John Y. Simon - Böcker

As the American Civil War recedes into the past, popular fascination continues to rise. Once a matter that chiefly concerned veterans, separately organized North and South, who gathered to refight old battles and to memorialize the heroes and victims of war, the Civil War has gradually become part of a collective heritage.Issues raised by the war, including its causes and consequences, reverberate through contemporary society. Family and community connections with the war exist everywhere, as do battlefields, memorials, and other physical reminders of the conflict. We, as Americans, are fascinated by the sheer magnitude of the war fought over thousands of miles of American soil and resulting in awesome casualties. It was a gigantic national drama enacted by people who seem both contemporary and remote.Here for the first time, leading Civil War scholars gather to sort out the fact and fiction of our collective memories. Contributors include Pulitzer Prize-winner Mark E. Neely, Jr., Alan T. Nolan, John Y. Simon, James I. "Bud" Robertson, Jr., Gary W. Gallagher, Joseph T. Glatthaar, and Ervin L. Jordan, Jr.

In Lincoln’s Generals , Gabor S. Boritt and a team of distinguished historians examine the interaction between Abraham Lincoln and his five key Civil War generals: McClellan, Hooker, Meade, Sherman, and Grant, providing fresh insight into this mixed bag of officers and the president’s tireless efforts to work with them. The president’s relationship with his generals was never easy. Stephen W. Sears underscores McClellan’s perverse obstinacy as Lincoln tried to drive him ahead. Pulitzer Prize–winner Mark E. Neely Jr. sheds new light on the president’s relationship with Hooker, arguing that he was wrong to push the general to attack at Chancellorsville. Boritt writes about Lincoln’s prickly relationship with the victor of Gettysburg, “old snapping turtle” George Meade. Michael Fellman reveals the political stress between the White House and Sherman, a staunch conservative who did not want blacks in his army but who was crucial to the war effort. And John Y. Simon looks past the legendary camaraderie between Lincoln and Grant to reveal the tensions in their relationship. These authors take us inside the personalities and relationships that shaped the course of the nation’s most costly war.

In the winter of 1864 while Grant prepared for the inevitable spring campaign in Georgia, Congress revived the rank of lieu­tenant general for the purpose of giving it to its most victorious general. When the bill passed, President Lincoln called Grant to Washington to receive his commission and to assume command of all the armies.   Major General Henry W. Halleck, who became Grant’s chief of staff, then handled administrative matters and implemented the commander’s orders, thus creating a modern chain of com­mand and freeing Grant to take the field. Accompanying the Army of the Potomac, Grant planned a coordinated spring cam­paign of all the armies. Lincoln’s response to the plan—“Those not skinning can hold a leg”—delighted Grant. He soon learned, however, that some commanders, notably Major Gen­erals Nathaniel P. Banks, Benjamin F. Butler, and Franz Sigel, would let the legs slip from their grasp.   Grant’s arrival was greeted with scant enthusiasm by the Army of the Potomac. By not bringing in victorious generals from the western armies and by quietly conveying his confidence in his own troops, however, he soon raised morale. By the time his army crossed the Rapidan in early May it was ready for a series of bloody battles with General Robert E. Lee.   May ended with the armies massed for an encounter at Cold Harbor. Grant suffered heavy casualties but was determined to “fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.” Evaluation of Grant’s success that May depends on whether one checks the maps or the casualty figures. Grant pushed Lee back to Rich­mond, but the cost was awesome.   Although Grant remained informed on the basis of reports sent to Halleck and copied for him, correspondence not ad­dressed to Grant has been excluded from this book unless it is essential to understanding Grant’s own letters. As he moved into Virginia, Grant’s correspondence increased in volume and significance. Halleck’s new position relieved Grant, and later his editors and readers, of much routine army business.

Each year, hundreds of scholars and other enthusiasts mark the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address by gathering together in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for the Lincoln Forum. There, leading historians reinterpret and rediscover the legacy of Abraham Lincoln. Now the best recent Lincoln Forum essays are available in one volume, offering important reexaminations of Lincoln as military leader, communicator, family man, and icon.

Each year, hundreds of scholars and other enthusiasts mark the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address by gathering together in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for the Lincoln Forum. There, leading historians reinterpret and rediscover the legacy of Abraham Lincoln. Now the best recent Lincoln Forum essays are available in one volume, offering important reexaminations of Lincoln as military leader, communicator, family man, and icon.

This text reproduces Arnold's essay of 1886 on Grant, and Twain's rejoinder to the Army and Navy Club of Connecticut. Arnold's essay praised Grant, but to many Americans its tone seemed patronizing of their hero and country.