Controversies And Commanders

As those of you who know me are aware, I read a considerable amount on American History with a particular emphasis on the American Civil War. I have read well over 100 books on the subject and find books describing specific battles in detail and biographies as the books on the subject I enjoy reading the most. That said, sometimes it's good to come across a book that has a slightly different twist. Eleven years ago I found one of these books and pull it out and reread it from time to time. It's written by one of my favorite Civil War writers, Stephen W. Sears and is called Controversies And Commanders: Dispatches From The Army Of The Potomac.

It's not a massive tome describing the history of the Army of The Potomac like it sounds it would be but is rather is a compact little series of ten thirty or so page essays. The battle descriptions take a back seat to descriptions of drama behind the scenes and descriptions of some fascinating character. Stephen Sears rehabilitates General Joseph Hooker for his performance in the battle Chancellorsville, a battle which damaged his reputation, and while it didn't finish him as the top general in the Army of the Potomac, it did leave him on thin ice and he would be removed as top general close to two months later right before the battle of Gettysburg. Sears, a biographer of General George McClellan, is no admirer of McClellan, and its McClellan who dominates most of the essays in the first half of the book until President Lincoln finally loses patience with him and removes him. There is a detailed essay on the intrigues by many of the generals in the Army of the Potomac to remove McClellan's successor in the essay titled, "The Revolt Of The Generals". Again, it's politics, not battles that dominates this book and there are few more political generals than Daniel Sickles, described in the fascinating essay, "Daniel Sickles, Political General" about the man who killed the son of the author of the "The Star Spangled Banner" for love triangle reasons and managed to avoid prosecution and become one of the generals in the Army of The Potomac who ran afoul of the commanding general at that point, George Meade and engaged in much feuding with him. One of the most fascinating essays is the "Raid On Richmond" about the Union cavalry attack that included an instruction to kill Confederate President Jefferson Davis, a note that added to a lot of controversy and led to questions on who sanctioned that order. There's an essay on the controversy surrounding General Phil Sheridan's relief of General Warren just a few days before the end of the war. Great book that I cannot recommend any higher. Anyone looking for a description for how adults in positions of respect and power behave in situations of incredible pressure could do much worse than to read this book.