wilmer mclean had married well. nd in 1861, in addition to his pursuits as a sugar speculator and merchant, he oversaw a sizable plantation along bull run. a crossing of bull run bore mclean's name and became moderately famous during the first major battles of the civil war. two, general beauregard made mclean's house his headquarters during the first part of the war and mentioned it in his reports. wilmer mclean was no joel sweeney. so far as celebrities went. but he likely arrived in appomattox with a tinge of fame. wilmer mclean had a complex relationship with the war and the confederacy. the war tangibly threatened his home and his family along bull run. mclean's livelihood depended on the confederacy. he did a good business renting buildings and supplying the confederate army around manassas junction and with various goods and services. he reinvested some of his profits back into the confederacy, buying hundreds of dollars worth of confederate bonds. in early 1862, when the confederates departed northern virgini