Commanding the Army of the Potomac

Modern War Studies

by Stephen R. Taaffe

Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Book AwardDuring 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.

Genres: Civil War, Civil War Eastern Theater, American Civil War, History, Military History

294 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 23, 2006

Reviews

[Jim]

A great book! The author takes an in-depth look at army & corps level commanders and several factors that contributed to the Army of the Potomac's mixed record during the Civil War. Promoting officers based on seniority, political generals, the often conflicting influences of Lincoln, Stanton, Halleck and the congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War, in-fighting between generals and, finally, officers that were promoted due to merit. Surprisingly, several commanders were removed not so much because they were defeated but because they couldn't get along with their superiors, peers & suboridnates. There are a lot of take away lessons in leadership that can applied outside the military.

[Van Reese · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a somewhat scholarly look at the leadership of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. More specifically, it is a look at the corps commanders. My basic take away was that it is amazing that the Union Army managed to end up winning the war with such poor leaders. In fact, as pointed out in the book, the Army of the Potomac lost more battles than they won, and they had more casualties than they inflicted. Much of this was a result of the lack of strong leadership. Not all of the leaders were incompetent; in the end, it was the eventual arrival of leaders with adequate experience, brains, and fighting spirit that allowed them to finally complete their mission. For anyone interested in the Civil War, this is a must read.

[Gerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of this is well-known stuff to any Civil War aficionado; however, the book supplies greater detail on the personalities of the corps commanders described. Somehow, the Army of the Potomac transformed from oft-defeated losers to the victors of the Petersburg-Appomattox campaigns. Good corps commanders probably played a significant role in this, and I wish there was more description here. Stephen Sears' newly-released Lincoln's Lieutenants may shed more light.

[Craig Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Granted that the information provided can be mostly found elsewhere, Taffe compiles the facts into an easy to read format. He gives a running account of the rise, actions and fall of all the Army of the Potomac and Army of the James commanders and corps commanders. The relationships they had with each other is fascinating and you could easily draw parallels to today's military/civilian quagmire.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I didn't learn much. The author covers the same ground about those who commanded the Army of the Potomac as others already have--Meade didn't do much, McClellan was arrogant, etc., etc.