Mr Lincoln's Army Chapter Summary
Book Report Mr. Lincoln’s Army
When it comes to recording the history of our wonderful country, books are very important. The book Mr. Lincoln’s Army by Bruce Catton can be described as one of those history books that carefully spell out the ins and outs of that period of time.
In this book review, I will address two main focal points. First I will attempt to summarize Mr. Catton’s book and second I will discuss what I think the thesis of Mr. Lincoln’s Army is.
Mr. Lincoln’s Army is in its most basic form, about the American Civil War during the early existence of the United States. This book covers the (northern) Union Army's early years and formation, the ascension and command of a young and dashing General George B. McClellan, the Peninsula …show more content…
Campaign, the Northern Virginia Campaign, and the stalemated victory at Antietam in September 1862. I feel that while these events are only a portion of the Civil War Era, they were critical turning point events for the Union forces and the Union itself. Additionally this book summarizes the troop movements and gives an inside look at how the soldiers and citizens thought about and handled the hardships of war.
It is interesting to see that the book is actually written more like a novel than a so called history book. Many times the narrative is filled with subtle detail and background information that bring alive the events of those times. For example, the first chapter of the book is called “Picture-Book War”. Early in the war, this invoked the heroic and romantic ideas and images of spit polished equipment, colorful flags, proud marching bands, and sharp looking uniforms.
The horrors of war, however, quickly set the tone that there is no romanticism on the battle field. Reality set in and we learn that the men of the Army in the Potomac had their few victories through effort, courage and hard bloody work.
The book starts at the end of the Peninsula Campaign, a defeat for General McClellan and the early Union army. This resulted in his removal from command. This loss was most likely due to poor, what we call today, intelligence and being overly cautious. His replacement, General John Pope then lost the second Battle of Bull Run and McClellan was returned to command. This was in all likelihood a good reversal because he had enough time to prepare for Lee’s march into Maryland.
General McClellan was then promoted to Commander of the Army of the Potomac. The author, Bruce Catton, then drives forward with more detail and background information. He discusses the Generals difficulties in dealing with the politics of Washington. He had a tendency to do two things that lead to Washington having doubts about his fitness for command.
First, he chose many times to not communicate in a timely fashion with Lincoln and the Washington command. So even with the fact that he was a good pre-war commander, liked by his men and somewhat motivational, was not enough to gain him friends back home in the Washington command.
Second, he was a very, very cautious Commander at times, almost to a fault; several times giving the enemy a more advantageous position than they should have had. During this time Washington’s uneasiness with the General caused the Washington military leaders to appoint additional local commanders to his Army without McClellan’s consent or knowledge. Why? Because of the Generals slowness in doing so himself!
Finally, McClellan reached a temporary understanding with his political and military critics and began a southward campaign with the Army towards Richmond Virginia. But, before the march started in earnest, Washington diverted several divisions back to protect the Nation’s capital. This reduced troop strength coupled with McClellan’s cautious advance and flawed estimates of Confederate Army troop strength doomed the campaign. Ultimately, the Union Army’s retreat from Richmond and McClellan’s insistence on blaming Washington for his failures sealed his dismissal.
The Battle of Antietam was the first major battle to be fought on Union territory.
It is this event that the author winds down his book. We learn that while McClellan and the Army of the Potomac were moving to intercept Lee and the Confederates, two Union soldiers from Indiana found a copy of Lee’s battle plans (Special Orders 191) wrapped around three cigars. These plans detailed troop movement and strength. The author, Catton, illustrates how the General could have destroyed the Confederate troops but waited too long and squandered the opportunity.
These delays lead to a tactical stalemate rather than a decisive victory. Lee and his troops were able to retreat and live to fight another day, giving the Union a partial “victory”. Lincoln felt this was a good enough situation and gave the Emancipation Proclamation linking to the end of the Civil War with the end of slavery. This (limited) victory and Lincoln’s actions blunted France and England from officially recognizing the Confederacy as a nation unto itself because recognition of the South now equaled support for slavery.
There is so much more in the book than this simple summary can reveal. After reading the book, I think the author’s thesis is spelled out nicely when looking at the chapter
titles.
Chapter one: The Picture-Books Wars, Chapter two: The Young General, Chapter three: The Era of Suspicion, Chapter four: An Army on the March, Chapter five: Opportunity Knocks Three Times and finally Chapter six: Never Call Retreat.
I think Bruce Catton was an artist, and was trying to paint a picture of a period of history that can be easily misunderstood or ignored. He created a background with Chapter one that talks about the early feelings of romance. In Chapter two he introduces us to the successful young pre-war General and his strengths and flaws. Chapter three further paints texture regarding the thought of the union when war clouds can be seen on the horizon. Now in full force, Chapter four details the early Army and its slow maturing to the realities of this war. Chapter five boldly illustrates McClellan’s final miscues and battlefield mistakes while the last chapter gives us broad strokes of the realities of the war and what the average man and woman went through.
Catton’s book, Mr. Lincoln’s Army, is a book full of factual information ready for the taking. The Civil war is a complicated topic but Catton turned it into a fun and informational read.
