A Book Review of Lincoln and His Generals

Lincoln and His Generals, written by T. Harry Williams, examines the numerous measures and sacrifices that President Abraham Lincoln made in finding the most suitable general to achieve victory during the Civil War. Lincoln and His Generals makes a point of highlighting the most crucial elements that make up a great leader, as well as compare and contrast the outcomes of both effective leadership and poor leadership. To do this, the author demonstrates some of the most callous examples of poor leadership, with soldiers lacking direction, orders being either misinterpreted or disregarded entirely, and generals themselves lacking any power whatsoever. This paper will examine the Civil War from the perspective of leadership, as well as the performances of a few effective generals selected by Lincoln himself to lead the troops during the war, as well as correlate Lincoln's transformational leadership skills with the expectations of the military leaders in the modern era.

The Civil War was Lincoln's shining hour in terms of both demonstrating his strategic effectiveness as well as his sound judgment in selecting the right leaders for each task, including General Winfred Scott, Ulysses S. Grant, General Halleck, and General George McClellan (Mcpherson and James 333). The Civil War itself began in 1861, at the Battle of Fort Sumter, and ended a grueling four years later with the Confederacy eventually surrendering to Union forces (Williams 348). However, even before the eruption of the Civil War, America was already a nation divided, with the growth of industrialism creating a rift between two very different ideologies between the Union and Confederacy (Mcpherson and James 191). Meanwhile, the south continued to focus on the agricultural aspects, such as farming (Mcpherson and James 191). This segregation came to a head when the use of slaves was called into question by many of the states, especially in the north, as they were being used copiously to pick necessary items such as tobacco and cotton (Williams 36). The reluctance of the south to abandon slavery, which would have dire economic ramifications for them, was their driving force to enter into the Civil War with the north. Once Abraham Lincoln was elected president, it was seen as the last straw by many states, including Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia (Mcpherson and James 229). This secession marked the beginning of the Civil War and sparked a number of bloody battles in the process such as the Battle of Bull Run, Battle of Antietam, Battle of Gettysburg, and, finally, the Surrender at Appomattox house (Mcpherson and James 540). The Civil War put Lincoln's skills as a tactician and general to the test, and although the final death tally of the civil war was about 620,000, without Lincoln commanding, the death toll could have been much higher (Mcpherson and James 854). The measures taken by Lincoln as both a tactician and a general help to reiterate the important concepts from 6-0, Mission Command, as well as 6-22, Army Leadership, and allow Lincoln to be a leader by example even post-mortem.

6-0, Mission Command, stresses the importance of both command and control in order to efficiently direct any given operation. (Odierno, ADP 6-0 ii). Abraham Lincoln was able to demonstrate this concept extremely well throughout the entirety of the Civil War by maintaining a clear, consistent chain of command, as well as creating a number of alternative and backup plans to ensure that, if he himself were not in control at all times, then that one of his appointed generals would have command, even if the major forces of the Union found themselves separated and unable to communicate with one another (Williams 293). One of the most important facets of 6-0 is adherence to core leadership values at all times, such as ensuring that generals and orders are applicable to U.S. laws, and are the best courses of action to take at any given time (Odierno, ADP 6-0 ii). This means that a general or commander who sees one of his orders, generals, or subordinates not adhering to these values has a duty to take action immediately. Oftentimes, Lincoln himself found himself in the rather unenviable position of having a general who is not furthering his cause to his satisfaction, forcing him to take action. For example, Lincoln appointed General McClellan, a Democrat, as the general-in-chief for all Union armies (Williams 143-150). McClellan's plan was simple: capture Richmond by moving his army by boat to the confederate capital, yet this plan continued to run into snags (Williams 143-150). Most damaging was the number of frustrating delays in his plans, causing Lincoln to lose a number of valuable opportunities at turning the tide of war in favor of the Union (Williams 143-150). Eventually, fed up with his delays, Lincoln removed McClellan as general-in-chief and appointed Henry Wager Halleck in his stead in 1862, which proved to be the right choice (Williams 143-150).

