ch.18: A War of Liberation

Seward convinced the president that the Union would need a military victory before he could issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Otherwise, reasoned the Secretary of State, it would seem like a desperate maneuver. So Lincoln waited for that victory, but the situation only worsened. Lincoln had replaced McClellan but the new generals were no better. The Union army suffered serious defeats at Second Bull Run and Chancellorsville. By the late summer of 1862 the situation was so dire that the president brought McClellan back. On 17 September 1862, the great American armies met at Antietam. While the Union victory was slight, it was a victory—at least victory enough for Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

But we should remember, even as we praise Abraham Lincoln, that the role of the slaves must be considered in this “War of Liberation." In many ways, the slaves freed themselves during this great Civil War.

A WAR OF LIBERATION: THE ROLE OF BLACK AMERICANS IN THE CIVIL WAR, PART I: At the start of the Civil War, most white Americans wanted to limit the war to the question of secession. Slaves and free blacks, however, knew that the conflict had slavery as its root cause, and they acted with energy, courage, and resolution to turn the struggle into a war for freedom.

As federal armies penetrated rebel states, slaves responded by fleeing to Union camps. Not wanting to lose the support of slave owners who were loyal to the North, Lincoln initially discouraged the slaves from coming, but nothing could stem the tide. By the spring of 1863, thousands of fugitive slaves had either reached or were on the march toward Union lines. It was one of the greatest movements of people in our nation's history.

Faced with an avalanche of impoverished humanity, Union commanders responded by employing adult slaves as laborers, guides, and scouts, and by also setting up refugee camps for their families. Black women worked as cooks and nurses. The men built fortifications and did the heavy work like hauling supplies, building roads, and "slopping out" latrines. Thousands of others were paid subsistence wages to work abandoned cotton plantations. Deep within the Confederacy, moreover, those slaves too far from Union lines to run away simply stopped acting like slaves. They refused to take orders, resisted attempts to be relocated or sold, fled to the swamps and woods by the thousands, and shed their submissive behavior to await their day of liberation. As a result of their actions, the institution of southern slavery was so weakened that hundreds of slavemasters deserted the Confederate army to deal with this insubordination at home.

As the number of Union dead increased, it seemed logical to many northern whites, both abolitionists and moderates alike, that blacks should be used as fighting men, but resistance to that idea was strong. To arm fugitive slaves and free blacks would be telling the South and loyal slave owners in the border states (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and West Virginia) that the war had become more than a fight to preserve the Union. It would have to become a war for liberation!

Black and white abolitionists, led by Frederick Douglass, argued persuasively for letting fugitive slaves serve as Union soldiers in the hope that the slaves' claim to immediate emancipation, and then to citizenship at the end of the war, would be strengthened by their valor in battle. Lincoln, who had all along resisted such a step, began to yield to the pace of events by the summer of 1862. The imminent collapse of slavery as an institution, the growing public sentiment in favor of arming blacks, and the international diplomatic advantages of freeing the slaves persuaded Lincoln to emancipate those slaves within areas controlled by the Confederacy and to begin recruiting black soldiers. In all, nearly 189,000 blacks--of whom 156,000 were former slaves--served in the Union army and in the United States Navy. The black army regiments, about 100 in total, were strictly segregated and commanded by white officers. Black sailors, on the other hand, served side by side with their white counterparts at sea.

A WAR OF LIBERATION: THE ROLE OF BLACK AMERICANS IN THE CIVIL WAR, PART II: The North's so-called "sable army" initially operated as a home guard, protecting black refugee camps from Confederate raiders. They engaged the enemy in bloody fighting at Port Hudson, Fort Wagner, Fort Pillow, Nashville, Vicksburg, Petersburg, up and down the Carolina coast, all over Virginia, and in scores of skirmishes in the Mississippi River Valley. Perhaps most important, these black soldiers, one-tenth of all Union forces, became by 1864 an army of liberation, rescuing thousands of slaves from behind enemy lines. The valor and courage black troops demonstrated under fire made ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment a virtual reality.

Fugitive slaves and black soldiers suffered terrible hardships during the war. Runaway slaves were sometimes killed and often viciously beaten when captured by Confederates, executed if caught in a soldier's uniform, and even brutalized by Union troops. Their refugee camps were sinkholes of exploitation and sickness. Black soldiers frequently bore the brunt of the heaviest fighting and were discriminated against in pay, rations, and supplies. Few rebel soldiers took black troopers as prisoners if they could avoid it. Insubordinate slaves within the Confederacy, moreover, were punished in ways far harsher than the usual treatment experienced by slaves before the war.

