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Reviews
| Mr. Lincoln Goes to War. By William Marvel (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin Company, 2006. Pp. xviii, 387. Illus., maps, bib, index. Cloth, $30.)
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Abraham Lincoln figures prominently in this book, but its primary subject is the first year of the Civil War. The narrative begins with Lincoln's inauguration, and ends with a long description of the Battle of Ball's Bluff, near Harper's Ferry. In a chain of command that ran from General George McClellan to General Charles P. Stone to Colonel Edward D. Baker, it was Baker who, attempting to follow Stone's orders, led his men across the Potomac into Virginia, only to be caught in a murderous crossfire from well-positioned Confederates. In Marvel's account, buttressed by a thorough study of the terrain and a quantity of testimony from participants, the ensuing disaster was the result of Baker's inept tactics. Stone was subsequently blamed for the disaster and other alleged malfeasances by the new Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War, and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. The result was half a year's imprisonment and, after his release, demotions that led him to resign his commission. McClellan was in a position to defend Stone, but apparently made no effort to do so. Lincoln reviewed the affair, but probably saw only what Stanton and the Committee had gathered. Lincoln and Baker had been friends for most of their adult lives, and the Lincolns had named their second son, Eddie, after him. At the time of his death, Baker was a U. S. Senator from Oregon as well as a newly commissioned officer. He was a veteran of the Mexican War. |
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Why go into this much detail? Because the wrongs done to General Stone constitute the most import subject in this unusual book. Otherwise, it consists of a running commentary on selected political moves and military disasters caused by, in William Marvel's view, a bungling President and his fanatical supporters. Violations of civil liberties in Maryland and Missouri receive close study, along with the other major military disasters suffered by Union armies - at Wilson's Creek in Missouri, and Bull Run in northern Virginia. Marvel interweaves this account with asides on how easily the war could have been avoided, and the strong possibility, that everyone, even African American slaves, might have been better off if the terrible war had never happened. He makes no systematic case for the North being wrong, but strongly hints that the South required sympathy, not invasion. Many of the elements of his critique have been developed over the years by the neo-Confederate and "repressible conflict" schools. Marvel never argues in favor of the Confederate States of America. But he is most vigorous and detailed in finding fault with Unionists, especially those with strong anti-slavery leanings. |
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