Controversies & Commanders: Dispatches from the Army of the Potomac

by Stephen W. Sears

Book Overview

CONTROVERSIES AND COMMANDERS is a fascinating look at some of the most intriguing generals in the Union's Army of the Potomac and at some of the most extraordinary events of the Civil War, chronicled by one of our leading historians, Stephen W. Sears. Sears investigates the accusations of disloyalty against General Charles Stone; the court-martial of Fitz John Porter; the crisis in army command on the eve of the Antietam battle; the Lost Order...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618057064
• ISBN13: 9780618057061
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Sears at his very best

There were a lot of battles during the Civil War but the one battle that often gets over looked is the political battle. This book examines the political battles that raged on inside the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. Battles that at times that became so bad that they nearly crippled the entire army. This book isn't really one solid story but a series of short stories written by Stephen Sears that examine specific incidence inside the army. We see the Corp Commanders of the army revolt against more than one commander as both Burnside and Hooker have their Corp commanders go behind their backs to get them relieved. We see General Stone arrested in one of the worst cases of scapegoating during the war and Dan Sickles, the epitome of the political general. And looming over all of this is the shadow of George McClellan.I was almost surprised by this book. I've liked every book I've read by Sears and expected to enjoy this one but I really found this to be one of his very best. Sears does a great job. His piece on Dan Sickles makes you almost want to stand up and throttle the man.

War is Politics by Other Means

The Army of the Potomac exemplified Clausewitz' maxim that war is politics by other means. Sears takes vignettes from the Army of the Potomac's history, side stories that may have ended up as footnotes, literally, in other histories, and tells the story of some of the army's more bizarre incidents, its scapegoats and boars. Controversies and Commanders reveals a side of military heroism that often does not appear in histories or receive full detail or explanation or understanding, the kind of heroism for which one does not receive medals, ribbons or commendations: organizational bravery. The heroes (or lack thereof) in the Army of the Potomac for organizational bravery are those who do not engage in backstabbing, lying, self-aggrandizement and other sins committed by any number of officers in the eastern theater. Each chapter concerns a single vignette in the history of the army - the court martial of Fitz John Porter, the revolt of the generals, etc. Together, these chapters cover the history of the Army of the Potomac, not from the vantage point of battle or campaign histories, but from the "back page" or the "gossip column." This may be Sears' best book in that he takes a challenging subject - the infighting and politicking that went on in Army of the Potomac - and writes it in his usual scholarly, engaging manner. A word of caution: this book is not for the Civil War novice or someone with passing interest in the Army of the Potomac.

An enjoyable collection of essays on "Mr. Lincoln's Army"

Sears offers a fascinating assortment of brief essays on the Union's Army of the Potomac and some of the storms that swirled around a number of its commanding generals from the beginning of the Civil War to its end. Each of the essays is brief enough to be enjoyed in one sitting, and offers some fascinating new insights into aspects of the Civil War in the East. Even where he is covering ground that has been well covered before--e.g., Lee's "Lost Order" before the Battle of Antietam--Sears manages to introduce some new information and fresh insights. Anyone who has done much reading about the Civil War knows that one of the major challenges confronting Lincoln as commander-in-chief was finding a dependable general to put in charge of the Army of the Potomac. This volume reviews some of the problem generals with whom he had to deal--including McClellan (a Sears specialty) and Joe Hooker (whom Sears defends in an unconventional review of Hooker at Chancellorsville). But the book also goes below the command level to look at colorful characters like Dan Sickles and Phil Sheridan. Especially engaging are the essays dealing with the court martials and less than honorable discharges of generals who were unfairly treatged for a variety of reasons.While to some degree, these essays are "insider baseball" and would be best appreciated by readers with background on the Civil War, they stand alone and can be appreciated by almost anyone with an interest in the era.

Simply Excellent

This book is not your typical Civil War book. Sometimes my fervent interest in the Civil War is somewhat diminished as I attempt to plow through a tome filled with copious amounts of meaningless and irrelevant information (recountings of troop movements, long lists of command structure changes, etc.) Mr. Sears' book adroitly avoids these pitfalls of the typical Civil War narrative. I found the book to be pure enjoyment. I gained much insight on the inner workings of the various changes in command in the Army of the Potomac, and the internal machinations which caused them. Mr. Sears certainly comes to some conclusions with which other historians might disagree, but he makes a strong case for his arguments. This book is one of my top five Civl War recommendations.

A Marvelous Book, in Bite-Sized Essays!

As one who enjoys reading American Civil War history, this collection of essays was a wonderful birthday present. Sears presents informative, lively, readable essays on several crucial controversies within the Union Army of the Potomac's high command. His takes on Joe Hooker were particularly convincing and compelling. For example, I'd never read anything to contradict the assessment (supposedly by Hooker himself!) that "For once, I lost confidence in Hooker" to explain his defeat at Chancellorsville. Yet Sears leaves little doubt he simply never said that, and in fact the injury he sustained at his HQ in that battle explains much (if not all) of his problem there.Also interesting was the essay on the courts martial of Stoneman and of Porter, and the Mclellan-go-round. Just a tremendous book, and easy to pick up and put down, given the right-sized essay lengths.I truly enjoy reading Stephen Sears' work, and have since having "Landscape Turned Red" recommended to me by a friend. He's just a fine writer.