The Class of 1846: From West Point to Appomattox: Stonewall Jackson, George McClellan, and Their Brothers

by John C. Waugh, Paul Hecht

No single group of men at West Point--or possibly any academy--has been so indelibly written into history as the class of 1846. The names are legendary: Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, George B. McClellan, Ambrose Powell Hill, Darius Nash Couch, George Edward Pickett, Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox, and George Stoneman. The class fought in three wars, produced twenty generals, and left the nation a lasting legacy of bravery, brilliance, and bloodshed.

This fascinating, remarkably intimate chronicle traces the lives of these unforgettable men--their training, their personalities, and the events in which they made their names and met their fates. Drawing on letters, diaries, and personal accounts, John C. Waugh has written a collective biography of masterful proportions, as vivid and engrossing as fiction in its re-creation of these brilliant figures and their pivotal roles in American history.

Genres: History, Civil War, Nonfiction, American Civil War, American History, Biography, Military Fiction

635 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

A Brief Self-Serving Bio

I'm a journalist turned historical reporter:

1956–1973, staff correspondent and bureau chief on The Christian Science Monitor. Honors included the American Bar Association’s 1972 Silver Gavel Award for the best national reporting, for a series on American prisons.
1973–1976, media specialist on the staff of Republican Vice President Nelson Rockefeller of New York.
1983–1988, press secretary to Democratic U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico.
Since 1989, writing about history full-time — books on the Civil War era.
Covering the past is not unlike covering the present, except all my sources are dead (I prefer it that way). It also means I can return to my favorite century, the 19th, on a daily basis.

Between stints in the newspaper and political worlds, and since, I've contributed to periodicals, including Civil War History, American Heritage, Civil War Times Illustrated, Columbiad, The Washington Post Book World, The New York Times, The New Republic, The Nation, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald American, and Country Magazine.

Over the years I've also been a consultant to various organizations — National Archives and Records Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Atlantic Richfield Company, President’s Council on Environmental Quality, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and West Virginia Public Radio.

My first book, The Class of 1846, published in 1994, won the New York Civil War Round Table’s Fletcher Pratt Literary Award for the best non-fiction book of that year.

I have now written 11 books since flunking retirement in 1989. Number 12 will be out in October 2014. I have discovered over the years that if you put one word after another long enough, they add up.

I was born in California, reared in Arizona, and now live in North Texas. I'm a product of the Tucson public schools and the University of Arizona (1951, journalism major, history minor) plus graduate work in history and political science at UCLA and St. Johns College. I'm married to Kathleen Dianne Lively, a social work administrator and a Texan. We have two grown children, Daniel, a lawyer in Providence, Rhode Island, and Eliza, a teacher in Austin, Texas, and four grandchildren.

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The early part of this book is about the education and personalities of the class of 1846 at West Point Military Academy. I’m an enthusiastic fan of that part of the book. It was fascinating. Those graduates would never have made much of a mark on history had they not been sent out into the real world at the perfect time to get practical training in the War with Mexico and/or the Indian Wars shortly after their graduation. It was a large class and it is remarkable how many from 1846 were officers involved in the Civil War either fighting with or against each other.

The book shows how reputations and class rankings at West Point weren’t everything. Thomas Jackson (later Stonewall) didn’t have the educational background of most cadets and started at the absolute bottom in ranking but managed to claw his way upward past middle rank. Alas, drawing class was a requirement and he barely scraped by there. McClellan would be everyone’s pick for the golden boy in the Civil War. He had every accomplishment. Waugh follows every possible detail of the class in the Civil War in the Shenandoah's and the East with special focus on Jackson and McClellan. Lee and Grant (not of the class of 1846) also had very different school careers and naturally they get lots of attention here.

The book was good for me since it describes the entire war in the east, Ft. Sumter to Appomattox. My past reading on this subject has tended to focus on individual battles or historical fiction. I wouldn’t say it was easy to read after the West Point days mainly because you are forced to pay attention to tactics, movements and battle formations.

