174). McPherson also points out that following the Union victory at Laurel Hill, McClellan was given the responsibility of training the newly-named Army of the Potomac at Washington, D.C. Upon arriving in the city, McClellan "found no army to command, only a mere collection of regiments, perfectly raw and dispirited... " He then "took hold with a firm hand to reorganize and train these troops" which demonstrates his excellent skills as an organizer and administrator, two very important traits for a general. In response, national newspapers hailed McClellan as "the man to save his country... And talked of him as the next President." This praise "went to his head and came to regard himself" as a master over Lincoln and every other high-ranking military officer. McPherson refers to this as McClellan's "Messiah complex" which seems quite accurate, especially since McClellan said to Lincoln that "I can do it all" in relation to being the general-in-chief and commander of the Army of the Potomac (1993, pgs. 232-33).

McPherson also maintains that McClellan in 1862 began to exhibit certain weaknesses which would "ultimately bring his downfall." These weaknesses include perfectionism, his "constant overestimation of the size of Confederate forces" and his "notions of the South's martial superiority which caused him to magnify the strength of the enemy." Thus, in McPherson's view, McClellan "lacked that mental and moral courage required of great generals (and) the will to act," not to mention committing "serious errors of judgment" related to his low opinions of President Lincoln (1993, p. 234).

In conclusion, the viewpoints...

Overall, both authors are quite convincing with their arguments, due to relying upon well-documented and reliable primary and secondary sources, particularly military documents and records from the time of the Civil War. However, one would be hard-pressed to determine which account is more accurate simply because neither Rowland nor McPherson knew McClellan personally and because some of the memoirs used in both books were written many years after the Civil War.
References

George McClellan." (2007). Internet. Retrieved April 14, 2008 at http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USACWmcclellan.htm.

Guelzo, Allen C. (2004). Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America. New York: Simon & Schuster.

McPherson, James M. (1993). Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction.

New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Rowland, Thomas J. (1998). George B. McClellan and Civil War History:…