McClellan Takes Command of the Union Army

McClellan and his wife

 With the defeat of the North at Bull Run, George B. McClellan replaced McDowell as commander of their army. Today he issued his General Orders No. 1, in which he formally notified the army of his role as their commander. Although he had only won a few small battles in West Virginia, McClellan was the best hero the North had. He wrote to his wife on this day:

"I find myself in a new and strange position here; President, Cabinet, General Scott, and all deferring to me. By some strange operation of magic I seem to have become the power of the land,"