African-Americans, through their behavior as slaves and soldiers, forced all Americans to deal with slavery as a fundamental issue of the Civil War. Even the Confederate leadership came to appreciate this fact. In the last days before Lee's surrender at Appomattox, the Confederate Congress actually drafted legislation granting freedom to those slaves who would fight as soldiers for the South. In the words of Georgia Senator Howell Cobb, "You cannot make soldiers of slaves or slaves of soldiers. The day you make a soldier of them is the beginning of the end of the revolution, and if slaves seem good soldiers, then our whole theory of slavery is wrong." Thus Americans, North and South, ended the war understanding what slaves had known from its beginning: that this great war spelled the destruction of the institution of slavery.

ch.17: Dark Times for the Union Cause

The Union cause appeared next to hopeless after the failure of the Peninsula campaign in 1862. The northern people, Lincoln’s Cabinet, and the president himself were all depressed and apprehensive about the prospects of a military victory.

Fortunately, Lincoln managed to hold his resolve. As Doris Kearns Goodwin points out, he called for more troops, reorganized the command structure of the military, and supported Stanton (pictured above) even while the public wanted the Secretary of War fired. And of even more importance, the author writes that Lincoln still “refused to let a subordinate take the blame for his own decisions.”

But what really altered the historical landscape during these dark and gloomy days is that Lincoln began to solidify his ideas on emancipation. So far, he had been hesitant to make any statements about fighting for freedom or emancipating the slaves. He might have personally thought otherwise, but he had so many constituencies to ameliorate. Now, with the Union teetering, Lincoln began to write the Emancipation Proclamation. He was about to change the Union war aims—and also change history.     

ch.16: McClellan on the "Attack"

Some Questions to Ponder

1. Why was President Lincoln so adamant about forcing McClellan to attack the Confederacy in the winter/spring of 1862? What had been going on? 

2. What was McClellan’s plan and why did Lincoln approve it even though he harbored some doubts about its feasibility?

3. Why do you suppose Lincoln retained incompetant generals like McClellan and Fremont when so many politicians were trying to get rid of those men?

4. Why did McClellan always think he was outnumbered? Was he? Where did he get his figures?

5. Who was Kate Chase and why does Doris Kearns Goodwin write about her so often?

6. What happened between the Monitor and the Merrimac?

7. How did McClellan do in the Peninsula campaign of 1862? Did he win or lose those "Seven Days" battles?

8. Why was it said at the time that McClellan was simply “out-generaled?” Was he? Explain.  

ch.15: A Death in the White House

Part of Lincoln’s political acumen is that he was able to navigate all the personalities in his cabinet. Simon Cameron was most likely included in the administration because of a deal made at the 1860 Republican convention. Cameron always had the reputation of being a shady, backroom, cigar-smoking politician. Lincoln probably didn’t want him, but a deal was made and Cameron became part of the team.

Maybe during peacetime, Cameron could have handled his duties. But a corrupt politician trying to operate the growing War Department during an internal rebellion—that’s asking a little too much. Lincoln found a way to gracefully let Cameron go and hired Edwin Stanton as Secretary of War. Stanton was a strong personality but an extremely competent administrator. He took a corrupt department and turned it around. It’s difficult to see how the Union could have conducted the war without Stanton’s efficiency. And as we are learning in Team of Rivals, Lincoln was able to deal with these personalities. He gave Stanton room to do his job even when the new secretary annoyed friends and politicians alike. Lincoln handled these situations.

The tragedy in this chapter is the death of Lincoln’s son Willie. The book includes many references and quotes on what a bright and vivacious boy he was. Even reading this book now, I become teary-eyed when I get to this chapter. With all the political problems and difficulties that Lincoln and Mary had to endure, this was a devastating blow. Mary never fully recovered and Lincoln spent much time trying to assuage her grief—all the while conducting a Civil War (a war that wasn’t going very well).

Notice in the chapter how unimpressive the medical community was. Once Willie became sick, the medical establishment could do little—they didn’t understand much about germs, viruses, and infections yet. They were still bleeding people. Doctors didn’t do much except hope that the patient recovered.                

ch.14: General McClellan

No individual from the American Civil War is as despised and detested as much as Union General George B. McClellan. Historians have not judged him well--agreeing that he was an incompetent commander and leader. His soldiers liked him; but he was extremely arrogant and pompous to his superiors—especially to Lincoln (his boss and Commander-in-Chief).

