056 - Abraham Lincoln: Commander-In-Chief
11/28/22 • 72 min
About this episode:
It was a Thursday, March 10, 1864, when the brand-spanking new General-in-Chief of all US forces arrived at Brandy Station, Virginia where Major General George Gordon Meade made his headquarters. Fully aware the most pressing military matter was for the Army of the Potomac to forcefully campaign, Lieutenant General U. S. Grant arrived from Washington City to do what he believed he had to do - find a new man to lead the that eastern army. The Pennsylvanian, Meade, expected as much and opened their conversation by offering to uncomplainingly step down and serve in a subordinate role if Grant desired one of his own - perhaps a westerner like Sherman. Instead, Meade’s candor impressed Grant and, whatever the Lieutenant General originally thought about the Army of the Potomac’s commander, the two hit it off. They sensed they could work together. Up in Washington City, the 16th President of the United States felt certain that, after three years of trial and bloody error, he finally had found his general. This is the story of his learning curve and role as the nation’s top military official. This is the story of Abraham Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief.
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Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
For Further Reading:
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
Thank you to our sponsor Bob Graesser, Raleigh Civil War Round Table's editor of The Knapsack newsletter and the Round Table's webmaster at http://www.raleighcwrt.org
About this episode:
It was a Thursday, March 10, 1864, when the brand-spanking new General-in-Chief of all US forces arrived at Brandy Station, Virginia where Major General George Gordon Meade made his headquarters. Fully aware the most pressing military matter was for the Army of the Potomac to forcefully campaign, Lieutenant General U. S. Grant arrived from Washington City to do what he believed he had to do - find a new man to lead the that eastern army. The Pennsylvanian, Meade, expected as much and opened their conversation by offering to uncomplainingly step down and serve in a subordinate role if Grant desired one of his own - perhaps a westerner like Sherman. Instead, Meade’s candor impressed Grant and, whatever the Lieutenant General originally thought about the Army of the Potomac’s commander, the two hit it off. They sensed they could work together. Up in Washington City, the 16th President of the United States felt certain that, after three years of trial and bloody error, he finally had found his general. This is the story of his learning curve and role as the nation’s top military official. This is the story of Abraham Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief.
----more----
Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
For Further Reading:
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
Thank you to our sponsor Bob Graesser, Raleigh Civil War Round Table's editor of The Knapsack newsletter and the Round Table's webmaster at http://www.raleighcwrt.org
Previous Episode
055 - Bound To Duty: The Post-War Life Of Robert E. Lee
About this episode:
The former Confederate general entered the ruined city of Richmond from the south and in the midst of a heavy April shower. His route took him through the portion of city that was most thoroughly burned in the evacuation fires of April 2nd. People stopped and stared or pointed as he made his way up Main Street. To them, he tipped his hat. Eventually, he turned and stopped in front of a three-story red brick house at 707 East Franklin. There, he dismounted Traveller, gave the reins to another, opened the iron gate, walked to the eight steps to the portico, climbed them, turned, took off his muddy hat, bowed to those that had gathered, opened the door and disappeared. And that, I feel certain, was the way he would have liked it - to move past the war and, for the rest of his days, be a constructive and positive citizen. However, it seems history won’t let him. This is the story of a man - a marble man who, as of late, has become a lightning rod. This is the story of the last days of Robert E. Lee.
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Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
For Further Reading:
Robert E. Lee: A Biography by Emory M. Thomas
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
Thank you to our sponsor Bob Graesser, Raleigh Civil War Round Table's editor of The Knapsack newsletter and the Round Table's webmaster at http://www.raleighcwrt.org
Next Episode
057 - Jefferson Davis: First and Final Confederate President
About this episode:
There are some sixteen accounts about the life of the President of the Confederacy. Unlike his counterpart, Abraham Lincoln, this President, from the perspective of most historians, has not fared well. Brittle, ill-tempered, one who held grudges, possessed poor political skills. In short, a second-rate leader who loved bureaucracy and was unable to grow with responsibility. When asked why the Confederacy lost the war, Southern-born David Potter, a professor of history at both Yale and Stanford Universities, commented that this Chief Executive should shoulder much of the blame. Writing some two decades ago, another historian and biographer, William Cooper, Jr., wrote that we should look at a man from his time and not condemn him for not being a man of our time. Though that seems to fly in the face of current sensitivities and agendas, that is what we, now, shall attempt to do. This is the story of a man, like Robert E. Lee, who is a marquee figurehead for a short-lived nation whose Constitution supported states’ rights and slavery. A man subjected to the bolts of lightning flung his way for being its elected leader. This is the story of the first and only President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson F. Davis.
----more----
Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
For Further Reading:
Jefferson Davis, American by William J. Cooper, Jr.
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
Thank you to our sponsor Bob Graesser, Raleigh Civil War Round Table's editor of The Knapsack newsletter and the Round Table's webmaster at http://www.raleighcwrt.org
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