Memoirs and letters are an important part of Waugh’s research. McClellan’s letters to his wife (daily, without fail) are particularly interesting showing his hesitation, even paranoia about engaging in battles. Lincoln’s frustration is obvious in his own letters and meetings with others. Waugh is obviously not a huge fan of McClellan’s contributions to the war. Surely the war would not have drawn out so long if there had been any logical choice but McClellan for several years. On the other hand it’s clear Waugh is a huge fan of Jackson. The “cast of characters” preface to the book was very helpful. It’s a huge cast.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. As many times as I've read of the leadership qualities of these men during the Civil War, this is the first book that presents them as men first and Generals later. The Class of 1846: from West Point to Appomattox begins where it all started for these 59 eventual members of the class when they were young and unformed. George McClellan, after all, was only 15 when he began at the Point and his classmate and future nemesis, Thomas Jackson, was 18. All were some of the best representatives of the country and came from all of the then 26 states and every class from wealthy to poor. Some were brilliant, Charles Seaforth Stewart and George McClellan, who were 1st and 2nd in class standing the whole four years. Some were not, Samuel Bell Maxey and George Pickett, who remained 58 and 59 throughout, Pickett the "goat, also laden with demerits. Many were like Jackson, who started out perilously but worked so hard that he ended up 17th and in the upper third of the class. They wound up both hating and loving their four years at the Point and formed strong bonds with one another that suffered severe strains when war eventually parted them. Still, that was far in the future and for military men, luck was with them as they walked out of the Point and straight into the Mexican War.

Some found glory here. Thomas Jackson surprised everyone by being exceptionally good at making war and received brevet promotions and awards. McClellan proved true to the promise of excellence he showed at the Academy. Everyone got a chance to show their worth. Some few found death here also and disabling wounds but that is the nature of war. After Mexico, some left and took up civilian life. Jackson went home and married and began to teach at VMI. Many of the class went out west and participated in the Indian Wars. McClellan went back to West Point to train cadets in engineering. His peacetime service included tracing the source of the Red River in Arkansas, surveying for routes for the transcontinental railroad and observing the siege of Sevastopol during the Crimea War. In 1857he resigned his commission to become vice president of the Illinois Central Railroad and then president of another RR. He made a fortune and got married. By this time, the other class members were also getting married, having children and generally living normal lives some in, and some out of the military. It was all to change in a few short years.

The rest of the book follows the careers of these men during the Civil War. The main characters from this class are, of course, Mclellan, Stonewall Jackson, and at the end, George Pickett. The chapter on Pickett's charge is worth reading on its own. Beautifully written and so evocative of courage, dedication and yet, futility, that I cried through the whole thing. There are many scenes like that in this book. Jackson's death and the poignancy of his last words. McClellan's inability to live up to the promise of his young years. It's heartbreaking to watch him make one wrong decision after another and never realize it. If you want a book about battles and tactics, this is not necessarily it, although they are discussed. If you want a book that tells about fighting men at war, how they feel and what they do, you definitely want to read The Class of 1846.

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be a very enjoyable book to read and if helped fill in a few spaces left about the great names of the Civil War before they became Generals. I have always enjoy reading accounts of the war with Mexico and seeing how the future enemies of the American Civil War fought together, saved each others lives on occassions and learnt the common lessons of war. This is a very interesting and well presented account although I found the battle scenes lacking in depth but I would suppose that was not the authors main focus but more on the people involved. I think it may have helped to have added a few maps of the fighting in Mexico and the Valley as if you have no prior knowledge of these areas you really do not appreciate the efforts involved in moving from one point to another. Overall this is a decent book and most people should enjoy immersing themselves in this bit of history.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focuses on the class as a whole through the first two parts (West Point and the war with Mexico), then a very scattered section on the 1850s.

After that, it's largely focused on "Stonewall" and "Little Mac." Jackson is stubborn as a mule and crazy like a fox. McClellan is arrogant (at fifteen even!), pompous, paranoid, and incapable of not seeing at least 2 Confederate soldiers behind every tree.

An entertaining read.

[Dan | The Ancient Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and readable book, but the author is careless with some historical facts. That gave me pause to wonder if he was equally careless with biographical information.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much. It has the best account of Fort Sumter. And the love triangle between Ellen Marcy, A. P. Hill and George McClellan is comical.

[Jeff Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent look into the men and instructors at West Point Academy. The story gravitates around two of the school’s students: George McClennan and Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson.
McClennan was revered by all who knew him. He was the chosen one. Good looks, connections, money, prestige and physical prowess.

Jackson on the other hand was only admitted after a fellow Tennessean decided West Point wasn’t for him. This caused quite a stir and the Congressman Samuel L. Hays who nominated Gibson Butcher. With his quick exodus, Jackson was no at the forefront. It was a daunting task because he hadn’t showed the most promise in the initial entrance exam.

