 In the fall of 1852 , McClellan published a manual on bayonet tactics that he had translated from the original French . He also received an assignment to the Department of Texas , with orders to perform a survey of Texas rivers and harbors . In 1853 he participated in the Pacific Railroad surveys , ordered by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis , to select an appropriate route for the planned transcontinental railroad . McClellan surveyed the western portion of the northern corridor along the 47th and 49th parallels from St. Paul to the Puget Sound . In so doing he demonstrated a tendency for insubordination toward senior political figures . Isaac Stevens , governor of the Washington Territory , became dissatisfied with McClellan 's performance in scouting passes across the Cascade Range . McClellan selected Yakima Pass without a thorough reconnaissance and refused the governor 's order to lead a party through it in winter conditions , relying on faulty intelligence about the depth of snow pack in that area . In so doing , he missed three greatly superior passes in the near vicinity , which would be the ones eventually used for railroads and interstate highways . The governor ordered McClellan to turn over his expedition logbooks , but McClellan steadfastly refused , most likely because of embarrassing personal comments that he had made throughout . 
