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In 1864 George McClellan, who did not
resign his commission until election day, ran for president against Abraham
Lincoln. Lincoln
won the election handily, with 212 Electoral College votes
to 21, and a popular vote of 55% to 45%. For all his popularity with the troops,
McClellan lost the military vote to Lincoln 3–1.
George McClellan sailed to Europe with
his family. Returning in 1868, McClellan
rebuffed Democratic overtures for another White House bid. Instead turning to civilian railroad ventures: as president of
the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad from 1872.
In 1877 Democrats nominated McClellan
for governor of New Jersey. Elected, he
served from 1878 to1881, reforming the militia, establishing industrial
schools, and forming a tax commission.
McClellan penned his memoirs, McClellan's
Own Story which were posthumously
published in 1887, defending his war time record. McClellan defended his cautious strategies,
emphasized his organizational skills and devotion to his troops, while
lambasting President Lincoln and other critics for interference and betrayal.
He died of
heart failure on October 29, 1885, in Orange, New Jersey and is buried in
Trenton.
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