When it comes to recording the history of our wonderful country, books are very important. The book Mr. Lincoln’s Army by Bruce Catton can be described as one of those history books that carefully spell out the ins and outs of that period of time.
In this book review, I will address two main focal points. First I will attempt to summarize Mr. Catton’s book and second I will discuss what I think the thesis of Mr. Lincoln’s Army is.
Mr. Lincoln’s Army is in its most basic form, about the American Civil War during the early existence of the United States. This book covers the (northern) Union Army's early years and formation, the ascension and command of a young and dashing General George B. McClellan, the Peninsula …show more content…
Campaign, the Northern Virginia Campaign, and the stalemated victory at Antietam in September 1862. I feel that while these events are only a portion of the Civil War Era, they were critical turning point events for the Union forces and the Union itself. Additionally this book summarizes the troop movements and gives an inside look at how the soldiers and citizens thought about and handled the hardships of war.
It is interesting to see that the book is actually written more like a novel than a so called history book. Many times the narrative is filled with subtle detail and background information that bring alive the events of those times. For example, the first chapter of the book is called “Picture-Book War”. Early in the war, this invoked the heroic and romantic ideas and images of spit polished equipment, colorful flags, proud marching bands, and sharp looking uniforms.
The horrors of war, however, quickly set the tone that there is no romanticism on the battle field. Reality set in and we learn that the men of the Army in the Potomac had their few victories through effort, courage and hard bloody work.
The book starts at the end of the Peninsula Campaign, a defeat for General McClellan and the early Union army. This resulted in his removal from command. This loss was most likely due to poor, what we call today, intelligence and being overly cautious. His replacement, General John Pope then lost the second Battle of Bull Run and McClellan was returned to command. This was in all likelihood a good reversal because he had enough time to prepare for Lee’s march into Maryland.
General McClellan was then promoted to Commander of the Army of the Potomac. The author, Bruce Catton, then drives forward with more detail and background information. He discusses the Generals difficulties in dealing with the politics of Washington. He had a tendency to do two things that lead to Washington having doubts about his fitness for command.
First, he chose many times to not communicate in a timely fashion with Lincoln and the Washington command. So even with the fact that he was a good pre-war commander, liked by his men and somewhat motivational, was not enough to gain him friends back home in the Washington command.
Second, he was a very, very cautious Commander at times, almost to a fault; several times giving the enemy a more advantageous position than they should have had. During this time Washington’s uneasiness with the General caused the Washington military leaders to appoint additional local commanders to his Army without McClellan’s consent or knowledge. Why? Because of the Generals slowness in doing so himself!
Finally, McClellan reached a temporary understanding with his political and military critics and began a southward campaign with the Army towards Richmond Virginia. But, before the march started in earnest, Washington diverted several divisions back to protect the Nation’s capital. This reduced troop strength coupled with McClellan’s cautious advance and flawed estimates of Confederate Army troop strength doomed the campaign. Ultimately, the Union Army’s retreat from Richmond and McClellan’s insistence on blaming Washington for his failures sealed his dismissal.
The Battle of Antietam was the first major battle to be fought on Union territory.
It is this event that the author winds down his book. We learn that while McClellan and the Army of the Potomac were moving to intercept Lee and the Confederates, two Union soldiers from Indiana found a copy of Lee’s battle plans (Special Orders 191) wrapped around three cigars. These plans detailed troop movement and strength. The author, Catton, illustrates how the General could have destroyed the Confederate troops but waited too long and squandered the opportunity.
These delays lead to a tactical stalemate rather than a decisive victory. Lee and his troops were able to retreat and live to fight another day, giving the Union a partial “victory”. Lincoln felt this was a good enough situation and gave the Emancipation Proclamation linking to the end of the Civil War with the end of slavery. This (limited) victory and Lincoln’s actions blunted France and England from officially recognizing the Confederacy as a nation unto itself because recognition of the South now equaled support for slavery.
There is so much more in the book than this simple summary can reveal. After reading the book, I think the author’s thesis is spelled out nicely when looking at the chapter
titles.
Chapter one: The Picture-Books Wars, Chapter two: The Young General, Chapter three: The Era of Suspicion, Chapter four: An Army on the March, Chapter five: Opportunity Knocks Three Times and finally Chapter six: Never Call Retreat.
I think Bruce Catton was an artist, and was trying to paint a picture of a period of history that can be easily misunderstood or ignored. He created a background with Chapter one that talks about the early feelings of romance. In Chapter two he introduces us to the successful young pre-war General and his strengths and flaws. Chapter three further paints texture regarding the thought of the union when war clouds can be seen on the horizon. Now in full force, Chapter four details the early Army and its slow maturing to the realities of this war. Chapter five boldly illustrates McClellan’s final miscues and battlefield mistakes while the last chapter gives us broad strokes of the realities of the war and what the average man and woman went through.
Catton’s book, Mr. Lincoln’s Army, is a book full of factual information ready for the taking. The Civil war is a complicated topic but Catton turned it into a fun and informational read.