attack, but it would play into his hands that his opponent should accumulate his forces on the Peninsula. Yet this halting between two opinions had the result that, when he had abandoned the purpose of making the turning movement, it had become too late for him to make a direct attack." McClellan asked for
30888-400: The opinion of his chief engineer John G. Barnard , who recommended against an assault. This caused him to decide on a siege of the city, which required considerable preparation. McClellan continued to believe intelligence reports that credited the Confederates with two or three times the men they actually had. Early in the campaign, Confederate General John B. "Prince John" Magruder defended
31104-427: The orders never reached Rosecrans. Finally, after an exhausting march, Rosecrans took up positions south of the Hart home and launched a vigorous attack up the hill to the Hart farm. Confederate troops, who were under the overall command of general John Pegram , attempted a defense and moved two guns to the road to repulse this attack, which was well east of the main Confederate position on Rich Mountain. Another regiment
31320-407: The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. Early in the conflict, McClellan was appointed to the rank of major general and played an important role in raising the Army of the Potomac , which served in the Eastern Theater . McClellan organized and led the Union Army in the Peninsula campaign in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862. It was the first large-scale offensive in
31536-425: The patient lockout as their reason to not acknowledge that the soldiers are actually a toxic exposure patient group. In 2015 it was discovered that the VA didn't even know how to conduct a national Cumulative Health Risk Assessment on the veterans, and were still holding onto the obsolete patient screening practices of "aggregate" or single-source toxic assessments. The service veterans contend that their illnesses are
31752-400: The plan originally envisioned. This was the first land conflict of the war. McClellan then split his forces up, one column went under the command of general Thomas A. Morris , marched to the Beverly-Fairmont turnpike to attack Confederate troops defending Laurel Mountain, who were under command of Confederate general Robert S. Garnett , and secure the northern road leading to the valley east of
31968-408: The planned transcontinental railroad . McClellan surveyed the western portion of the northern corridor along the 47th and 49th parallels from St. Paul to the Puget Sound . In doing so, he demonstrated a tendency for insubordination toward senior political figures. Isaac Stevens , governor of the Washington Territory , became dissatisfied with McClellan's performance in his scouting of passes across
32184-412: The post as the first permanent home of the U.S. Women's Army Corps Center, the WACC. The WAC provided the receiving, processing, and training operations for all female officers and enlisted personnel entering the U.S. Army. Civilian summer training was also conducted at the WAC during the 1950s. Fort McClellan remained its home until the Corps was disestablished and its flag retired in 1978. Participating in
32400-417: The president, who had come to visit McClellan's house, by making him wait for 30 minutes, only to be told that the general had gone to bed and could not receive him. On January 10, 1862, Lincoln met with top generals (McClellan did not attend) and directed them to formulate a plan of attack, expressing his exasperation with General McClellan with the following remark: "If General McClellan does not want to use
32616-430: The proposed campaign, even to his friend, newly appointed War Secretary Edwin M. Stanton . On January 27, Lincoln issued an order that required all of his armies to begin offensive operations by February 22, Washington's birthday . On January 31, he issued a supplementary order for the Army of the Potomac to move overland to attack the Confederates at Manassas Junction and Centreville . McClellan immediately replied with
32832-436: The protection of Saudi Arabia . In January 1991 Operation Desert Storm commenced, a U.S.-led coalition which deployed over 500,000 troops, the bulk of them from U.S. Army formations, to drive out Iraqi forces . The campaign ended in total victory, as Western coalition forces routed the Iraqi Army . Some of the largest tank battles in history were fought during the Gulf war. The Battle of Medina Ridge , Battle of Norfolk and
33048-437: The purpose of overseeing the redevelopment and reuse of Fort McClellan. On April 30, 2009, Alabama Governor Bob Riley signed into law Act # 2009-337 authorizing "the incorporation of development authorities for the purpose of developing real and personal property of closed military installations in Alabama." In March 2010, the McClellan Development Authority was officially certified as a non-profit public corporation charged with