Both of these men would graduate in 1946 along with fifty-one other classmates. Many would get their first baptism of fire in Mexico of in the Oregon territory during the Indian Wars. What’s important is they lived, ate and fought together as one cohesive unit even though the horizons the East Coast were building with clouds of dissention and conflict.

These men knew what war was about and hoped beyond hope, it could be avoided. They knew it would be bloody and the talk of a quick victory were delusional. Turns out they were right. Four bloody years and over 600,000 dead.

But here is the heart of the story, the diametric poles of McClennan and Jackson. The anointed one turned out to be nothing more than a charismatic bag of theories. George knew all the right people, he was a learned scholar and an excellent organizer. He was not however a competent field commander. He became nothing more than a paranoid, incompetent field general. His discord surrounded everyone around him, including Lincoln. Comparing him to Napoleon wouldn’t be a stretch.

His adversary, Jackson was just the opposite. He was not flashy, connected or charming. He was a man on a mission and only one person knew how that would be accomplished-him. He fought tooth and nail to excel at West Point. His never die attitude carried him through the tough years of military life until the Civil War broke-out. In the end, he would be the greatest tactical general the South produced. That’s right, even more esteemed than Robert E. Lee. Lee had a keen eye for fortifications and grand strategies as envisioned by Jefferson Davis. But it was men like Jackson who rallied the troops and executed the plans.

The most important lesson I gleaned from this excellent story, is how the men who went to school together, fought together, fought against each other, were able to amicably meet at Appomattox lay down their arms and start working on the peace. I’m sure they find the current flurry of monument desecration appalling and laughable.

An excellent reflection on the men who fought and died to preserve the union.

Five Stars

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really good read. The author traces the careers of the 1846 class of West Point graduates, the most famous members being George McClellan and Stonewall Jackson. A. P. Hill and George Pickett were also in this class. The author includes a useful table at the beginning of the book listing all the members of the class (not all of whom graduated), the service in the Civil War with highest rank attained, and their fate. It's coincedental historical relationships like those described in this book that make Civil War history so fascinating to read, especially if you like to ponder the validity of the notions of the Great Man theory of history and the idea that character in your formative years shapes your destiny as an adult. (My jury's still undecided out on both ideas.)

This is a great book to start out with on the Civil War once you know the basics (from reading a general history on this subject) as to who served under who and in what theater, and what happened in what battles and why...once you have that down, you'll enjoy books like these about the Civil War...

Well written, too, as I recall...

[Adam Balshan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars [History]
Waugh follows the West Point class of 1846 through the Mexican War and War Between the States, focusing on members of the class. Waugh doesn't linger overlong on details like some large history books, but still has plenty of them--mundane to express the daily life, and peculiar to set the experience apart.

The quality of writing lessened somewhat around the section of the book concerning the Valley campaigns, but returned to its vigor upon the description of Antietam, particularly of A.P. Hill's critical forced march from Harpers Ferry (of which half his division fell out!).

He could have done a better job/spent more time contrasting McClellan and Jackson at the end, but at 500+ pages, one is somewhat gratified that he didn't. He ends the book with a few lines on several '46 members, concluding with the last one, who died in 1917 as the next great war began.

Well done to Waugh.

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book that seemed to focus on Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson more than the other famed officers of this class from Westpoint. Certainly not the best book I have read on any of the famed American Civil War Commanders; but, I have to admit the author pulled in personal information on Jackson that hasn't quite been touched by others before nor since. I came away from reading this book thinking the author was completing a requirement for his PhD and may have done so just barely; I don't know if this is true or not, but this is what I felt at the end of the book.

I would recommend this to a person not familiar with the Civil War Officers for a good introduction to both sides of the battle field.

[Dergrossest · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for fans of the Civil War who want a little more background about the shared West Point and Mexican-American War experiences which shaped so many of the generals who would ultimately battle each other to the death. It convinced me more than ever that the Confederate Generals who forgot their oath to America and fought against it should never be celebrated by us and should, instead, be remembered as traitors.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book. I read this back in 2001, but I still remember some of the stories from this book.

This book is also very well written for a non-fiction history book. It reads like a novel, the stories were amazingly interesting about names that people have head of before and a few people should know about.

