Lincoln and His Generals

Excellent history from a famous historian. Lincoln was not just a great politician, but he was an excellent war strategist. If he had been a general, he would of held his own with the greats such as Lee, Jackson, Sherman, and Grant. In this book, Williams details the interactions of Lincoln, Stanton, Halleck, and such generals as Pope, McClellan, Grant, Sheridan, and Sherman. Lincoln kept an eye on all orders going to these generals and contributed positively to the strategy of the union. When a general screwed up (McClellan, Pope, Burnside, Hooker), Lincoln was there to make suggestions and work with these leaders. It is amazing the patience Lincoln displayed with these huge ego leaders. Some even thought they had more sense than their leader. Lincoln's brillance shins through on all these interactions. He displayed a fatherly attitude toward these individuals. This is great history by a well known historian. This should be one of the books read by all Civil War historians. Lincoln is the center of all these crisises. The reader can't help seeing the brilliance of our most famous president.

Though this was written in the 1950's and is a classic piece of scholarship on the subject, the comparisons to current events and the war in Iraq are striking. The easy style of this scholarship makes it very accessable and interesting "history" even for those who aren't seeking to research history, and the intimate portrait of Lincoln and the various military men and politicians discussed is the furthest thing from "dry history" and a great read.

In Lincoln and His Generals, T. Harry Williams concentrated on telling the story of Lincoln as commander in chief during America's greatest and most devastating war. In the preface he states his goals clearly; "my theme is Lincoln as a director of war and his place in the high command and his influence in developing a modern command system for his nation." Williams expertly develops this theme throughout this fascinating book. Though many may disagree with some of his conclusions about how effective Lincoln was in this role, few, after reading this book, would dispute the fact that it is a well written and reasoned account of the topic, and that it is an important contribution both to Civil War and Lincoln studies. William's views Lincoln as a genius - a man, who came into office with no military knowledge, yet had the flexibility of mind to adapt and learn from his mistakes to guide his country to victory through its greatest wartime crisis. He states that, "Lincoln, by the power of his mind, became a fine strategist...a better natural strategist than were most of the trained soldiers." He claims that Lincoln grasped the war's big picture from the very beginning, and even claims that Grant's final end-game strategy from 1864 on was fundamentally Lincoln's plan, though the details and execution were Grant's. I believe that he overreaches with some of these claims, yet he still makes a great case for Lincoln's genius, and his role as the indispensable man behind Union victory. Williams also writes of the generals who were Lincoln's tools for winning the war. McClellan and Grant get the most ink, the former because, despite his great talent, he was ultimately a failure and Lincoln's greatest disappointment and the latter because, in William's estimation, he was the greatest general on either side of the war. Of Lincoln's other generals, Williams writes more about the ineffective, incompetent ones such as Fremont and Banks than he does of effective and even great generals like Sherman and Thomas. He explains in his preface that the reason for this is that the incompetent generals were headaches to Lincoln, forcing him to have intimate command relationships with them, while he had to interfere very little with the moves of the effective Sherman and Thomas. Whether or not you agree with all or even any of the author's conclusions, he has written what still stands as the definitive work on this topic - the launching point for discussion and debate on Lincoln's role as commander in chief. Not only that, he has done it in fine style, creating a clear, interesting, and well-written book that stands as a masterpiece in its field. I give it my highest recommendation. Theo Logos

"Lincoln and His Generals" is an absolute must for anyone who aspires to a true understanding of the American Civil War and how it was fought, especially from the high command perspective on the Union side. Poring over the orders that passed back and forth between Lincoln and his top commanders, Williams paints a highly opinionated portrait of Lincoln's efforts to find the commander who will at last win the war. Williams' portrait of McClellan is extensive - and unforgiving. How this classic study could have been allowed to pass exclusively into the realm of the used book seller is a mystery to this reviewer.