Microfilmed 2002 Information to Users
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UMI MICROFILMED 2002 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may t>e from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing In this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMÏ A CONTINUATION OF POLITICS BY OTHER MEANS: UNION GENERALSHIP DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Thomas Joseph Goss, B. S., M. A. ***** The Ohio State University 2001 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Dr. Mark Grimsley, Adviser Dr. Allan R. Millett Dr. David Stebenne of History UMI Number: 3031203 UMI* UMI Microform 3031203 Copyright 2002 by Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT A key to understanding Union generalship during the American Civil War is to explore the often bitter relationship between generals who were graduates of West Point and political generals because this conflict signified a struggle over the definition of effective generalship. This study will reveal how the Lincoln administration had difièrent expectations of appointed general officers, each being given their command with a form of mandate to accomplish tasks that would make Union victory closer or more certain. The president, the public, and fellow military officers viewed these selections though the lens of American military heritage and popular culture, which lumped military leaders into two stereotypes: either “professionals” fi-om West Point or “natural leaders” selected from outside the military. A comparison of selected politically-appointed amateur generals and West Point-graduate general officers during the Civil War reveals an absence of the expected difference in military value to the administration, with success on the battlefield, or in political involvement, but there was a sharp divergence in their views of the approach required for successful generalship. Although the two groups shared similarities in tactical competence, political involvement, and reliance on patronage, the true relationship between the political and professional officers was a fractious struggle for dominance. As will be shown, the different pre-war experiences of the two groups led to two views of the problem facing generals; the regulars viewed the war as largely a Jominian military problem requiring a focus on the battlefield to destroy the enemy army and seize strategic points, while the poUtically-adept amateurs viewed the rebellion as a partisan political struggle for power and political allegiance in both the South and in Washington. While even this generalized dichotomy broke down for many officers, the resulting fiiction between West Pointers and political general from these stereotypes eroded Northern morale and damaged the war effort. These pervasive stereotypes obscure a nuanced picture of Union generalship that reveals that all Union senior commanders were in actuality “political generals” because, to paraphrase Clause witz, generalship is inherently “a continuation of politics by other means.” Ill Dedicated to my father and mother who nurtured my curiosity enough while I was young to aspire to start a project this large while instilling in me the discipline to complete it. Thank you. IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my adviser. Dr. Mark Grimsley, for providing intellectual support and patience to a busy, anxious, and at times overly eager graduate student. I am also grateful to Dr. Allan R. Millett and Dr. David Stebenne for being on both my master’s and doctoral committees and providing suggestions that greatly improved ny final product. I thank Dr. Samuel Watson for enduring the painful process of proof-reading my initial prose, and Dr. Carol Reardon for helping the formulation of my initial organization. In retrospect, I recognize the debt I owe to Colonel (ret.) Cole Kingseed for keeping my nose to the grindstone and providing periodic encouragement during ny seemingly long years of writing. I also wish to thank Mr. Alan Aimone and the research staff at the USMA Archives, and the staffs of the Library of Congress and the National Archives for enduring and assisting my endless research questions. 1 am especially grateful to my wife Andria and two wonderful daughters, wittiout whose toleration and encouragement this project would not have been possible This research was supported ly funding from the United States Anny and the History Department at the United States Military Academy. VITA May 2,1964 ..................Bom - Manchester, Connecticut. 1987.............................. B. S. Engineering, United States Military Academy. 1987 - Present...............Officer, United States Army. 1997.............................. M. A. History, Ohio State University. 1997 - 1999...................Instructor, Department of History, United States Military Academy. 1999 - 2000.................. Assistant Professor, Dept, of History, USMA. 2001 - Present...............Strategic Planner, North American Aerospace Defense Command Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. PUBLICATIONS “Peacekeeping Operations: One Infantry Leader’s Experience.”Infantry, 5-8, (July- August 1996). Review: Battle of Antietam: The Official Historv by George Large and Joe Swisher. Assembly, LVII-3, (January-Febniary 1999). Review: Winfield Scott: The Quest for Militarv Glorv by Timothy Johnson. Army Historian, 47, (Spring-Summer 1999). “Producing Strat^sts for the2l" Century 49-6, (June 1999), with Kelly Jordan. Review: Civil War Generals in Defeat edited by Stephen E. Woodworth.Army Historian, 48, (Fall-Winter 2000). Review: Ulvsses S. Grant: Triumph Over Adversitv by Brooks D. Simpson.Ohio History, 110, (Winter-Spring 2001 ). Review: Cultures in Conflict: The American Civil War by Stephen E. Woodworth. Army Historian, 51, (Winter 2001 ). vi Review: The Right Hand of Command: Use and Disuse of Personal Staffs in the Civil War by R. Steven Jones. Arn^ Historian, 52, (Spring 2001). FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: History Area of Emphasis: Mititaiy History Minor Field: US History before 1877 Minor Field: 20"’ Century Diplomatic History VII TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... ü DEDICATION..................................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................................. v VITA................................................................................................................................. vi INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 1 A View through a Jominian Prism. ............................................................. 4 A War within a War...................................................................................Il Conclusion ..................................................................................................16 CHAPTER: 1. “MILITARY KNOWLEDGE OR POLITICAL AFFINITY:” THE LEGACY OF A DUAL MILITARY TRADITION............................... 20 A Military Tradition of Amateur Generals ................................................ 23 West Point and the Struggle for Professional Status ................................ 31 1861 : Forming an Army and Selecting Leaders ........................................ 46 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 58 2. “THE NECESSITY OF THE TIME:” THE NEED FOR POLITICAL GENERALS..................................................63 A Mandate to Rally Support.....................................................................66 Motivating the Home Front for War.........................................................89 Conclusion ...............................................................................................108 3. “REDUCING CHAOS TO ORDER:” THE NEED FOR REGULAR OFFICERS.................................................... 113 Equating Experience with Expertise........................................................116