Hey everyone, welcome to episode 130 of our Civil War podcast.

My name is Rich.

And I'm Tracy.

Hello y'all.

Thanks for tuning into the podcast.

When we left off last time, it was March 1862, and Major General George B. McClellan

was finally launching the Army of the Potomac on a major campaign against the enemy.

And Little Mac was quite literally launching his army since he was shipping more than 100,000

men on transports down the Chesapeake Bay to Fort Monroe on the tip of the peninsula in

the eastern Virginia between the York and James Rivers.

In many people's minds, it was about time McClellan got moving.

He had been brought to Washington the previous summer in July of 1861, immediately after

the Union disaster at Manassas to take command of the defeated, demoralized, disorderly force

in and around Washington.

Well and plunged into the job with energy and boundless self-confidence, and to his credit,

showing formidable organizational skills, he would create a large, magnificent army,

the army of the Potomac.

In fact, by September, Little Mac had, in effect, created a brand new army.

Gone were the green three-month militiamen who had met with disaster at Bull Run.

In their place were fresh recruits who had signed up for three years.

While the troops were set to drilling six to eight hours a day, McClellan rode around their

encampments on tours of inspection, building a strong bond with his army so that the men

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