Thread by @pptsapper

So, I'm finishing up Sears' "Lincoln's Lieutenants" for the 2d time, and it remains an exceptional work. One of the most solid examinations of brigade and higher leadership of the Army of the Potomac that exists. But while I love everything Sears does, he's in the tactics trap

For example, he has nothing but disdain for Sigel and Butler, and other "political" generals

And yes, from a tactical level, they're not great. Not really bringing in the battlefield Ws

But that's only half the story.

By keeping Franz Sigel in a US Army uniform, Lincoln is ensuring continued German American enlistments

Political generals ensure continued Congressional and state financial and materiel support for the war

Building a national army is hard

Building a national idea is harder

That's where Butler comes in. Through his somewhat bombastic proclamations and general orders, Butler forced the War Department to make a decision on what to do with enslaved people who came to US lines, and if they should be armed, thereby giving Lincoln room for emancipation

The Emancipation Proclamation was one of the most strategically brilliant maneuvers in the history of war. By seizing moral high ground, it kept Europe sidelined. It undercut the enemy's logistical base. It added to US force flow. And it gave the war a cause.

So many Civil War historians get stuck in the tactical trap and can't see beyond the battlefield to the larger picture. Building, maintaining, & sourcing a national army while keeping a nation willing to make war is massively difficult

And incredibly relevant right now

Military leaders should spend a little less time focused on gaining battlefield dominance and a little more time figuring out how they sell a large scale conflict to the American people and their political reps

Yeah, war is inherently political. Sorry.