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Liked It “Great book to understand Lincoln as he faced monumental challenges--his drive, self-education in war strategies, patience, loyalty, etc. I have new respect for why he was one of the greatest presidents. Because this book focuses on his wartime activities, although it touches on his keen political...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Lincoln as commander in chief. In historical hindsight, he was a much better "general" than any of his generals in the first years of the Civil War. In depth discussion of his war strategy and the all too human weaknesses of those generals. McPherson also discusses the political battles going on in Congress and across the country with a focus on the Emancipation Proclamation and its timing.”
Lisa L wrote this review Thursday, November 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Great book to understand Lincoln as he faced monumental challenges--his drive, self-education in war strategies, patience, loyalty, etc. I have new respect for why he was one of the greatest presidents. Because this book focuses on his wartime activities, although it touches on his keen political mind, it doesn't discuss all the other challenges he was facing at the same time, such as pushing to build a transcontinental railroad, for which he wrote a speech while he was also preparing the Gettysburg Address and which may not have been built when it was without his support. ”
Michael A wrote this review Thursday, September 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Excellent in depth study of Lincoln as the commander in chief during the civil war. Highly recommended.”
Ken M wrote this review Wednesday, July 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Interesting look at Lincoln's difficulty with the generals during the first two years of the Civil War. Lincoln became chief strategist for the Union by default, largely by seeing that the strategic objective had to be destruction of the Confederate armies, not the capture of various pieces of Southern real estate. None of his generals in the early days shared his strategic vision. Eventually the team of Grant, Sherman and Sheridan took firm hold of the main Union effort and made the first real, sustained progress.”
Jim W wrote this review Tuesday, July 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“There were times while reading this book that I thought it should of been called Little Mac vs Honest Abe. The frustrations Lincoln had with General McClellan were appalling. While McClellan was brilliant in training, organizing and commanding the loyalty of the Army of the Potomac, his constant overestimation of the enemy's strength and reluctance to engage in actual battle made him a poor battlefield commander. McClellan's arrogant letters to friends and family, which were heavily quoted in this book, were nearly treasonous in regard to Lincoln and other Union commanders. The book demonstrates how Abraham Lincoln, a man with no military experience but a brilliant mind, had to deal with the personalities, eccentricities, strengths and weaknesses of his generals. ”
Karen K - Ohio wrote this review Tuesday, July 7 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Interesting approach -- looking ONLY at Lincoln's role as commander in chief -- and quite effective”
Georgette T wrote this review Tuesday, July 7 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“A well written book and very interesting book on Lincoln during the American Civil War.”
Alexander o wrote this review Wednesday, April 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“James McPherson is arguably one of our great historians. Being an accomplished writer only enhances the pleasure one gets when reading his books. Tried By War is no exception. In this book Mr. McPherson brings to light the depth of the role Lincoln played as Commander In Chief during the Civil War. His hands on approach to managing the war ranged from strategic goals to tactical decisions. Lincoln was doing this while balancing the legal and political issues that confronted him throughout the war. It's an amazing story of one man's perseverance and leadership in the face of a seemingly impossible situation. ”
Curtis I wrote this review Friday, March 27 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“James McPherson - whose Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom has become one of the great studies of the Civil War era - focuses on Abraham Lincoln as commander-in-chief. Citing a dearth of such studies in the Lincoln historiography, McPherson concentrates on the day-to-day military leadership Lincoln provided to what seemed to be a never-ending line of big-talking do-nothing generals.
EBBP D wrote this review Friday, March 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
One of the main premises of the book is that Lincoln was forced into taking a far more active role in military affairs than he had ever intended, largely because of the ineptitude of his commanders. He spent countless hours studying military histories late at night at the White House, talked with generals and military advisers, asking probing questions that helped to shape his military strategy.
It was not until Ulysses S. Grant came to his attention that Lincoln found a general who shared that strategy: defeat of the Confederate army. More important than capturing Richmond, Vicksburg, Atlanta or even defending Gettysburg was the pursuit and defeat of that army. Lincoln - and Grant - realized that until that army was defeated, the war would continue even if the Union successfully captured every major city in the South.
