Managing the Union Army: Scott, McClellan, Halleck, and Grant As General-in-Chief

The general-in-chief did not command the million-man Union army that fought in the Civil War, as most historians have assumed; rather, he was a member of a management team that included the president and the secretary of war.The president, as commander-in-chief, created the position by appointing an officer to it, and he could dismiss that officer at any time and choose not to appoint another.The general-in-chief had to cooperate closely with the president and the secretary of war to ensure the team functioned effectively. In Managing the Union Army, renowned Civil War historian Earl J.Hess upends our understanding of the general-in-chief, his role in the Union military system, and his influence on the conflict's outcome.Hess reinterprets the accomplishments and failures of the four men who held the position, evaluating Winfield Scott, George B.McClellan, Henry W. Halleck, and Ulysses S. Grant in ways that might surprise many students of Civil War military history. The Union general-in