Lincoln as Commander in Chief

[Thomas Thorne]

I am unaware of any writer who ever suggested that Lincoln,Halleck or any other Civil War figure was aware of Clausewitz but Lincoln's emphasis on the destruction of the Confederate Army would have met with Clausewitz's approval.

The "On to Richmond" propaganda of 1861 was motivated by the short war fallacy and the fixation that it was imperative to drive the Rebels from their capital before the Confederate Congress assembled there. Twice in our history British armies captured the US capital-Philadelphia in 1777 and Washington in 1814 without significant strategic effect.

Richmond in the Civil War was much more important as it was the industrial center of the Confederacy and was crucial to the functioning of the Confederate armies in a way the political city of Washington could never be for the Union. Any Federal attempt to capture Richmond would be met by fierce Confederate resistance which would permit Lincoln to achieve multiple objectives.

In Apr 65 Lee faced a truly dreadful choice. He could either permit himself to be trapped within Richmond with his army thereby both losing the Army of Northern Virginia and Richmond's ability to succor the Confederate armies or abandon Richmond and its resources in what was clearly a "Hail Mary" play to escape to North Carolina to combine with Joe Johnston to defeat Sherman.
Tom