The McClellan monument was the first monument erected in Washington by the Society of the Army of the Potomac. The location that was eventually chosen had been the site of a Union Camp in the summer of 1861 when McClellan arrived in Washington, and therefore, was a fitting selection. The selection served to appease those in the Society of the Army of the Potomac, who had grumbled that the best spots in the capital had been preempted by statues of lesser men.
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The statue of McClellan sits high above street-level and well above the line of sight of passersby. The pedestal includes bronze escutcheons bearing the names of McClellan’s battles: Yorktown, Gaines Mill, Williamsburg, Antietam, South Mountain, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill. Also included in the base are massed cannons, flags, munitions, and wreaths, and four large eagles supporting massive garlands of oak and laurel.