McClellan had the right idea and Grant's successful 1864 campaign was functionally the same plan; i.e., to get around on the East, using the James River as a base, and flank Richmond from the south. It wasn't the plan but the lethargic execution that doomed McClellan.

Outstanding ! Who needs the history channel when we got Little Wars TV , Huzza Huzza Huzza!

Looking forward with great enthusiasm to this project! I hope that you will highlight logistics considerations, as IMHO they drove the entire action of the campaign. Apologies for the long post which follows, but it's long been a favorite subject of mine: (1) The so-called "Urbanna" plan is not sustainable, indeed I'm not sure McClellan ever really meant to implement it (as opposed to using it as a cover story to get out from under the eye of Halleck). ACW armies the size of the AoP could not operate more than a dozen miles from a rail or water supply line - there's a mathematical limitation on horse-drawn wagon trains, both in the number of wagons available to the AoP and to the amount of their own load such wagons consume (in fodder, which is by far the largest line item in ACW supply considerations). The capture of West Point by itself is meaningless - yes it is a railhead but without locomotives and rolling stock that doesn't mean anything. (2) The James was closed as a supply line due to the CSS Virginia (the Union knew of her refit as an ironclad as early as October 1861). (3) This leaves using the York River to support an advance up the Peninsula from Ft Monroe as the only viable plan. This in turn means that the campaign MUST come to a halt when the advance reaches Yorktown. Individual naval vessels can "run the gantlet" between Yorktown and Gloucester Point, but not so the slow supply vessels carrying the 600 tons per day of supplies required by the AoP. So the opening stages of the campaign were preordained to play out always as they in fact did - rapid advance to Yorktown and then a siege (McClellan's ideal form of warfare - remember that he had been the U.S. Army's official observer at Sevastapol). (4) As a wargame, I recommend starting the campaign with the Confederate abandonment of Yorktown on May 4th, 1862. It's only from that point that there is any possibility of deviating from the historical script (except perhaps the possibility that the Union might have assaulted and taken Gloucester Point which might have hastened the fall of Yorktown). In the end, it's all going to come down to big battles as Lincoln seemed to instinctively understand. The AoP was nowhere near large enough in 1862, compared to the ANV, to invest Richmond.

Excited to see this! Also including the words “rapid” and McClellan is hilarious.

I am so looking forward to this series! And it looks like you will be including the Battle of Hampton Roads. Would that be using the, 'Age of Iron' rules?

The War of the Constitution is truly fascinating. So much bravery and so much incompetence.

As a Scotsman I’ve been really interested in the ACW and my own countrymen who forged the US so please continue with these great shows 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍 from the west coast of Scotland

This is great!

I'm really looking forward to this. It sounds like it's going to be a fascinating series.

Looking forward to this series.....

Fantastic! I cannot wait for this series. LittleWars is the main reason I painted 3000 6mm ACW, lol!

This is going to be AWESOME! Glad to see my Patreon support dollars put to such good use.

Incredible production values on this. I can tell we're in for a real treat with this upcoming series/campaign. Really looking forward to it!

As I’m a big fan of Little Wars TV and also in the process of painting my first ACW minis army, this is THE BEST! Can’t wait to follow you guys as you do this tour👍👍

Looking forward to this series!

Sounds awesome! Can't wait to watch it!

Really looking forward to this

That telegram from Lincoln was certainly not passive aggressive. More like totally in McClellan's face!

Looking forward to this!

Excellent! Looking forward to this!

I like these historic videos. Its like a history from a gamer's pov.

On to richmond!

Yeeeeeeeessss I love this channel

Love it! Can't wait for more!

So excited for this series!!!!

Very exciting announcement! Looking forward to the series. Your mention of the confederate dummy guns is noteworthy. False artillery batteries could make for some interesting rules and potentially embarrassing situations on the table!

Can't wait. This will be an exciting series.

Can’t wait, my favourite period. Great stuff 👍🏻😊

Looking good Gents, very interested 👍

VERY INTERESTING

Can't wait to watch this from Australia

Can't wait to see it.

Perfect 😎 just in that Moment i bought my copy of epic battles acw from warlord games 😍

Am in the hype train right now guys ! Can't wait to see the videos of this serie. Cheers !

Lincoln: Please, George, just do something with the army. Do anything. Whatever it is do it already. McClellan: *Lands on the Peninsula.* Lincoln: Now you've done it.

This will be excellent.

I cannot wait!

The Confederate forces around Richmond at this time were very well supplied and operating at their full strength. The Confederates had huge gun batteries facing Washington. McClelland probably figured an approach from the south would have placed his forces against less prepared positions and smaller artillery. But when a commander of Lee's quality took command, it was a game changer.

Looking forward to seeing this series, 👍 great to see your take/intro of an interesting period of your history (I,m a Brit)😃 As always, great stuff from lwstv, keep up the good work 👍

I have trekked over nearly every battlefield around Richmond so I know them well. I have every confidence you will get the details correct. Keeping McClellan's campaign separated from Grant's will be most helpful to the uninitiated.

This is going to be great!

Awesome! I am currently reading about the 1862 Peninsula Campaign so this is perfect timing for me. I'm very excited for this series of videos.

Looking back, I didn’t question why McClellan took a water route over a land route, nor did I think there was such a major debate about this at all. I’m excited to see how this is series is gonna go. Can’t wait to see it!

You'll be in my neck of the woods during your adventures. I too plan to visit theses battlefields on or about their anniversaries. Maybe we'll cross paths.

I am THRILLED about this project. On to Richmond!

I wonder how Stonewall Jackson's Shenandoah Campaign will play into this, it was quite relevant irl so I understand.