Another important facet of 6-0 is a mutual trust, shared understanding, and purpose (Odierno, ADP 6-0 2). These values allow commanders and those under their command to operate as a single, cohesive unit, with the same ultimate goals. This underlying concept was crucial to Abraham Lincoln and his appointed generals during the Civil War, especially since communication between commanders and units was oftentimes difficult, or even nonexistent altogether. One glaring example of how important operating with mutual trust and understand is can be observed in the headstrong actions of Ambrose Burnside (Williams 185-205). Burnside, against the direct orders of Lincoln himself, charged headlong across the Rappahannock River and was defeated by Confederate general Robert E. Lee at Fredericksburg as a result, infuriating Lincoln (Williams 182-205). Furthermore, Burnside's troops, after being defeated by Lee, were generally disgruntled and frustrated, making them a much less effective force. A cohesive, motivated unit of this same size would be doubly effective compared to a unit of frustrated, unmotivated soldiers (Williams 182-205). Thus, one of the guiding principles of 6-0 can be applied to battles even hundreds of years old: that having a cohesive goal leads to more motivated soldiers, which, in turn, leads to more military effectiveness, which should be the goal of any good leader.

Next, ADP 6-22 stresses some of the more basic aspects of leadership, both within and outside of a military setting. One of the most prominent of the points made is how crucial it is to define a leader, leadership, and leadership roles (Odierno, 6-22 1). Much of these points rely on aspects of the leaders themselves. For instance, effective leadership requires that the leader demonstrate influence, purpose and vision, direction, motivation, and always be striving to improve oneself (Odierno 6-22 1-2). While Lincoln did indeed possess these traits, he was not the type to flaunt and brag about them. He was more the strong, silent leader who let his actions dictate his reputation. One example of this can be observed after the fall of Fort Sumter, with Lincoln being forced to take direct control of the war and Union forces, a great responsibility if ever there was one (Williams 8-11). Lincoln also found himself, upon taking command of the Union forces, that the whole situation was more of a mess than he could have ever realized. For starters, there was a distinct lack of communication between political and military arms of the Union, and Lincoln wisely made the decision to step in as a central figure of authority to unite these two groups, as well as the entirety of the Union, under one strong, confident leader, making Lincoln a figurehead in addition to his other roles (Williams 10-14). Lincoln also understood the basic tenants of 6-22, which is that strong, effective leaders are crucial to winning a war effort. To that end, Lincoln made a point of appointing generals that reflected his beliefs and style of command perfectly. For example, Lincoln appointed Edwin Stanton, a conservative Democrat and competent commander, as War Secretary (Williams 73). Stanton was effective as War Secretary because, in many ways, he mirrored the beliefs of Lincoln himself, which were that communication, mixed with point-defense and organized aggression was key to winning a drawn-out battle such as this one (Williams 74). On the other hand, there are a few examples of generals who do not share the beliefs of their central commander (Lincoln) being a detriment to the operation. For instance, General John C. Fremont once proclaimed martial law in Missouri without consulting Lincoln or any of his superiors, for that matter (Williams 34-38). This led to a barrage of allegations of fraud and illegal activity on both sides against Fremont, and, as a result, Lincoln was forced to step in and remove Fremont's proclamation, stating that it was neither militarily necessary nor legal (Williams 34-38).

These examples in Lincoln and His Generals help to illustrate some of the most important guiding concepts behind the Army. Essentially, a great leader is much more than the sum of his or her parts. Effective leadership requires a degree of decision-making, of course, but also to deal with the repercussions that inevitably arise in no-win situations, such as what Lincoln found himself frequently faced with. In any case, the success of the Union can largely be attributed to Lincoln himself, as can much of the prosperity the United States enjoyed afterward. While any country would hate to find itself in a civil war, the key to success in situations such as this are to end the war as quickly and decisively as possible, while keeping causalities, both in terms of death toll and financial damage, to an absolute minimum, which Lincoln was able to accomplish to an admirable degree.

Works Cited

McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford University Press, 1988.

Odierno, Raymond. "ADP 6-0 Mission Command." Headquarters, Department of the Army 1-17 May 2012: 1-12. Print.

Odierno, Raymond. "ADP 6-22-Army Leadership." Headquarters, Department of the Army 1-9 Aug. 2012: 1-9. Print.

Williams, T. Harry. Lincoln and his Generals. Random House LLC, 2011.