Lincolns Lieutenants, Stephen W. Sears
Lincolns Lieutenants, Stephen W. Sears
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Lincoln's Lieutenants
The High Command of the Army of the Potomac

Author: Stephen W. Sears

Narrator: James Conlan

Unabridged: 31 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Mariner Books

Published: 09/10/2024


Synopsis

From the best-selling author of Gettysburg, a multilayered group biography of the commanders who led the Army of the Potomac

“A masterful synthesis . . . A narrative about amazing courage and astonishing gutlessness . . . It explains why Union movements worked and, more often, didn’t work in clear-eyed explanatory prose that’s vivid and direct.” — Chicago Tribune

The high command of the Army of the Potomac was a changeable, often dysfunctional band of brothers, going through the fires of war under seven commanding generals in three years, until Grant came east in 1864. The men in charge all too frequently appeared to be fighting against the administration in Washington instead of for it, increasingly cast as political pawns facing down a vindictive congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War.
President Lincoln oversaw, argued with, and finally tamed his unruly team of lieutenants as the eastern army was stabilized by an unsung supporting cast of corps, division, and brigade generals. With characteristic style and insight, Stephen Sears brings these courageous, determined officers, who rose through the ranks and led from the front, to life and legend. 
 
“[A] massive, elegant study . . . A staggering work of research by a masterly historian.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

About Stephen W. Sears

STEPHEN W. SEARS is the author of many award-winning books on the Civil War, including Gettysburg and Landscape Turned Red. A former editor at American Heritage, he lives in Connecticut.,


Reviews

Goodreads review by Mike on May 30, 2017

Flagpole Leadership: Lincoln’s Lieutenants: The High Command of the Army of the Potomac by Stephen W. Sears, reviewed by Colonel (ret) Mike Kershaw With all the attention being paid recently to the political activity of general officers, both active duty and recently retired, Stephen Sears’ accoun......more

Goodreads review by Christopher on November 21, 2023

Stephen W. Sears' Lincoln's Lieutenants is a detailed exploration of the leadership and internal politics of the Union Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. Sears has already written a shelf full of books on this conflict already, some excellent, others workmanlike; certainly one wouldn't expect......more

Goodreads review by Brian on November 24, 2020

Certainly the capstone to a magnificent career of expertise on the Civil War, Sears published this book in his mid-80s (in 2017) after all time great books on Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. It's a full look at the Civil War (framed by the old guard Winfield Scott beginning to advise on p......more

Goodreads review by Matt on January 22, 2018

The best thing about this book is that it probably cured my natural bias towards the "latest and greatest" work on a particular subject, especially when written by somebody with the reputation in their field that Sears enjoys. If you have only a cursory knowledge of the military history of the Civil......more

Goodreads review by Katherine on January 01, 2021

This is a MASSIVE group biography of the generals of the Army of the Potomac. It is very readable (at 766 pages, it had better be) and is not hagiographic about any of the generals, including Grant. Sears offers clear accounts of the battles fought by the Army of the Potomac and clear (sometimes sca......more