33264-661: The refuge. Work is underway to restore the environment from the ecological problems introduced by the long use of the area for Army field training. Recently the Veterans Administration has established a page under the heading "Potential Exposure at Fort McClellan - Public Health" That page in part, states the following: "Some members of the U.S. Army Chemical Corp School, Army Combat Development Command Chemical/Biological/Radiological Agency, Army Military Police School and Women's Army Corps, among others, may have been exposed to one or more of several hazardous materials, likely at low levels, during their service at Fort McClellan". In 2016,
33480-412: The remaining were swept into the BCT modernization program . By 2017, the Brigade Modernization project was completed and its headquarters, the Brigade Modernization Command, was renamed the Joint Modernization Command, or JMC. In response to Budget sequestration in 2013 , Army plans were to shrink to 1940 levels, although actual Active-Army end-strengths were projected to fall to some 450,000 troops by
33696-421: The river and Marcy named a small tributary McClellan's Creek . Upon their arrival on July 28, they were astonished to find that they had been given up for dead. A sensational story had reached the press that the expedition had been ambushed by 2,000 Comanches and killed to the last man. McClellan blamed the story on "a set of scoundrels, who seek to keep up agitation on the frontier in order to get employment from
33912-439: The scale to force an improvement in the condition of those poor blacks." He later wrote that had it been his place to arrange the terms of peace, he would have insisted on gradual emancipation, guarding the rights of both slaves and masters, as part of any settlement. But he made no secret of his opposition to the Radical Republicans. He told Ellen, "I will not fight for the abolitionists." This put him in opposition with officials of
34128-403: The service chiefs from each of the four military services belonging to the Department of Defense who advise the president of the United States , the secretary of defense and the National Security Council on operational military matters, under the guidance of the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . In 1986, the Goldwater–Nichols Act mandated that operational control of
34344-413: The service of the army. By the twentieth century, the U.S. Army had mobilized the U.S. Volunteers on four occasions during each of the major wars of the nineteenth century. During World War I, the " National Army " was organized to fight the conflict, replacing the concept of U.S. Volunteers. It was demobilized at the end of World War I and was replaced by the Regular Army, the Organized Reserve Corps, and
34560-456: The services follows a chain of command from the president to the secretary of defense directly to the unified combatant commanders , who have control of all armed forces units in their geographic or function area of responsibility, thus the secretaries of the military departments (and their respective service chiefs underneath them) only have the responsibility to organize, train and equip their service components. The army provides trained forces to
34776-415: The side of Britain , France , Russia , Italy and the other Allies . U.S. troops were sent to the Western Front and were involved in the last offensives that ended the war. With the armistice in November 1918, the army once again decreased its forces. In 1939, estimates of the Army's strength ranged between 174,000 and 200,000 soldiers, smaller than that of Portugal 's, which ranked it 17th or 19th in
34992-475: The southeastern United States. As a relatively new wildlife refuge, Mountain Longleaf has not yet developed any sizable tourist facilities. A single information kiosk is located at the junction of Bain's Gap Road and Ridge Road South, near the center of the McClellan community. Additionally, part of the reserve is closed to the general public, pending environmental cleanup. Otherwise, there are limited opportunities for hiking, photography, and wildlife observation at
35208-443: The southern mind and an understanding of the political and military implications of the sectional differences in the United States that led to the Civil War. He graduated at age 19 in 1846, second in his class of 59 cadets, losing the top position to Charles Seaforth Stewart only because of inferior drawing skills. He was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . McClellan's first assignment
