Lincoln as Commander in Chief

[Thomas Thorne]

I think Lincoln was in an impossible situation regarding Fredericksburg as it would have required having a relatively inexperienced President overturning opinions of 2 different generals.

Lincoln's principal Civil War blunders involved appointments. His agreement before the War to make the corrupt and incompetent Simon Cameron Secretary of War was the worst. His penchant in the early years to cement the Republican Party by making politicians generals-Butler,Banks and Sigel come to mind-was almost as bad. It is fortunate and interesting that while many a politician thought he had the aptitude for military field command,no civilian claimed sufficient knowledge to exercise equivalent authority in the US Navy.
Tom