Throughout McPherson's work, we see an agonized Lincoln waiting at the War Department telegraph office for his generals to attack. He wrings his hands at their lack of movement, at their over-caution, and at their short-sighted aims of capturing pieces of land at the expense of pursuing the enemy. There is the possibly apocryphal story of Lincoln saying, "If General McClellan isn't going to use his Army, perhaps he won't mind if I borrow it." That, in a nutshell, was Lincoln's first two-plus years as commander-in-chief. You only need substitute the names of Joe Hooker, George Meade, Ambrose Burnside and a half-dozen others in place of McClellan to get the full impression of what Lincoln faced.
McPherson confronts head on the natural question that might arise: if these generals were so incompetent, isn't Lincoln at fault himself for appointing them in the first place? As McPherson points out, in each and every case where Lincoln appointed a new general, that man was universally recognized as the most qualified for the position....on paper. There were some exceptions, military appointments Lincoln made with politics in mind [the appointment of Democrat-turned-Republican Benjamin Butler being one of the more famous.
Incorporating his thesis from Battle Cry of Freedom, McPherson points out the evolution of Lincoln's thinking as to the main goal of the war. What started out in 1861 as an effort to reunite the Union as it was evolves into creating a new Union free of slavery. The abolition of slavery gave the War a greater meaning than simple reunion: there had to be a greater purpose for all of this carnage than simply restoring the Union as it was in 1860. That purpose was abolition.
By 1862, it was abolition and the complete destruction of the Confederate army that served as Lincoln's two main war aims. Many times, however, Lincoln would be frustrated by his generals' inability or unwillingness to comply with his commands. In September 1862 he has to actually spell out for McClellan, "Destroy the rebel army." In June 1863 he says in frustration to Hooker, "Lee's Army, and not Richmond, is your true objective point." In anguish, he chastises George Meade after the latter's inability or refusal to pursue Lee's army out of Gettysburg. If Meade had only accomplished, "the literal or substantial destruction of Lee's army, the rebellion [would] be over."
As McPherson points out, many generals won battles capturing territory. But the war was won by those generals carrying out Lincoln's edit to destroy the enemy army: Grant at Vicksburg, Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, George Thomas at Nashville and - ultimately - Grant at Appomattox.
Indeed, it was not until the team of Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, Thomas and Sheridan came to the fore by 1864 that Lincoln had "his man". That is, a general (or, in this case, generals) who would fight the war the way Lincoln wanted it fought.
Destroying an army is not easy, however. It is bloody, lengthy and hard. The sheer number of Americans who died in these battles staggers the mind today. Grant was known as "The Butcher" - and that was Northerners called him, so appalled were they at the casualties he [and, ultimately, Lincoln]was willing to endure in the pursuit of his war aim.
Tried by War is a quick read, and not too heavy on the detailed military analyses that sometimes make reading military history a little like watching paint dry. As with most works that analyze Lincoln, the reader comes away with an even greater appreciation of the man and in amazement at all that this brilliant "backwoods lawyer" accomplished in saving the Union.”“When you first hold this book in your hands, it simply feels too thin to fully cover the topic. Lincoln as commander in chief in under 300 pages? What I had forgotten was just how amazingly superior James McPherson's writing is. For a rather short book type spaced only marginally closer than a Robert B Parker novel, McPherson crams an amazing amount of narrative and scholarly insight. AND it's exciting. Among the mass of Lincoln books you've got out there right now you can't go wrong here. McPherson deftly shows how Lincoln went from being a novice strategist to - with his own innate talents and hard-won experience - the most important Union strategist of the war. As ever, Lincoln's amazing personal and political skills played key roles in dealing with and motivating all around him. And with all the narrative, McPherson still give plenty of analytical focus explaining Lincoln's goals, failures, and achievements. A fantastic book and a must read for Lincoln and Civil War fans.”
James W wrote this review Wednesday, February 18 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
