General George McClellan - Hot Balloon Man

During the ACW Peninsular Campaign, in 1862, General George McClellan brought along a couple of hot air balloons, in the charge of one Professor Thaddeus Lowe, which were used at various times, most notably during the siege of Yorktown, during which one of the balloons got loose, from its moorings, & went astray to the amusement of soldiers of both sides.

So what if, during the siege of Yorktown, McCellan was in this particular balloon which went astray, but instead of the balloon being eventually recovered by the Union, the balloon flew off over the York River & the last thing anyone saw of the balloon & McCellan was them flying off towards the Atlantic...

So who takes over the Peninsular Campaign & how does, not only the march on Richmond in 1862 fare, but likewise the Civil War overall? And what does it mean for the future of hot air balloons?
 
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If I wanted to derail the thread we could posit that instead of never being seen again, McClellan then goes on to have fantastic Jules Verne-esque adventures that captivate the world. To make it even better, Professor Lowe could be in the balloon with him along with his trusty Amerindian butler Grinning Puma :D
 

NapoleonXIV

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If I wanted to derail the thread we could posit that instead of never being seen again, McClellan then goes on to have fantastic Jules Verne-esque adventures that captivate the world. To make it even better, Professor Lowe could be in the balloon with him along with his trusty Amerindian butler Grinning Puma :D

Caught in a storm they end up weeks later over a mysterious volcanic atoll in the South Pacific. Far below, a ship which Mclellan's trusty telescope identifies as the "Black Rock" is slugging it out in pitched battle with a strange, metallic contrivance, cigar shaped and low in the water....

Lincoln gets his chance to replace McClellan early, Lee comes up against Grant at Antietam and the war ends shortly after, as Grant would have kicked Lee's ass so far up behind his ears he would have had to sneeze to shit.
 
Caught in a storm they end up weeks later over a mysterious volcanic atoll in the South Pacific. Far below, a ship which Mclellan's trusty telescope identifies as the "Black Rock" is slugging it out in pitched battle with a strange, metallic contrivance, cigar shaped and low in the water....

Lincoln gets his chance to replace McClellan early, Lee comes up against Grant at Antietam and the war ends shortly after, as Grant would have kicked Lee's ass so far up behind his ears he would have had to sneeze to shit.

True enough.
 
Sumner was the senior Corps commander of the Army of the Potomac, so he probably replaces McClellan. I think Sedgewick replaces him as head of the II Corps. Forming the V and VI Corps out of existing units took place after Yorktown and seems to have been McClellan's idea, so they may not be formed in TTL, and if they are they could have different leaders.

'Bull' Sumner would have fought the campaign more aggressively than McClellan, so there's a decent chance the Union could take Richmond in 1862.
 
Caught in a storm they end up weeks later over a mysterious volcanic atoll in the South Pacific. Far below, a ship which Mclellan's trusty telescope identifies as the "Black Rock" is slugging it out in pitched battle with a strange, metallic contrivance, cigar shaped and low in the water....

Lincoln gets his chance to replace McClellan early, Lee comes up against Grant at Antietam and the war ends shortly after, as Grant would have kicked Lee's ass so far up behind his ears he would have had to sneeze to shit.

I somewhat disagree with that. I certainly would posit that Grant va Lee, with larger, earlier and better provisioned armies would be interesting. At a certain level, I can't help but think that Lee would stay mobile, and that Grant would throw bodies at him. Being in the East, and high casualty rates might get him in a bind.
 
I somewhat disagree with that. I certainly would posit that Grant va Lee, with larger, earlier and better provisioned armies would be interesting. At a certain level, I can't help but think that Lee would stay mobile, and that Grant would throw bodies at him. Being in the East, and high casualty rates might get him in a bind.

Grant would have had Lee's plans just like Mac did but he would have actually used them to destroy Lee.
 
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