It always seemed to me that nothing better reveals Lincoln’s class than his relationship with McClellan. And in contrast, Lincoln’s character brings out the many faults and weaknesses of George McClellan.

When it became clear that Winfield Scott was too old and feeble to lead the Union forces, Lincoln had to find a new general. That duty would fall to McClellan—he was charismatic, the troops adored him, and he was able to train the men for combat—something that was sorely needed at the start of the war.


But McClellan had two major faults (among many). First, his ego was enormous; he thought himself the savior of the Union. Reading his letters—where he calls himself a savior—you wonder if he understood democracy and representative government at all. But early in the war, he was all Lincoln had. And Lincoln withstood McClellan’s many slights: leaving the president waiting in the parlor for hours, and calling him a baboon to name just a few. McClellan had little respect for Lincoln and allowed his feelings be known. Lincoln had every reason to fire and/or court-martial McClellan, but he cared little about egos and simply wanted to win the war. So the president continually showed his class by taking the general's slights--hoping that McClellan would prove to be useful on the battlefield. 


McClellan’s other flaw—which we will see more of in Team of Rivals—if that while he was an outstanding trainer, he seemed afraid to actually send his troops into battle. He continually made excuses for not pursuing the enemy. Lincoln begged him to take action—and McClellan still would hesitate. Lincoln kept the general as long as possible before finally firing him after the Battle of Antietam in the late summer of 1862. And by the way, McClellan was Lincoln’s Democratic Part opponent in the 1864 election—Lincoln crushed him, helped in a great measure by the soldier’s vote!    

chs.12-13: Inauguration to Bull Run

In chapter 12 of Team of Rivals, we see “Lincoln the speechwriter” at work crafting his inaugural address. Notice how important words were to Lincoln. And he knew that his words would be seriously parsed for hidden meaning by both sections of the country. I particularly like the touching story of Senator Douglas holding Lincoln’s hat at the inauguration ceremony. These two great men from Illinois had been rivals for years—yet always respected each other's political talents.

During his first few days in office, Lincoln was criticized by both ends of the Republican Party political spectrum. Some thought he was going too far—being too radical; others saw him as a Southern appeaser. This is a continual problem in the American political system. Moderate politicians like Lincoln must manage a political organization that includes many different factions. And as we will see in this book, he did an outstanding job keeping his party together through these difficult times. But it was not smooth sailing at the beginning.

One of the main questions that still baffles historians concerns Lincoln’s larger purpose in the war. Was he pondering the end slavery from the start, or was his only aim to win the war? We are still not absolutely sure. Lincoln seems to have gone through a process where emancipation became more and more important as the war progressed. But unfortunately, we don’t know what Lincoln was thinking at the start of the conflict. As you read this book, think about Lincoln's views on slavery and emancipation and how his sentiments might have been changing due to the circumstances on the battlefields.

At the end of chapter 13, we witness the first of many Union defeats at Bull Run. So full of hope and excitement to end the rebellion quickly, Union efforts did not begin well. And it would get worse for Lincoln and the North. What many Americans still do not realize is how close the Union came to losing this war. What a different country that would have produced!

Abraham Lincoln Book Shop

I DID visit the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago this past weekend. What a treat! What an a experience! I was like a excited little kid in a candy store. Lincoln and Civil War books stacked to the ceiling--and I wanted to see them all.

Sylvia of the Book Shop was there to show me around. She pointed out how the stacks were arranged: books on Lincoln's life, his lawyer days, his youth, the assassination, Civil War books, biographies, rare volumes, and a section with current publications. There were busts, portraits, autographs, and other collectibles for sale. Many of the books for sale were first editions--this isn't your typical neighborhood used-book store!

I roamed this small shop for several hours, just taking in the atmosphere, breathing in the history. For a historian and Lincoln-devotee like myself, this was an afternoon to remember.

I even purchased three books (two of them are 1st editions). This was the first time I have bought first-edition books. I wasn't sure if I was even supposed to read them. I didn't want to break something--I didn't want to wreck their value. But then I figured I would open them, enjoy that old-book smell, and read them anyway. I think Abe would have wanted it that way.

My purchases for the day:
John Duff, A. Lincoln: Prairie Lawyer (1960-1st edition)
William Hesseltine, Lincoln and the War Governors (1948-1st edition)
Lewis Lehrman, Lincoln at Peoria: The Turning Point (2008--just a regular book)

ch.11: Lincoln Leaves Springfield

summary: The days between the election and his journey to Washington were trying times for Lincoln. Taking over the presidency in the midst of a possible Civil War was stressful enough. But Lincoln was also trying to hold his party together, organize a cabinet, deal with potential assassination attempts, and he was leaving the city and the people that he loved (Springfield).

