Existing comment:
The Defenders of Our Union
Engraving, ca 1861
The Union Army boasted more than 550 generals during the Civil War. Oft criticized for the appointment of "political generals," Lincoln maintained strategic oversights of the military effort. As a hands-on Commander-in-Chief, Lincoln ensured that his overriding goal to preserve the Union was maintained. For Lincoln, a war to preserve the Union became linked to freeing those enslaved in states in rebellion against it. |