Lincoln's Men: How
President Lincoln Became Father to an Army and a Nation - William C. Davis
This is an excellent book for readers interested in
Lincoln, the Civil War or more generally, morale among soldiers. Davis takes an
in-depth examination of the relationship between the troops and Lincoln as the
commander-in-chief and father figure of the Union Army and Navy.
Davis quotes from soldier’s personal letters, journals
and manuscripts. Sometimes Davis cites more information in support of his point
than he needs, but the anecdotes were so interesting that they kept me
reading. Davis builds a persuasive case that although Lincoln was only a
solider for 90 days during the Black Hawk War of 1832, he used that first-hand
experience to give him insight into the problems and concerns of privates,
volunteer officers and military discipline over a fractious, independent-minded
population.
Davis also goes over Lincoln’s understanding of the
importance of visibility. He reviewed troops often and attended scores of
events such as Sanitation Commission fairs, parades and serenades. The
President's care worn expression made impertinent troops understand that he
suffered like ordinary people and he had a genuine interest in their
welfare. Davis’ examination of the
re-election campaign of Lincoln in 1864 helped me to realize more deeply how
politically diverse and astute Union soldiers were.
Lincoln campaigned for better pay and pensions, helped
soldiers with their problems, and visited the sick and wounded too. He inclined to mercy and clemency, especially
when very young soldiers got involved in incidents of desertion, cowardice, or
insubordination. Such was the respect
and affection for Lincoln, that when indiscreet soldiers expressed satisfaction
when Lincoln was murdered, they needed protection from angry fellow soldiers
and CSA POWs rash enough to make cracks were handled roughly by their
captors.
Sometimes the sentences are rather garbled. Sometimes
there is confusion between “its” and “it’s.” I detested the quotation
marks he put around the word “massacre” as in Fort Pillow Massacre. I also would
have liked a discussion of Lincoln’s stance on “drastic war” against civilians
as practiced by Sherman, Sheridan, and Hunter. Anyway, despite these missteps,
this book is worth reading for those into the topic of soldiering during
the Civil War.
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