Abraham Lincoln And Jefferson Davis: A Comparison Of Civil War Commanders In Chief

Download or read book Abraham Lincoln And Jefferson Davis: A Comparison Of Civil War Commanders In Chief written by L-Cmdr Michael S. Trench and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a study of the effectiveness of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis as Commanders in Chief during the Civil War. It begins by comparing their backgrounds prior to assuming the Presidency; then comparing their military strategies and command structures. The final area of comparison is their involvement in the first military draft in American history. Davis had extensive government and military experience, but exhibited personality traits early on that later hampered his performance as a war-time Commander in Chief. Lincoln had very little experience, but excelled at dealing with people. Lincoln tried several staff arrangements before finally appointing Grant as General in Chief. Davis changed his structure very little throughout the war. Although he appointed Lee as General in Chief in the first year, he lost his services by placing him in command of a field army. Both faced strong challenges from a powerful governor over the draft. Davis first tried to win over the governor, then appealed directly to the people. Lincoln publicly kept distant from the draft and worked behind the scenes.