[David Bird · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good book of its sort; unfortunately, its sort hasn’t aged very well. In the shadow of “fine people on both sides,” works premised on that assumption are harder to take either as history or entertainment. I had a dim memory of this book being praised when it came out 25 years ago, and so picked it up when I chanced upon a used copy.

The story of the Civil War told in the 1990s still presented it almost exclusively as a disagreement between white men over Federal power, with ‘brother against brother’ as the principal tragedy, and slavery unfortunate mostly as a cause that conflict. And so with this volume: slavery doesn’t make the index, although there are a few pages that could be cited. We hear the conventional, comforting mention that Stonewall Jackson deplored slavery, while McClellan preferred “the manners, feelings & opinions of the Southerners,” (McClellan’s words), and slavery was not yet “dividing the cadets in 1843” (Waugh’s). In this magical way, the profound differences between what the Union came to be fighting for, and ‘freedom’ as defined by the rebels, vanishes into a sentimental mist.

As entertainment, a book centered on Stonewall Jackson goes down less easily, as one considers that genius and piety in a commander don’t in themselves render his cause virtuous. As history, the ‘conflict of brothers’ narrative poses two problems.

First, ignores the way that men who resisted the white supremacist tide, whether George Thomas, who fought against his native Virginia for the country to which he had sworn his loyalty, or James Longstreet, who embraced rather than opposed the verdict of the battlefield during reconstruction, did not enjoy comfortable status in the re-established brotherhood.

But the greater problem is whether, if the book’s assertion that the brotherhood of West Point allowed post-war peace, that peace at the price of racial justice, a peace that has proved troubled at best, was a good thing.

[Michael Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have an interest in the Civil War, or in 19th-century U.S. military history generally, you already know that 1846 was a key year in a number of ways. It saw the start of the War with Mexico, which was the first flowering of American imperialism and the territorial drive to the Pacific Ocean. But more specifically, it was the year many of the military leaders of the Civil War, on both sides, graduated from the Military Academy at West Point. The Class of 1846 included Thomas J Jackson, George B. McClellan, Ambrose P. Hill, George Pickett, George Stoneman, and a number of other future general officers. Most of them served together in Mexico and many of them were close friends after that shared experience. And, of course, those who became necessary enemies fifteen years later, already knew each other’s personalities very well, which was often a major factor in strategy and tactics between North and South.

Waugh is a journalist, not an academic, but he’s also a lifelong student of the War and the author of half a dozen other well-received books on military and political aspects of that subject. And rather than challenging the orthodox portrayals of Jackson (the eccentric military genius) and McClellan (the disappointing failure at command), Waugh sharpens and clarifies and explains those judgments in considerable detail and investigates their origins. His style is clear and straightforward, making this an easy book to get into even for the beginner in the field. The footnotes and bibliography are also very extensive, so this is also an excellent source for academic research.

[Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book examines the United States Military Academy at West Point’s class of 1846. It was a somewhat unique class because they fought as “brothers” in the 1846-48 Mexican War and then as enemies during the Civil War, 1861-1865. While they were junior officers during the Mexican War, where 53 of the 59 members class served, they were poised to become senior officers 15 years later. During the Civil War the Class of 1846 produced 22 generals, 12 for the Union and 10 for the Confederate Army. Of those 22 generals, 4 of them died during the Civil War. While they were technically enemies during that Civil War, they never forgot the friendships that were created during their time at West Point. Significantly, several classmates and close friends in 1846 ended up on opposite sides during the Civil War. A couple of examples are George McClellan and Ambrose Powell Hill; Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and George Stoneman. The author follows the careers of this Class of 1846 from plebes in 1842 to the end of the Civil War in 1865. In the Epilogue chapter the author gives a brief summation of their career and lives after the Civil War as well. The author presents a compelling case that their friendships survived the Civil War and helped bind the country back together after the war. This book is a very interesting and worthwhile read for anyone interested in the American Civil War.

[Justin Steiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exceptionally well written to convey the personalities of the main characters (Jackson and McClellan) and some of the minor characters. The West Point chapters felt a little long and overly-detailed, but were understandably necessary. The meat of the book, about Jackson and McClellan, was quick and exciting. A opposing viewpoint about Jackson and McClellan is presented at the end. I liked this addition because the book makes Jackson seem like an unexpected success whereas McClellan was a disappointment, but both of these conclusions must be considered in context of when these men fought and the political environment.

