Starred review from March 1, 2017
From "Old Fuss and Feathers" Winfield Scott to Ulysses S. Grant, the succession of Northern generals during the Civil War receives a thorough scouring in this massive, elegant study.Eminent Civil War historian Sears (Gettysburg, 2004, etc.) sifts through the archives to track how the Army of President Abraham Lincoln took some years and numerous setbacks finally to get its act together until final victory. The initial period before and after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter was marked by indecision and unpreparedness on the part of the new administration as well as that of the Union Army, led by the aging Mexican-American War hero Scott. His initial alarming memorandum to appease the secessionists by giving up Sumter and Fort Pickens did not bode well for smooth relations with the new president. As Scott was too obese and infirm to lead battle, Irvin McDowell led the attack at Bull Run, which ended in a Union rout and caused Scott to be replaced by the "stubbornly uncooperative" George McClellan. The Union Army gained its new name, Army of the Potomac, and the officers were reorganized. However, McClellan's rocky stint lasted only until November 1862, after the dilatory, stagnant move toward Richmond and the bloody Battle of Antietam, which prompted Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, derided arrogantly by McClellan. Exasperated by McClellan's "over-cautiousness," Lincoln subsequently endured the "darkling doldrums" of generals John Pope, Ambrose Burnside, and Joseph Hooker before finding a fighting match in George Meade and U.S. Grant. Indeed, writes Sears, "the high command that closed the war in April 1865 was a world apart from the high command that opened the war." The author wades through dense research not only chronicling the military maneuvers of the war, but also the intensive political intrigues surrounding the high command. Sears lists 20 generals who were "dead and gone serving the Army of the Potomac" by the time of the surrender at Appomattox. A staggering work of research by a masterly historian.
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March 1, 2017
In this exhaustive study, historian Sears (Gettysburg) does for the Army of the Potomac what Douglas Southall Freeman did for the Army of Northern Virginia in Lee's Lieutenants. Drawing on a wide array of primary and secondary sources, the author provides a group biography of the commanders of the army based in Washington, DC. Sears shows the extent to which politicians, officials, and reporters meddled with commanders in the field. These same officers, not above backbiting and infighting, often wrote glowing reports of their actions which were published by newspaper editors who were eager for information. Meanwhile, scathing critiques of other officers made their way to sympathetic ears in Washington and to other papers. The author shows how generals, such as George McClellan, used their authority and influence to promote friends while opponents found themselves relegated to less desirable commands. This book is exclusively about the Army of the Potomac. Operations in other theatres are only mentioned to provide context, such as Ulysses S. Grant's capture of Vicksburg during the Battle of Gettysburg. VERDICT Recommended for Civil War buffs, especially those interested in the personalities that led the army and how they shaped the direction of the war.--Chad E. Statler, Lakeland Comm. Coll., Kirtland, OH
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