title: McClellan at Sebastopol: The Delafield Commission and its Impact on the Siege of Yorktown
abstract: This study explores how George Brinton McClellan’s experiences as part of the Delafield Commission in 1855 influenced his generalship during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. The primary object of the Delafield Commission was to study the Siege of Sebastopol, the site of the major Anglo-French effort against the Russians during the Crimean War. Delayed by diplomatic and political setbacks, McClellan failed to reach Sebastopol in time to witness the siege. In part one, I discuss how his European ex