With 1861 M.B. Brady imprint on the front mount

(1826-85) Graduated in the West Point class of 1846 and fought in the Mexican War. Hailed at the beginning of the Civil War as the "Young Napoleon," he proved to be a brilliant military organizer, administrator, and trainer of men, but an officer totally lacking in the essential qualities of successful command of large forces in battle. He saw action at Rich Mountain, W.V., in the 1862 Virginia Peninsular campaign and at the battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day in American history. He was defeated for the presidency in 1864 by Abraham Lincoln.

Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Standing view in uniform with rank of major general, striking a Napoleonic pose. Imprint on the front mount, Gen'l Geo. B. McClellan, Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1861, by M.B. Brady, in the Clerks office of the District Court of the District of Columbia. Backmark: E. Anthony, New York, made from a photographic negative from Brady's National Portrait Gallery. Sticker of McAllister Brother, 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia on the reverse.