Lincoln's Men: How President Lincoln Became Father to an Army and a Nation
Prolific author William C. Davis offers a biography of the relationship between President Lincoln and his Union soldiers--a study based on letters found in more than 600 manuscript collections, some of them private. Lincoln, of course, didn't know his troops personally, but he related to them through his own brief experience in arms (the Black Hawk War) and the duty of his office. The bluecoats, by contrast, all knew about Lincoln, and as Davis shows in this engaging book, viewed him as a kind of father figure.Davis tracks the war chronologically, highlighting events that inspired ordinary soldiers to comment upon their commander in chief, such as his spats with General McClellan, calls for more recruits, and decision to free the slaves.  It's impossible to argue that the men were all of one mind; time and again, Davis reveals the diversity of their views.  "Thank the Lord for this!" wrote one Ohio private after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Another, however, was downright furious. His colorful opinion--written colloquially and without regard for modern grammar--is characteristic of the best Civil War letter writers: "[It] caused me an hour's hearty laugh, two hours tender cry, four hours big with mad, and I am swearing in all the languages known to Americans and Europeans." On the whole, however, Davis advances a convincing claim that the troops admired Lincoln for the greatness with which we honor him today.--John J. Miller