What annoyed me endlessly was the lack of any maps in the book. This book is not a tactical review of Civil War battles, and therefore I didn't expect extremely detailed maps of individual movements. I did, however, expect maps that would aid in the strategic understanding of campaigns such as the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. The lack of maps, whether they had strategic movements or just key locations, had me going on my phone constantly to orient my understanding. Simple geographic maps of areas like the Shenandoah Valley, Charleston, Chancellorsville, etc. would have significantly improved the book. I was frustrated at their absence.

[Erik Snell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had plenty of interesting tidbits and stories I hadn't known before. However in the end I don't think it lived up to quite what I was expecting. At the beginning as it covered the years at West Point in did a good job of comparing and contrasting the many different men from the class of 46. However then the book halfway transformed into a subpar dual biography of McClellan and Jackson. For much of the "Civil War" chapters most of the class established at the beginning was ignored. I began to wonder if many of them beyond Jackson and McClellan were even fighting (or alive). In the end I expected (and wanted) a story of the class... an examination of how the class learned grew separated and contributed. In the end what I feel like I got was an incomplete biography. Again lots of new information which I appreciate... but don't expect too much.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tracking the experiences and inter-relationships of the 50-odd graduates of West Point class of 1846 through the Mexican War, the Indian Wars and the Civil War is a big job which the author accomplished with a series of 10 to 20 page vignettes. Several of these stories are not particularly interesting unless you happen to be related to one of the cadets/officers involved. But even these stories reflect the diligent research undertaken by the author. I found the Mexican War and Civil War stories to be particularly well done presenting emotionally-charged details, for example on Pickett's charge and the wounding and death of Thomas Jackson that you are unlikely to find in other books. I'm glad I stayed with the book through the two or three thin tales. The five stars are well earned.

[Robert Sparrenberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

The three stars is not because it was poorly written or the content was interesting. It gets three stars because there was nothing new here. Most of the book follows the civil war and some of the major battles that involved the class of 1846. But any casual fan of the civil war already knows the content. I felt like the connection to 1846 was rather weak.

Worth a look but really a rehash of other books.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating, thorough and very readable book detailing the lives and accomplishments of the men who made up the Class of 1846 at the United States Military Academy at West Point. From there to Winfield Scott’s Mexican campaign, through assorted Indian skirmishes, on to the US Civil War and - for the lucky ones - life after that devastating conflict. Names like Jackson, McClellan and Pickett litter this pages amongst others.

[Bill Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificant!

As a 36-year Army veteran reading this account of the class of 1846 was most illuminating and entertaining. Having visited or being stationed at many Army posts bearing the names of these officers was a real treat for me, bringing back many memories of my service there. Gordon, Jackson, Hill, Pickett, Beauregard (a NG camp north of New Orleans), and others I toiled at have more meaning for me now. Congrats on a great book!

[Bruce Switzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this one several years ago and put it down after reading about 15%. I do not recall why I set it aside, but I am glad I decided to pick it up again. Great overlay of the characters from the class of 1846 with the sequence of wars in which they served. Really enjoyed the contrast between McClellan and Stonewall.

[Meredith Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really interesting and entertaining book for anyone interested in an overview of many of the generals, both Northern and Southern, that starred in the Civil War. The book was extremely well written and nicely laid out in a way that was both fluid and interesting.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story about college friends who became enemies during the Civil War. So much of the leadership of both sides in the war were graduates of West Point and new each other, in some cases very well.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a Civil War fan or an Academy grad, this is a great book. I don’t have a start date, because this has been my “pick up” book meaning I read it when time permitted. But it is a fascinating book going back to the teenage years of many of the graduates of West Point 1846.

[Grindy Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, though it is really a back door biography of Stonewall Jackson or George Maclellan than the story of their entire West Point class. Much material is familiar though there is a deep dive into the surrender of Fort Sumter that is outstanding.

[Mitzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glory, glory hallelujah. I finished reading this huge book!
Enough of War.
Let us go peacefully into this cold night.

Happy New Year to all.

[Nicholas Birtcil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent general summary of many of the major players during the civil war. Like many Civil War books, the Confederate Generals are overly romanticized.

[Ronald Sapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read, Great background on the Civil War Generals, and ending to the Civil War. WOW.

[John Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a little slow during the West Point section and the last chapter but overall it was excellent.