When this sad war is over we will all return to our homes, and feel that we can ask no higher honor than the proud consciousness that we belonged to the Army of the Potomac.

Although McClellan 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. New York: G. The Battle of South Mountain presented McClellan with an opportunity for one of the great theatrical moments of his career as historian Sears describes:

The Union army reached Antietam Creek to the east of Sharpsburg on the evening of September 15.

He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly (November 1861 to March 1862) as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union. His legacy therefore defies easy categorization.