lincoln's strategic studies

[deeferdog]

i read in shelby foote that lincoln studied treatises on military strategy and tactics. does anybody know which specific texts he studied and have evidence to back it up. i'm particularly interested in finding out whether he read Jomini#s Art of War published in 1862 by West Point... it would tie a paper i'm writing up really nicely.

jerome

[Henry Moon]

Hey Jerome.  Yes, I read that myself in Foote's history of the war, and in David Herbert Donald's "Lincoln", but I don't recall which texts he read, or if they were even mentioned at all. Maybe someone else knows and will post. Good question. I'd like to read your paper when you're done. Ann can post it for you on the website, if you want her to.


Terry

[deeferdog]

well i'm actually applying for the masters in military history in Norwich university and i'm trying to argue in my admissions essay that the north's (particularly McClellan's) reluctance to adopt strategies of total war delayed significantly the north's victory. See particularly McClellan's letter of july 7, 1862 on the way he thinks warfare should be conducted.
A translation of Jomini's art of war was carried out by instructors in west point in the same which has a very interesting translators preface. (available on project guttenburg)
Perhaps MCClellan was afraid to fly in the fact of public opinion that may have been generalted by such texts, given his democratic nomination in 1864 i would tend to believe so.
If i could find out the exact texts Lincoln read i might bolster my argument.

thanks anyway,
jerome

[Johan Steele]

THe only military treatsie that I know for certain that Lincoln read was Caesars Commentaries.  HOw much this influenced hhis military thinking I don't know... Lil Mac was no Caesar

[hanny]

If your going to argue that the WBTS was a total war, then Jomni is not the text to support yourself with as it does not advocate the kind of approch to warfare associated with total war, its little more than a collection of common sense solutions to practical problems.

Since little Mac was practising total war in 61, with the adoption of replacement direct from states to existing units, untill stopped by Stanton, as part of his stratergy of strategic exhustion im not sure your on the right track.

[hanny]

Try Foote page 156 Vol One, Lincoln sets down what he has learned, its clear from what he wrote, that Jomni was not a book he looked at, as he had books sent over from bothe the Libary of Congress and the Wr Dept in 61, so not only before it was translated, but Lincoln was looking for stategic volumes not tactical.

[hanny]

G Vidal bio of Lincoln gives him reading On Miitary stratergy by Halleck in 61.

[Gary]

Whatever it was, his lawyerly military-layman mind certainly absorbed it and understood it better than many of his West Point educated generals.

[Tom Dooley]

Gary, yes, I think also besides his intellect Lincoln could sit down and read anything without preconception, allowing him to understand and absorb exactly what the author was trying to impart. I'm thinking maybe a "West Pointer" or other general who was experienced, well-educated, or both, might tend to dismiss sound tactical advice out of hand, from a book, if it did not coincide with what he was taught or had learned (you know,like: "this guy doesn't know what he's talking about - I'm a general."), whereas Lincoln with his natural mindset of humility(realizing that there are and were people who knew more than he did about certain subjects), and his innate intelligence, analytical abilites, etc., might have taken a great deal of useful information from the exact same text that the general gave a thumbs down to...a possible scenario.

Terry

[ole]

A gosh darn interesting post, Sir Dooley. Much to think about in there.

ole