35424-603: The spill sites at the base, to confirm whether or not it was a part of the infamous PROJECT 112 battery of military experiments that started up in the 1960s. Fort McClellan was also the site of open air burn pits that were used in staging the CBRNE tests around the base until 1975. Potential exposures could have included, but are not limited to, the following: Radioactive compounds (cesium-137 and cobalt-60) used in decontamination training activities in isolated locations on base; Chemical warfare agents (mustard gas and nerve agents) used in secret military experiments and CBRNE field tests on
35640-460: The standard support role in an army. The U.S. Army's conventional combat capability currently consists of 11 active divisions and 1 deployable division headquarters (7th Infantry Division) as well as several independent maneuver units. George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of
35856-443: The state militias. In the 1920s and 1930s, the "career" soldiers were known as the " Regular Army " with the "Enlisted Reserve Corps" and "Officer Reserve Corps" augmented to fill vacancies when needed. In 1941, the " Army of the United States " was founded to fight World War II. The Regular Army, Army of the United States, the National Guard, and Officer/Enlisted Reserve Corps (ORC and ERC) existed simultaneously. After World War II,
36072-447: The state of West Virginia . He had received intelligence reports on May 26 that the critical Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bridges in that portion of the state were being burned. He quickly implemented plans to invade the region. Confederate general George A. Porterfield was in charge of defending western Virginia with most of the rebel forces based at Grafton . McClellan triggered his first serious political controversy by proclaiming to
36288-402: The states of California , Nevada , Utah , Colorado , Arizona , Wyoming and New Mexico . The American Civil War was the costliest war for the U.S. in terms of casualties. After most slave states , located in the southern U.S., formed the Confederate States , the Confederate States Army , led by former U.S. Army officers, mobilized a large fraction of Southern white manpower. Forces of
36504-412: The statutory authority to conduct all the affairs of the army under the authority, direction, and control of the secretary of defense . The chief of staff of the Army , who is the highest-ranked military officer in the army, serves as the principal military adviser and executive agent for the secretary of the Army, i.e., its service chief; and as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , a body composed of
36720-442: The subsequently formed Army of the Potomac had high morale and was extremely proud of their general, some even referring to McClellan as the savior of Washington. He prevented the army's morale from collapsing at least twice, in the aftermath of the First and Second Battles of Bull Run. Many historians argue that he was talented in this aspect. On November 1, 1861, Winfield Scott retired and McClellan became general-in-chief of all
36936-461: The summer and fall, McClellan brought a high degree of organization to his new army, and greatly improved its morale with frequent trips to review and encourage his units. It was a remarkable achievement, in which he came to personify the Army of the Potomac and reaped the adulation of his men. He created defenses for Washington that were almost impregnable, consisting of 48 forts and strong points, with 480 guns manned by 7,200 artillerists. The Army of
37152-400: The takeover of South Korea by North Korea and later to invade the northern nation. After repeated advances and retreats by both sides and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army 's entry into the war, the Korean Armistice Agreement returned the peninsula to the status quo in July 1953. The Vietnam War is often regarded as a low point for the U.S. Army due to the use of drafted personnel ,
37368-561: The terrain highly suitable for artillery training, and advocated purchase of the land. On March 17, 1917, the Federal Government acquired 18,952 acres (76.70 km) of this land for $ 247,000 (equivalent to $ 5,874,109 in 2023). On April 6, 1917, Congress declared war on Germany and it has been suggested that without it "it’s likely that Fort McClellan as we remember it would never have been born". The Department of War formally established Camp McClellan on July 18, 1917, named in honor of Major General George B. McClellan , General-in-Chief of
37584-463: The theater for the joint force, and to integrate national, multinational, and joint power on land. The Continental Army was created on 14 June 1775 by the Second Continental Congress as a unified army for the colonies to fight Great Britain , with George Washington appointed as its commander. The army was initially led by men who had served in the British Army or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As
