General McClellan began as youthful cadet at West Point, where he in the end graduated second in his class. He battled respectably in the Mexican War and showed military designing at West Point. Strangely, he was to meet his future President and Commander in Chief, Abraham Lincoln, when he turned into the Head of Engineering at Illinois Central Railroad in 1857, after he surrendered from the administration. At the time, Lincoln was held by the railroad as its main legal advisor.
General McClellan was reinstated as commander of the army of the Potomac due to his ability to prepare an army to fight. McClellan had originally been considered a poor commander by Abraham Lincoln, which led to him being replaced by General John Pope. However, Pope was defeated several times throughout the summer. Lincoln was forced to reinstate McClellan, because even though he was a poor field commander, he was very good at training the troops and boosting their morale. Lincoln believed that:
<em>“We must use the tools we have. There is no man in the Army who can man these fortifications and lick these troops into shape half as well as he (McClellan). If he can’t fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight.”</em>
