George McClellan & The Western Virginia Campaign

Before West Virginia could be rent from Virginia, all allegiances to the Old Dominion or support for the Confederate States had to be eradicated. General George B. McClellan was put in charge of the Ohio Valley states, which included the western portion of Virginia. He launched a campaign on the region that was successful in every possible way and made a name for himself that would put him onto the national stage and at the top of Lincoln's list for the Union's military leadership.