President Trump Presents American Civil War History Lesson

[David Lockmiller]

(10-15-2018 03:43 AM)AussieMick Wrote:  I notice you ignore my point that the number of losses at Antietam was higher for Union forces than Lee's.

The failure by McClennan to pursue Lee was seen (by every writer and commentator I've read) as being a major error. It led to the war's end being delayed ... and to Lincoln dismissing McClennan. I'd suggest that if you reckon Antietam was anything more than a strategic victory for the North ... then you want your head read.

The following is from my post of July 21, 2018 on the thread titled “RE: The Importance of Numbers”:

Cordelia A.P. Harvey, the wife of the governor of Wisconsin, who, after her husband's death in 1862, persuaded Lincoln to endorse the establishment of a hospital in Madison for Wisconsin soldiers. The source reference that I used is the "Collected Words of Abraham Lincoln," compiled and edited by Don and Virginia Fehrenbacher, at pages 200-201.

At one point in their discussions, Lincoln spoke of the number of men available for the battle of Antietam:

"This war might have been finished at that time if every man had been in his place that was able to be there, but they were scattered hither and thither over the North, some on furloughs, and in one way and another, gone; so that out of 170,000 that the government was paying, only 83,000 could be got for action. The consequence, you know, proved nearly disastrous."

In your considered judgment, AussieMick, would it be possible that President Lincoln was right? If you think that President Lincoln was wrong, maybe you should have “your head read.”

As regards President Trump’s assertions that General Grant had a “drinking problem,” you wrote:

“With all due respect to LincolnMan, [] I think Grant sometimes drank to excess. He wouldn’t be Robinson Crusoe if he did. I don’t think that it affected his decisions. Indeed the fact that he led such a successful life is an enormous credit to him. Ok, I can’t prove any of that but it’s what I deduce from the books I've read.”

Can you name a single noted historian who has written that Grant had a “drinking problem” when he served in the Union army during the American Civil War as he rose in rank from Captain to Lieutenant General? Please cite your source or sources.

The “ball is in your court.” I am retired, also.