Lincolns Lieutenants

Posted on 24 March 2018 by Stephen W. Sears

From the best selling author of Gettysburg, a multilayered group biography of the commanders who led the Army of the PotomacThe high command of the Army of the Potomac was a changeable, often dysfunctional band of brothers, going through the fires of war under seven commanding generals in three years, until Grant came east in 1864 The men in charge all too frequently appeared to be fighting against the administration in Washington instead of for it, increasingly cast as political pawns facing down a vindictive congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War President Lincoln oversaw, argued with, and finally tamed his unruly team of generals as the eastern army was stabilized by an unsung supporting cast of corps, division, and brigade generals With characteristic style and insight, Stephen Sears brings these courageous, determined officers, who rose through the ranks and led from the front, to life. Best Download [ Lincolns Lieutenants ] author [ Stephen W. Sears ] – kino-fada.fr From first to last the Army of the Potomac was unlucky It fought for four years, and it tookkilling, proportionately, than any army in American history, and its luck was always out it did its level best and lost when it won the victory was always clouded by a might have been, and when at last the triumph came at Appomattox there were so very, very many of its men who weren t there to see it Bruce Catton, Mr Lincoln s Army O fear not in a world like this And th...Thick tomes relating in great detail the history of the American Civil War or even the Army of the Potomac are not hard to come by There have been enough published to fill a good sized library So what makes Stephen W Sears history of Lincoln s Lieutenants unique After spending 32 hours listening to an audio recording of this excellent book, I can safely say that it is all in the perspective If you were to describe a tree trunk you wouldn t have too much difficulty You would describe it Thick tomes relating in great detail the history of the American Civil War or even the Army of the Potomac are not hard to come by There have been enough published to fill a good sized library So what makes Stephen W Sears history of Lincoln s Lieutenant...Flagpole Leadership Lincoln s Lieutenants The High Command of the Army of the Potomac by Stephen W Sears, reviewed by Colonel ret Mike Kershaw With all the attention being paid recently to the political activity of general officers, both active duty and recently retired, Stephen Sears accounting of the high command of one of our most notable armies seems unnervingly familiar Sears, a well known Civil War historian, as well as author of an abridgment to Douglass Southall Freeman s Lee s L Flagpole Leadership Lincoln s Lieutenants The High Command of the Army of the Potomac by Stephen W Sears, reviewed by Colonel ret Mike Kershaw With all the attention being paid recently to the political activit...For over 400 pages of this 750 page book, George Brinton McClellan dominates the action or lack thereof For a man who left the Army of the Potomac in November of 1862, I think this says a great deal He was a superb organizer, but not much of a fighting man He was a Democrat surrounded by Republicans, but most of all, he had an ego that would not let him see the truth about a situation once it had settled in his mind His persistent belief that his army was outnumbered allowed to make inexc For over 400 pages of this 750 page book, George Brinton McClellan dominates the action or lack thereof For a man who left the Army of the Potomac in November of 1862, I think this says a great deal He was a superb organizer, but not much of a fighting man He was a Democrat surrounded by Republicans, but most of all, he had an ego that would not let him see the truth about a situation once it had settled in his mind His persistent belief that his army was outnumbered allowed to make inexcusable mistakes, but for a time there seemed to be no one who could do better so he stayed in command of the Army of the Poto...The best thing about this book is that it probably cured my natural bias towards the latest and greatest work on a particular subject, especially when written by somebody with the reputation in their field that Sears enjoys If you have only a cursory knowledge of the military history of the Civil War and want a one volume though still voluminous history of the war in the East as seen through the eyes of the principal Union Army and its high command, read this As with Sears other works, it The best thing about this book is that it probably cured my natural bias towards the latest and greatest work on a particular subject, especially when written by somebody with the reputation in their field that Sears enjoys If you have only a cursory knowledge of the military history of the Civil War and want a one volume though still voluminous history of the war in the East as seen through the eyes of the principal Union Army and its high command, read this As with Sears other