Lincoln also had to be careful in his speeches. Many people were looking for policy directives, which he could not offer. So his speeches were bland and disappointing. But in his defense, he couldn’t say enough to unite the nation—and that’s what many people wanted.

Lincoln was despondent when he left Springfield. He visited his mother for an emotional farewell, and told his law partner Billy Herndon that he would be back to practice “law as if nothing had ever happened.” The farewell speech he gave at the Springfield depot was one of his most moving—especially since we know that he never returned to the town he so admired and loved. There are several versions of his speech, according to Herndon this is the most accurate:

Friends: No one who has never been placed in a like position, can understand my feelings at this hour, nor the oppressive sadness I feel at this parting. For more than a quarter of a century I have lived among you, and during all that time I have received nothing but kindness at your hands. Here I have lived from my youth until now I am an old man. Here the most sacred ties of earth were assumed; here all my children were born; and here one of them lies buried. To you, dear friends, I owe all that I have, all that I am. All the strange, chequered past seems to crowd now upon my mind. To-day I leave you; I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved upon General Washington. Unless the great God who assisted him, shall be with and aid me, I must fail. But if the same omniscient mind, and Almighty arm that directed and protected him, shall guide and support me, I shall not fail, I shall succeed. Let us all pray that the God of our fathers may not forsake us now. To him I commend you all--permit me to ask that with equal security and faith, you all will invoke His wisdom and guidance for me. With these few words I must leave you--for how long I know not. Friends, one and all, I must now bid you an affectionate farewell.

Essential Lincoln Books

The Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago has a list of the "Essential Lincoln Books" on its website. It is a wonderful compilation of 164 Lincoln titles. Please take a look and maybe you will see something that you want to read. Team of Rivals is on the list. In future posts, I will list some of my own favorites.

And by the way, I am going to Chicago this weekend and plan to visit the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop. I can't wait! I already emailed ahead with requests for several books I hope to purchase. I might even try to take a few pictures to post here on the Team of Rivals blog.

ch.10: Forming a Government

summary: Abraham Lincoln was elected president, now came the hard part. The Republican Party, which was officially organized in 1854, was an amalgamation of various old parties and factions: Whigs, Free-Soilers, Know-Nothings, the Liberty Party, antislavery Democrats, anti-Nebraska Democrats, and several others. Lincoln had to form a government and make all these factions relatively happy.

Lincoln also had to form a government while somehow showing northern Republicans that he would uphold the integrity of the party—but he couldn’t simply write off the South with antagonistic cabinet selections and hostile policy initiatives. It was an almost impossible task. John Nicolay’s daughter Helen described Lincoln’s job as “an intensified crossword puzzle in which party loyalty and service, personal fitness, geographical location and a dozen other factors have to be taken into account and made to harmonize.”

But Lincoln not only kept his party together during the “Great Secession Winter” but he also formed a government. He had to negotiate with and cajole Seward and Chase, but they did what was right for the country and joined the cabinet. And in the process, Lincoln held his ground one critical party issue. Writing to Senator Lyman Trumbull Lincoln declaring that, "Let there be no compromise on the question of extending slavery. If there be, all our labor is lost.... The tug has to come, & better now, than any time hereafter."


Other Misc. Points
Soon after his election in November of 1860, Lincoln received a letter from eleven-year-old Grace Bedell of New York. She suggested that the president-elect would look a great deal better with a beard "for your face is so thin." Lincoln answered that he had never worn whiskers before and wondered if "people would call it a piece of silly affection if I were to begin it now?" But within a month of Grace Bedell's letter, he was seen with stubble sprouting from his chin. The United States had never had a bearded president--Lincoln would be the first.

The Lincoln Prize

The Lincoln Prize at Gettysburg College is awarded annually for the finest scholarly work in English on Abraham Lincoln, the American Civil War soldier, or a subject relating to that era. The Prize generally goes to a book, but in some instances can be awarded to an important article or essay. The Prize is intended chiefly to encourage outstanding new scholarship. Team of Rivals won the Lincoln Prize in 2006. The 2009 Lincoln Prize Winners are:

First Place: James McPherson, Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief and Craig Symonds, Lincoln and His Admirals: Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Navy, and the Civil War

Honorable Mention: Jacqueline Jones, Saving Savannah: The City and the Civil War; Fred Kaplan, Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer; and William Lee Miller, President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman.

ch. 9: Old Abe is Elected!

summary: Comparisons of the 1856 and 1860 electoral maps show what Lincoln had to do to win. In 1856, Republican candidate John C. Fremont (red states) did surprisingly well by gathered 114 electoral votes. But Lincoln would need more--152 to be exact.