I’m excited for on to Richmond! It should be great I love learning about the civil war. Soon I will do a Shiloh war game based of your scenario.

Bravo Gentlemen!

I am so excited! The peninsula campaign and the seven days battles are some of my favorites! I love your in depth civil war battles, 1st manassas, Antietam, and Gettysburg videos are some of my favorites and rekindled me getting back into acw gaming. Bring it on!!!

Love y’all’s videos I’ve learned so much and I can’t wait to start tabletop battles myself!!! I was wondering though if y’all could do a video on Texas Independence Day (March 2) either a table battle or just one like this I and my fellow Texans would be forever grateful!!

I love the voice actor you used for McClellan's voice! I can imagine that Little Mac might have sounded like this, with a snappy, smug tone. McClellan's plan did have some things to recommend it, and if it perhaps were left to a competent FIELD COMMANDER to pull it off, just might have worked. Sadly, the Union didn't really have any such competent leaders at ARMY level. It's hard to imagine exactly WHO could have implemented the plan. Really, if they could have found someone AGGRESSIVE, the Peninsula Campaign might have been a rousing success. Sadly, we'll never know for sure.

This is going to be an awesome series! I will be counting the days until March. P.s. you guys might post your Punic War campaign sometime later, when you have a quiet minute. Sincerely, your Loyal Subscriber.

COOOOL!!!!!

So where was Bull Run on your map? Remarkable, getting Lincoln to actually speak. Oh and what more remarkable even McClellan speaks. It must all be in the water in the US. And you have audio tapes!

I've always liked the photo of the fake cannon and the guy pretending to fire it. Some things haven't changed; soldiers still try to have fun in such traumatic and deadly times.

Bravo les gars pour vos vidéos. J'attends impatiemment la suite : McClellan, Le jeune Napoléon face à son destin.

Oh, cool! The Peninsula is my neck of the woods

Go Little Mac! You can do it!

I once asked a park ranger at Monocacy national park whose side he thought McClellan was on. He replied quite emphatically, "He was on his own side!", or words to that effect. By the way, I've been thinking if I ever get to buy a boat, it'll be named "On to Richmond!".

Just curious, will we still be getting other gaming videos covering other periods in between the campaign vids, or are the next few videos going to just be the McClellan campaign?

Now that we have 20/20 hindsight, what would have been the best strategy at that point in history?

Ah, the old quaker gun myth. The pictured guns are all, you'll note, facing towards the rebel encampment. There weren't many quaker guns, and none of the emplacements facing an attack had quaker guns as far as we can tell. Rather then were in the rear of the forts. They were soon detected by patrols.

Looking forward to this and the pyrrhic campaign

Hold them at the Peninsula boys! Richmond must not fall...yet! Since moving to the Peninsula several years ago, it's a shame to see that the campaign usually gets swept under the rug in favor of more high profile campaigns of the year like the Seven Pines and Seven Days. McLellans actions (or rather lack of action) on the Peninsula paved the way for all of those other campaigns and prevented the fall of Richmond early on in the war.

McClellan, of course, did not think highly of the Peninsula approach. He's had James Shields examine it in December, and the conclusion was that a siege of Yorktown (just the fort, the Warwick line was an unknown) would take six weeks. Hence McClellan thought it offer no prospect of brilliant results. Lincoln hated the Urbana plan. However, when it was voted on, 8 out of 12 division commanders supported the plan. Stanton then drafted an order, which Lincoln signed, creating army corps and then had another vote with just them. They had generally rejected Urbana, but they liked the Peninsula plan. They imposed the Peninsula on McClellan.

...FOR THE HELL OF IT-(?)

I forget was it McClellan or McDowell that Chal looks like? Might need a part 2 to get him to cosplay McClellan.

Ja, Liddle Mac !

Hey, when are you guys gonna release the Pyrrhric campaign ?

Are you guys doing that other campaign that we couldn’t watch right away? The Pyrrhic War campaign

"...If you'll give satisfactory answers to the following questions, I shall gladly yield my plan to yours..." 'WHAT IN THE F@&% DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!'

That plan would need a bold and decisive leader to execute it. Of which McLellan was neither.

I think he had a great idea, he was just to timid to implement it, I think it was certainly a lost opportunity.

I don't favour the US civil war over other theatres of conflict (me is strayan, not murican), but i does sure love some campaign context. I await eagerly.

What ever happened to that massive Roman campaign?

Rapid advancement. ROFLMFAO!

Where is the pyrrhic campaign????

Is it just me, or is the idea of taking the far end of narrow peninsula when you're trying to invade inland kind of a stupid move?

Southerners: But muh history n ancesturs! Also Southerners: SUBURBAN CRAP FOR EVERYONE!

Lincoln was SO ugly! 😂 And he knew it! He used to tell the joke, “Two faced?! You really think if I was two faced I’d wear THIS one?!” 😂 Proper intelligence and adequate leadership would’ve made either approach successful, overland or peninsula, that’s why both approaches actually did work. McClellan just got spooked and scampered off. But the union was WAY big enough to do either approach.

All this rich history. It’s the main reason I like living in the mid-Atlantic east coast. Please protect our heritage from the loony lefties.

I think the plan would have worked were it not for the emergence of a certain general named Lee. How could any Union army commander be ready to be confronted by a military genius just as victory literally insight?!

What was going on in Little Mac's mind is GOK and even Mac wasn't sure what he was doing.

The Virgin McClellan: There might be 200K rebels across that river, I need 400K more men! The Chad Grant: "Oh, I am heartily tired of hearing about what Lee is going to do. Some of you always seem to think he is suddenly going to turn a double somersault, and land in our rear and on both of our flanks at the same time. Go back to your command, and try to think what we are going to do ourselves, instead of what Lee is going to do."