DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about George B. McClellan, right here in Gray County, Texas. Now sit with this one a minute, because this man's life had more chapters than most folks could fill in three lifetimes.
George B. McClellan — born in 1826, died in 1885 — was a West Point graduate, which tells you right away he wasn't the type to wander into the Texas Panhandle by accident. In 1852, he came out here as a U.S.
Army engineer, riding with an expedition led by Randolph B. Marcy, exploring this big open country that didn't much care whether you had a fancy education or not. McClellan Creek was named for him out of that work.
And then, nearly a century later, Lake McClellan followed suit — named in his honor. Two landmarks carrying one man's name, anchored right here in this Panhandle country he helped chart. That's the kind of legacy that tends to outlast the man himself.
But here's the thing — McClellan was just getting started. After the army, he became vice president and chief engineer of the Illinois Central Railroad. Then the Civil War pulled him back into uniform, and he served as a Union general.
He designed the McClellan saddle, the one the U.S. Army took up and used. And if all that weren't enough, in 1864 he ran for president — against Abraham Lincoln, no less.
And then, as if to finish out a full hand, he served as governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881. A creek. A lake.
A saddle. A railroad. A war.
A presidential race. One man. The Panhandle has a way of being the quiet first line of a very long story.
What the marker says
West Point graduate George B. McClellan (1826-1885) was a U.S. Army engineer and a member of an expedition led by Randolph B. Marcy that explored the Texas Panhandle in 1852. McClellan Creek was named for him, and nearly a century later Lake McClellan was named in his honor. He was vice president and chief engineer of the Illinois Central Railroad and served as a Union general during the Civil War. He designed the McClellan saddle used by the U.S. Army. He ran for president in 1864 against Abraham Lincoln and served as governor of New Jersey from 1878-1881. (1996)