Over Lincoln's Shoulder: The Committee on the Conduct of the War

Modern War Studies

by Bruce Tap

The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War generated controversy throughout the war, and its legacy sparks debate even today over whether it invigorated or hampered the Union war effort. In the wake of both critical and sympathetic appraisals, Bruce Tap now offers the first history of the committee's activities, focusing on the nature of its power and influence on military policy in order to show conclusively what the ultimate impact really was. Tap presents solid evidence, including examples of contact between Congress and the military, to show that the committee produced little good and no small amount of harm. As Tap demonstrates, it was in many ways a serious impediment to the war effort, due not to its fanaticism or vindictiveness, as some historians have suggested, but rather to its members' total ignorance of military matters.

Genres: Civil War, American Civil War, American History

319 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Bruce Tap is an independent historian who is the author of "Over Lincoln's Shoulder: The Committee on the Conduct of the War", which was selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Book. He has also published in "Civil War History", "Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association", "Illinois Historical Journal", and "American Nineteenth Century History".

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do believe that this was the first book-length study I've read on the CCW. Sorry folks, I'm just going to use that abbreviation for the duration of this review. The CCW played a major role in the public's perception of the war and especially the perception of the generals involved in the conflict. The CCW wielded much power but was a relative paper tiger when it came to results achieved. This volume was a good overview of Lincoln's best friend-and worst enemy.

[Jim]

A worthy study of the joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, which included Michigan's Zachariah Chandler. The committee was dominated by the Radical Republicans. They spent much of their time going after McClellan and other generals who they didn't think were pursuing an aggressive enough war. Generals like Joe Hooker and Dan Sickles tried to use their testimony before the committee to advance their careers and harm the careers of generals like Burnside & Meade. While the committee did some positive things like investigate military contracts and treatment of the wounded, they did more harm than good by interfering with Lincoln and his commanders and creating an outlet for disgruntled generals with axes to grind.

[Mark Singer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tap did a good job of untangling the complex details of Congressional investigation into the Union war effort, and concluded that the Committee did more harm than good due to their lack of understanding how military campaigns are managed. The Joint Committee's advocating for all-out attack and absolute conformity to their ideological Radical Republican principles were a recipe for disaster.