37800-426: The thousands of men who were volunteering for service and to set up training camps, he also applied his mind to grand strategy. He wrote a letter to Gen. Scott on April 27, four days after assuming command in Ohio, that presented the first proposal for a strategy for the war. It contained two alternatives, each envisioning a prominent role for himself as commander. The first would use 80,000 men to invade Virginia through
38016-417: The total number of active divisions had dropped from 89 to 12. The leaders of the Army saw this demobilization as a success. In the Pacific War , U.S. Army soldiers participated alongside the United States Marine Corps in capturing the Pacific Islands from Japanese control. Following the Axis surrenders in May (Germany) and August (Japan) of 1945, army troops were deployed to Japan and Germany to occupy
38232-399: The troops without ever warning them; friable indoors asbestos pollution inside the barracks buildings which all required remedial cleanup actions; a (TCE) SuperFund contamination site at the Anniston Army Depot where commuter workforce veterans worked who were living at the barracks at Fort McClellan; and full-face exposures to CS Riot Control gas for military qualifying classes. There was also
38448-676: The two defeated nations. Two years after World War II, the Army Air Forces separated from the army to become the United States Air Force in September 1947. In 1948, the army was desegregated by order 9981 of President Harry S. Truman . The end of World War II set the stage for the East–West confrontation known as the Cold War . With the outbreak of the Korean War , concerns over the defense of Western Europe rose. Two corps, V and VII , were reactivated under Seventh United States Army in 1950 and U.S. strength in Europe rose from one division to four. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops remained stationed in West Germany, with others in Belgium ,
38664-409: The unemployment. Construction on the permanent facilities slowed, but in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt allocated Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds for Fort McClellan. In the next three years, an estimated $ 1,785,000 (equivalent to $ 39,192,950 in 2023) in WPA funds was used for constructing new roads, the Fort McClellan Army Airfield , and additional permanent buildings. Included
38880-452: The unpopularity of the war with the U.S. public and frustrating restrictions placed on the military by U.S. political leaders. While U.S. forces had been stationed in South Vietnam since 1959, in intelligence and advising/training roles, they were not deployed in large numbers until 1965, after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident . U.S. forces effectively established and maintained control of the "traditional" battlefield, but they struggled to counter
39096-425: The unsuccessful Democratic Party nominee in the 1864 presidential election against the Republican Lincoln. The effectiveness of his campaign was damaged when McClellan repudiated his party's platform, which promised an end to the war and negotiations with the Confederacy. He served as the governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881; in McClellan's later writings, he vigorously defended his Civil War conduct. McClellan
39312-726: The war in December 1941, and were soon deployed throughout the Pacific Theater of Operations . About $ 6.5 million in Federal Funding was made available for construction to accommodate quarters and other facilities for up to 50,000 military personnel at Fort McClellan. Overall improvements included 74 miles (118 km) of new roads, sewage facilities for 50,000 persons, a huge general hospital with 80 wooden buildings connected by 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of catwalks, 5 theaters plus an amphitheater seating 12,000 persons, 27 warehouses, and many ammunition–storage bunkers. Hundreds of five- and fifteen-man hutments, arranged in Company-level groups, were built for personnel being trained. Colonel John L. Jenkins
39528-417: The world in size. General George C. Marshall became Army chief of staff in September 1939 and set about expanding and modernizing the Army in preparation for war. The United States joined World War II in December 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . Some 11 million Americans were to serve in various Army operations. On the European front , U.S. Army troops formed a significant portion of
39744-451: The years, and that multiple or mixtures or combinations of low-dose exposures are just as harmful to human health as short bursts of high-dose events. https://www.gao.gov/products/NSIAD-98-228 In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a final Pathways Report on the Aroclor PCB contamination zone caused by a former Monsanto Factory, and the Fort McClellan Veterans are covered by the exposed population declarations in this report under