works, it is eminently readable, well researched, and combines the high level and individual perspectives very well However, if you re already well versed in the campaigns in the East, and particularly the politics and intrigue surrounding the Army of the Potomac and its leadership up through Gettysburg, you can safely skip it.There s very little here in terms of perspective that Catton s trilogy on the Army of the...In this age of twitter, I can follow the political machinations of the Trump Administration from moment to moment, from every imaginable side, and with the perspective of a variety of viewpoints I have often wished that we could have the same level of information about historic periods.This massive and detailed study by Civil War historian Stephen Sears makes me feel as if my wishes had been granted, at least with respect to the creation and ongoing development of the Union Army during the Civi In this age of twitter, I can follow the political machinations of the Trump Administration from moment to moment, from every imaginable side, and with the perspective of a variety of viewpoints I have often wished that we could have the same level of information about historic periods.This massive and detailed study by Civil War historian Stephen Sears makes me feel as if my wishes had been granted, at least with respect to the creation and ongoing development of the Union Army during the Civil War By focusing on the processes by which generals and officers were selected, trained, honed, and culled, Sears catalogues the evolution of a self taught army led by volunteers into the experienced and efficient fighting machine that was in place by the end of the struggle His is a story of backbiting, jealousy, outright sabotage, lapses, blunders, meddling, timidity, inexperience, disjointedness, miscommunications, resentment, and paranoia ...I must preface this review by saying that I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley.Stephen W Sears is one of a rare breed of historian who can weave deep analysis with compelling narrative, with a long career with many highlights including Landscape Turned Red, on the Battle of Antietam, which in the opinion of this reviewer is one of the best battle narratives ever written He s written extensively on the Army of the Potomac and its campaigns, which puts him in an ideal position fo I must preface this review by saying that I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley.Stephen W Sears is one of a rare breed of historian who can weave deep analysis with compelling narrative, with a long career with many highlights including Landscape Turned Red, on the Battle of Antietam, which in the opinion of this reviewer is one of the best battle narratives ever written He s written extensively on the Army of the Potomac and its campaigns, which puts him in an ideal position for being authoritative in Lincoln s Lieutenants The High Command of the Army of the Potomac, the volume ...Years ago I had the privilege of having the late Civil War historian, Jay Luvaas, as a guide touring the battlefield at Antietam After the tour I asked him which book he considered to be the best source for studying the Maryland battle and, without hesitation, he answered Stephen Sears The Landscape Turned Red I believe that Mr Luvaas would consider Lincoln s Lieutenants to be the authoritative guide to the President s relationships to his military hierarchy I found Sears insightful evalua Years ago I had the privilege of having the late Civil War historian, Jay Luvaas, as a guide touring the battlefield at Antietam After the tour I asked him which book he considered to be the best source for studying the Maryland battle and, without hesitation, he answered Stephen Sears The Landscape Turned Red I believe that Mr Luvaas would consider Lincoln s Lieutenants to be the authoritative guide to the President s relationships to his military hierarchy I found Sears insightful evaluations of the North s Generals to be most interesting, particularly the comments these leaders would publicly make about each other as ambition, jealousy, reputation, etc affected their conduct in battle as well as their relationships with the Commander in Chief and each other It was surprising that there were so many...A detailed look at those who served in the high command of the Army of the Potomac Only Meade is viewed in a positive light as the rest were found wanting for one reason or another According to Lincoln s Lieutenants many of the officers...The Army of the Potomac s failures was the source of great frustration for President Lincoln, the Congress and the nation The North had significant war making advantages over the Confederacy in manpower and material, but what it didn t have at least until the arrival of U.S Grant in the spring of 1864 was inspired, effective generalship Sears s book gives insight into the weaknesses of military leadership that unquestionably led to lengthening the duration of the war.At the war s onset th The Army of the Potomac...

24 March 2018

Stephen W. Sears