It was Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania that the Republicans hoped to gain. That would give Lincoln the majority. And as you can see, Lincoln won those states as well as California, Minnesota , and Oregon.


But it still wasn't easy. No Southern state voted for Lincoln, he wasn't even on the ballot in most of those states. And if the Democratic party has not split and nominated Northern and Southern candidates (Douglas and Breckenridge)--the contest might have been even closer.

Lincoln won with only 40% of the national popular vote. But demographics had really done it for him. The nation was moving North and West and the congressional population numbers, by 1860, had finally gone against the South. For over 70 years, the South had controlled the government because the population had been in their favor. That had now ended.

But instead of accepting their democratic fate, the Southerners decided to leave the Union. This is what the president-elect would have to deal with in March 1861 at his inauguration.

ch.8: Lincoln is Nominated

summary: It would be an understatement to say that things went well for Lincoln in Chicago. He needed some luck, and he got it. He needed his opponents to slip, and they did. Bates, Seward, and Chase had all made enemies in the past, and some of those political fights came back to haunt them at the Wigwam. Lincoln, on the other hand, had situated himself well to be everyone’s second-choice. And it was a brilliant strategy. If one of the leading contenders faltered—even slightly—Lincoln and his managers were ready to take the nomination.

One of the most interesting historical aspects of the 1860 Republican convention is whether Lincoln promised anything for the support of some state leaders. It is clear that Lincoln’s Chicago managers wanted to offer cabinet posts in exchange for delegates in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. But apparently, when telegraphed about this Lincoln replied, “Make no contracts that will bind me.” But did David Davis (shown in picture) and his other managers listen? Davis supposedly said, “Lincoln ain’t here, and don’t know what we have to meet, so we will go ahead, as if we hadn’t heard from him, and he must ratify it.” This may be how Pennsylvanian Simon Cameron made his way into Lincoln’s cabinet.

A Kearns quote near the end of this chapter is probably one of the most vivid and accurate compliments of Lincoln: “In his years of travel on the circuit through central Illinois, engaging people in taverns, on street corners, and in shops, Lincoln had developed a keen sense of what people felt, thought, needed, and wanted.”

ch.7: Countdown to the Nomination

summary: Lincoln was indeed a “dark horse” candidate in 1860, but actually winning the nomination was not an impossibility. He had an outside chance from the beginning if he and his lieutenants did everything well (which they did). Lincoln also had to hope that his rivals made mistakes—which they all did. So Lincoln was lucky to a certain extent. But more importantly, he made the necessary political sacrifices to place himself in a position to succeed if and when Seward and Chase failed:
-He gave speeches whenever and wherever he was asked: Cooper Union in New York City was his best political move.
-He organized well with a stellar political staff.
-He positioned himself as everyone’s second choice so if Seward did falter, he would be there as a viable alternative.
-Chicago was chosen as the convention site. Some luck was involved, but it was stroke of genius by the Lincoln operates to push for the Windy City.

Discussion Questions
1. Think about what Seward, Chase, and Bates did wrong leading up to the 1860 nomination. All three candidates made both large and small mistakes while Lincoln kept forging ahead with a clear plan of action.

2. How does what you know about Lincoln’s character help explain his steady rise to the nomination?

3. Think about Lincoln as a shrewd and crafty politician. Some books refuse to acknowledge his political brilliance thinking it will overshadow his compassion and leadership traits. Was he a shrewd and crafty politician and should we acknowledge that trait? Why or why not?

Cooper Union Links
"The Speech That Made Lincoln President"

Text of the Cooper Union Speech

Good Lincoln Books

Lincoln and His Generals is a wonderful little gem written by T. Harry Williams and published in 1952. It is a concise and clear look at Lincoln actions as commander-in-chief. If you are interested in the war and how Lincoln conducted military affairs, please read this book (although it is hard to find!)

Williams does not get bogged down in military minutia, he concentrates instead on Lincoln's evolving plans and strategies. You will learn about Lincoln, and also better understand Civil War battle tactics. One caveat--you won't be very fond of General George B. McClellan after reading this volume!

I was introduced to Lincoln and His Generals in graduate school (Southern Illinois University) in the early 1980s, and I now re-read it every year. I will probably read it again soon. And better yet, I still have my dog-eared, paperback copy of the 1952 Vintage/Knopf edition, different cover and all (see below).