39960-404: Was Pennsylvania Dutch . The couple had five children: Frederica, John, George, Arthur, and Mary. One of McClellan's great-grandfathers was Samuel McClellan of Woodstock, Connecticut , a brigadier general who served during the Revolutionary War . McClellan initially intended to follow his father into the medical profession, and attended a private academy, which was followed by enrollment in
40176-415: Was a radio facility with a high-power transmitter (call letters WUR) for Morse-code communications, Most of the buildings were Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in style. During the 1930s, the Army 22nd Infantry Regiment had the role of Post Garrison, responsible for training units of the Army's Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), units within the Organized Reserve , and the annual encampment of
40392-437: Was abandoned. During the last decades of the 20th century, Fort McClellan was 'home' for an average military population of about 10,000 people, including about 5,000 who were permanently assigned, and employed about 1,500 civilians. In 1995, the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission voted to permanently close Fort McClellan. No Troops were sent to this base after 1995 due to it being closed, except for basic training,
40608-522: Was accepted at the United States Military Academy in 1842 at the age of 15, with the academy waiving its usual minimum age of 16. At West Point, he was an energetic and ambitious cadet, deeply interested in the teachings of Dennis Hart Mahan and the theoretical strategic principles of Antoine-Henri Jomini . His closest friends were aristocratic southerners including George Pickett , Dabney Maury , Cadmus Wilcox , and A. P. Hill . These associations gave McClellan what he considered to be an appreciation of
40824-439: Was adopted by Chief of Staff of the Army General Creighton Abrams in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and involved treating the three components of the army – the Regular Army , the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve as a single force. General Abrams' intertwining of the three components of the army effectively made extended operations impossible without the involvement of both the Army National Guard and Army Reserve in
41040-685: Was also tacitly acknowledging that he would no longer be able to invest Richmond, the object of his campaign; the heavy siege artillery required would be almost impossible to transport without the railroad connections available from his original supply base on the York River. In a telegram to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton , reporting on these events, McClellan blamed the Lincoln administration for his reversals. "If I save this army now, I tell you plainly I owe no thanks to you or to any other persons in Washington. You have done your best to sacrifice this army." Fortunately for McClellan, Lincoln never saw that inflammatory statement (at least at that time) because it
41256-469: Was assigned as Commander (1950–1952) and $ 10,000,000 (equivalent to $ 126,639,004 in 2023) in funds were allocated for facility restoration. In 1951, Fort McClellan was officially reactivated, with missions to have a National Guard Training Brigade and to operate the Chemical Corps replacement training center. Wessels is often called the "Father of the New Fort McClellan." Funding was appropriated to build specialized facilities at Fort McClellan for what
41472-490: Was assuaged by supportive comments Lincoln made to him, in time he saw the change of command very differently, describing it as a part of an intrigue "to secure the failure of the approaching campaign". McClellan's army began to sail from Alexandria on March 17. It was an armada that dwarfed all previous American expeditions, transporting 121,500 men, 44 artillery batteries, 1,150 wagons, over 15,000 horses, and tons of equipment and supplies. An English observer remarked that it
41688-662: Was at first very small and after General St. Clair's defeat at the Battle of the Wabash, where more than 800 soldiers were killed, the Regular Army was reorganized as the Legion of the United States , established in 1791 and renamed the United States Army in 1796. In 1798, during the Quasi-War with France, the U.S. Congress established a three-year " Provisional Army " of 10,000 men, consisting of twelve regiments of infantry and six troops of light dragoons . In March 1799, Congress created an "Eventual Army" of 30,000 men, including three regiments of cavalry . Both "armies" existed only on paper, but equipment for 3,000 men and horses
41904-429: Was born in Philadelphia on December 3, 1826, the son of a prominent surgeon, George McClellan , the founder of Jefferson Medical College . His father's family was of Scottish and English heritage. His mother was Elizabeth Sophia Steinmetz Brinton McClellan (1800–1889), daughter of a leading Pennsylvania family, a woman noted for her "considerable grace and refinement." Her father was of English origin, while her mother
