Commanding the Army of the Potomac

by Stephen R. Taaffe

Overview

During the Civil War, thirty-six officers in the Army of the Potomac were assigned corps commands of up to 30,000 men. Collectively charged with leading the Union's most significant field army, these leaders proved their courage in countless battlefields from Gettysburg to Antietam to Cold Harbor. Unfortunately, courage alone was not enough. Their often dismal performances played a major role in producing this army's tragic record, one that included more defeats than victories despite its numerical and materiel superiority.

Stephen Taaffe takes a close look at this command cadre, examining who was appointed to these positions, why they were appointed, and why so many of them ultimately failed to fulfill their responsibilities. He demonstrates that ambitious officers such as Gouverneur Warren, John Reynolds, and Winfield Scott Hancock employed all the weapons at their disposal, from personal connections to exaggerated accounts of prowess in combat, to claw their way into these important posts.

Once there, however, as Taaffe reveals, many of these officers failed to navigate the tricky and ever-changing political currents that swirled around the Army of the Potomac. As a result, only three of them managed to retain their commands for more than a year, and their machinations caused considerable turmoil in the army's high command structure. Taaffe also shows that their ability or inability to get along with generals such as George McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, Joseph Hooker, George Meade, and Ulysses Grant played a big role in their professional destinies.

In analyzing the Army of the Potomac's corps commanders as a group, Taaffe provides a new way of detailing this army's chronic difficulties—one that, until now, has been largely neglected in the literature of the Civil War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700614516
Publisher:	University Press of Kansas
Publication date:	02/23/2006
Series:	Modern War Studies
Pages:	294
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

List of Maps

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. “McClellan Is not the Man”: July 1861 to November 1862

2. Burnside’s Unhappy and Insecure Tenure: November 1862 to January 1863

3. Fighting Joe’s Big Opportunity: January to June 1863

4. Meade Marks Time: June 1863 to March 1864

5. Grant as General in Chief: March 1864 to April 1865

Conclusions

Biographical Afterword

Notes

Bibliography

Index

What People are Saying About This

Brooks D. Simpson

"A book that's sure to spark discussion."
—author of Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph Over Adversity, 1822-1865

Stephen Engle

"A fine study and one well worth the good reviews it will receive."
—author of Struggle for the Heartland: The Campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth

Steven E. Woodworth

"This is one of the best Civil War books I have read in a very long time. An insightful, elegantly written, thoroughly enjoyable narrative that is informative, entertaining, and thought-provoking."
—author of Nothing But Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861-1865

Editorial Reviews

"Taaffe’s examination of these men is a welcome contribution to historiography concerning the Army of the Potomac and the Union war effort as a whole. [This book] provides a clear and insightful view of complicated military organization, or disorganization. . . . Deserves a place on the shelves of Civil War scholars and ‘buffs’ alike."—H-Net Reviews

"An excellent contribution to the Civil War literature. Readers looking for a good, succinct study of the Army of the Potomac and its troubled high command will find this work both enjoyable and of considerable value to their efforts to better understand the Union war effort in the East."—Journal of American History

"Aside from Taaffe’s superb analysis of command in the Army of the Potomac, his examination of senior military commanders delivers a valuable message to our nation’s current defense establishment."—Army

"Taaffe’s thoughtful book helps explain why it took the Union four years to win the war."—Washington Times

"A well written volume that flows smoothly and is an enjoyable read."—Civil War News

“This is one of the best Civil War books I have read in a very long time. An insightful, elegantly written, thoroughly enjoyable narrative that is informative, entertaining, and thought-provoking.”—Steven E. Woodworth, author of Nothing But Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861–1865

“A fine study and one well worth the good reviews it will receive.”—Stephen Engle, author of Struggle for the Heartland: The Campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth

“A book that’s sure to spark discussion.”—Brooks D. Simpson, author of Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph Over Adversity, 1822–1865.

From the Publisher