42120-445: Was built in 1943. The camp also served to receive prisoners who would go on to three other POW camps in Alabama. At the end of the war in Europe, the camp at Fort McClellan held 2,546 men. A cemetery on the reservation marks 26 German and 3 Italian prisoners of war who died while in captivity. After the war ended with Germany and then Japan, the IRTC at Fort McClellan trained soldiers for occupation duty until November 1946, at which time
42336-521: Was called the Branch Immaterial Training Center. Recruits received eight weeks of basic training, and were then sent elsewhere for combat training or specialized schools. In 1943, this became the Infantry Replacement Training Center (IRTC). Under IRTC, the basic training was increased to nine weeks and included situations corresponding to combat in European areas such as training within simulated urban areas, actions under live artillery fire, and crouching in foxholes with tanks moving overhead. In addition to
42552-405: Was closed in 1999, Fort McClellan was home of the Military Police Corps and the One Station Unit Training (OSUT) Military Police School. Also after World War II until it was closed in 1999, it was home of the Chemical Corps School, which trained soldiers in chemical warfare . In 1988, Fort McClellan was used as an alternate training academy for the United States Border Patrol. Before its closure by
42768-531: Was initially called the Chemical Corps School (CCS). In 1952, the CCS began operations and facilities were completed in 1954. The CCS offered eight weeks of basic training followed by eight weeks devoted to chemical warfare training. In September 1953, Operation Top Hat was conducted at the CCS. Highly secret at the time, and very controversial when revealed, Top Hat used Chemical Corps personnel to test decontamination methods for biological and chemical weapons, including sulfur mustard and nerve agents. In 1962,
42984-420: Was later renamed Anniston and was opened to the public in 1883; by 1890, it had a population of near 10,000 persons. While Fort McClellan was the first and only long-lived United States Army post near Anniston, a temporary facility named Camp Shipp existed there during 1898–1899. The Spanish–American War ended in 1898, but with a final peace settlement still in the future, the U.S. Army had an immediate need for
43200-436: Was no winter. The second strategy was to form alliances with other Indian tribes, but that too was useless because the Seminoles had destroyed all the other Indians when they entered Florida in the late eighteenth century. The U.S. Army fought and won the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), which was a defining event for both countries. The U.S. victory resulted in acquisition of territory that eventually became all or parts of
43416-409: Was not destroyed and most of their troops were successfully moved past Williamsburg to Richmond's outer defenses while the battle was waged and for several days thereafter. McClellan had also placed hopes on a simultaneous naval approach to Richmond via the James River . That approach failed following the Union Navy's defeat at the Battle of Drewry's Bluff , about 7 miles (11 km) downstream from
43632-491: Was not reinforced as McClellan had agreed. McClellan was obliged to absorb all credit for the victory at Rich Mountain, and lent no credit to Rosecrans' performance during the battle. These victories propelled McClellan to the status of national hero. The New York Herald entitled an article about him "Gen. McClellan, the Napoleon of the Present War". After the defeat of Confederate forces at Rich Mountain and Laurel Mountain, Union troops sharply pursued them eastwards across
43848-451: Was not that his proclamation was diametrically opposed to the administration's policy at the time, but that he was so bold in stepping beyond his strictly military role. As his forces moved rapidly into West Virginia across the Beverly-Fairmont turnpike towards Grafton , Confederate forces under the command of General Porterfield retreated quickly before McClellan's superior forces towards Philippi , where Porterfield ordered his forces into
44064-475: Was ordered out of Beverly to link up with the Confederate position at Rich Mountain, this regiment had arrived too late and found the Union troops had overrun the road, captured a Confederate cannon and were holding the road between Beverly and the Confederate troops west of their position on Rich Mountain (behind the rebel defensive line on the road). McClellan heard the sounds of battle from his headquarters but being hesitant, unsure and nervous, ordered no attack on
44280-409: Was ordered to Fort Delaware , a masonry work under construction on an island in the Delaware River , forty miles (65 km) downriver from Philadelphia. In March 1852, he was ordered to report to Capt. Randolph B. Marcy at Fort Smith , Arkansas , to serve as second-in-command on an expedition to discover the sources of the Red River . By June the expedition reached the source of the north fork of
44496-408: Was pleased and ordered his subordinate, Colonel William S. Rosecrans , to lead a contingent of troops, flank the Confederates and take them by surprise. Due to intense rain, a movement that was originally estimated to take an hour or two at most, took more than 7 hours. After a long time without receiving news from Rosecrans, McClellan grew nervous and dispatched an order to call off this attack, but
44712-403: Was privately derisive of Lincoln. He was removed from command in November, in the aftermath of the 1862 midterm elections . A major contributing factor in this decision was McClellan's failure to pursue Lee's army following the tactically inconclusive but strategic Union victory at the Battle of Antietam outside Sharpsburg, Maryland . He never received another field command and went on to become
44928-528: Was procured and stored. The War of 1812 , the second and last war between the United States and Great Britain, had mixed results. The U.S. Army did not conquer Canada but it did destroy Native American resistance to expansion in the Old Northwest and stopped two major British invasions in 1814 and 1815. After taking control of Lake Erie in 1813, the U.S. Army seized parts of western Upper Canada, burned York and defeated Tecumseh , which caused his Western Confederacy to collapse. Following U.S. victories in
45144-439: Was quickly given land certificates and disbanded in a reflection of the republican distrust of standing armies. State militias became the new nation's sole ground army, except a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point 's arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Native Americans , it was soon considered necessary to field a trained standing army. The Regular Army
45360-436: Was raised in that area. At peak, there were officially 2,170 officers and 42,126 enlisted personnel at Fort McClellan. The station complement tripled in number; this complement included two detachments of the Women's Army Corps (WAC). In the war years, a total of nearly 500,000 men were trained at Fort McClellan. Replacing the 27th Division, in 1942, the Army began training new recruits and draftees at Fort McClellan under what
45576-438: Was split in half by the rain-swollen Chickahominy River and hoped to defeat it in detail at Seven Pines and Fair Oaks. McClellan was unable to command the army personally because of a recurrence of malarial fever, but his subordinates were able to repel the attacks. Nevertheless, McClellan received criticism from Washington for not counterattacking, which some believed could have opened the city of Richmond to capture. Johnston
45792-408: Was strong and West Virginians were clamoring for secession from east Virginia. Dennison's office was barraged by many letters from northwestern Virginians requesting military occupation of Northwestern Virginia to protect from potential reprisals from secessionists. McClellan's first military operations were to occupy the area of western Virginia that wanted to remain in the Union and subsequently became
46008-404: Was the "stride of a giant". The army's advance from Fort Monroe up the Virginia Peninsula proved to be slow. McClellan's plan for a rapid seizure of Yorktown was foiled by the removal of 1st Corps from the Army of the Potomac for the defense of Washington. McClellan had hoped to use the 1st Corps to capture Glouchester Point and thus outflank the Confederate position. When he discovered that
46224-406: Was the Commanding Officer (1941–1944) during most of the construction period. The land area of Fort McClellan was also greatly expanded. Directly to the east, a mountainous peninsula connecting to the Talladega National Forest was acquired, allowing access to this Federal Area for training maneuvers. This increased the reservation to a total of 42,286 acres (169.1 km). A few miles to the west,
46440-411: Was with a company of engineers formed at West Point, but he quickly received orders to sail for the Mexican War. He arrived near the mouth of the Rio Grande in October 1846, well prepared for action with a double-barreled shotgun, two pistols, a saber, a dress sword, and a Bowie knife . He complained that he had arrived too late to take any part in the American victory at Monterrey in September. During
46656-409: Was wounded in the battle, and General Robert E. Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia . McClellan spent the next three weeks repositioning his troops and waiting for promised reinforcements. As Lee recounted, McClellan was attempting to make "this a battle of posts" which would lock the Confederate army in an attritional battle with superior Union firepower. At the end of June, Lee began
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