What do you think?
Rate this book
The Quartermaster: Montgomery C. Meigs, Lincoln's General, Master Builder of the Union Army
“The lively story of the Civil War’s most unlikely—and most uncelebrated—genius.” — The Wall Street Journal
General Montgomery C. Meigs, who built the Union Army, was judged by Lincoln, Seward, and Stanton to be the indispensable architect of the Union victory. Civil War historian James McPherson calls Meigs “the unsung hero of northern victory.”
Born to a well to do, connected family in 1816, Montgomery C. Meigs graduated from West Point as an engineer. He helped build America’s forts and served under Lt. Robert E. Lee to make navigation improvements on the Mississippi River. As a young man, he designed the Washington aqueducts in a city where people were dying from contaminated water. He built the spectacular wings and the massive dome of the brand new US Capitol.
Introduced to President Lincoln by Secretary of State William Seward, Meigs became Lincoln’s Quartermaster. It was during the Civil War that Meigs became a national hero. He commanded Ulysses S. Grant’s base of supplies that made Union victories, including Gettysburg, possible. He sustained Sherman’s army in Georgia, and the March to the Sea. After the war, Meigs built Arlington Cemetery (on land that had been Robert E. Lee’s home).
Robert O’Harrow Jr. brings Meigs alive in the commanding and intensely personal Quartermaster . We get to know this major military figure that Lincoln and his Cabinet and Generals called the key to victory and learn how he fed, clothed, and armed the Union Army using his ingenuity and devotion. O’Harrow tells the full dramatic story of this fierce, strong, honest, loyal, forward-thinking, major American figure.
General Montgomery C. Meigs, who built the Union Army, was judged by Lincoln, Seward, and Stanton to be the indispensable architect of the Union victory. Civil War historian James McPherson calls Meigs “the unsung hero of northern victory.”
Born to a well to do, connected family in 1816, Montgomery C. Meigs graduated from West Point as an engineer. He helped build America’s forts and served under Lt. Robert E. Lee to make navigation improvements on the Mississippi River. As a young man, he designed the Washington aqueducts in a city where people were dying from contaminated water. He built the spectacular wings and the massive dome of the brand new US Capitol.
Introduced to President Lincoln by Secretary of State William Seward, Meigs became Lincoln’s Quartermaster. It was during the Civil War that Meigs became a national hero. He commanded Ulysses S. Grant’s base of supplies that made Union victories, including Gettysburg, possible. He sustained Sherman’s army in Georgia, and the March to the Sea. After the war, Meigs built Arlington Cemetery (on land that had been Robert E. Lee’s home).
Robert O’Harrow Jr. brings Meigs alive in the commanding and intensely personal Quartermaster . We get to know this major military figure that Lincoln and his Cabinet and Generals called the key to victory and learn how he fed, clothed, and armed the Union Army using his ingenuity and devotion. O’Harrow tells the full dramatic story of this fierce, strong, honest, loyal, forward-thinking, major American figure.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published October 25, 2016
37 people are currently reading
528 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
December 20, 2020
Much has been written about the tactics and glory of battles, but as Napoleon said, an army marches on its stomach. This is where Montgomery C. Meigs comes in.
Meigs was a Captain in the Army Corps of Engineers before the Civil War and was in charge of upgrading the Washington D.C. water supply system and enlarging and redesigning the Capitol building and dome.
With the outbreak of the Civil War his organizational skills were recognized and he was asked to take on the daunting task of Quartermaster General of the Union army. Being a perfectionist, honest and trustworthy he was the right man for the job.
Arming, supplying and moving hundreds of thousands of men was chaotic to say the least, but Meigs's administrative ability served the country well. He also had to fight government bureaucracy and corruption.
When reading other books of the Civil War where the fighting generals get all the glory you don't often think about the behind-the-scenes action that must take place. This book was certainly an eye-opener and was written from that viewpoint.
After the war, Meigs was also in charge of returning dead soldiers home from their graves all over the country. He then dismantled the army and vast amounts of supplies, equipment and animals.
This book was extensively researched and was a testament to a man who should be lauded along with Lincoln, Grant and Sherman for guiding the Union army to victory.
Recommended to Civil War enthusiasts who want a different perspective.
Meigs was a Captain in the Army Corps of Engineers before the Civil War and was in charge of upgrading the Washington D.C. water supply system and enlarging and redesigning the Capitol building and dome.
With the outbreak of the Civil War his organizational skills were recognized and he was asked to take on the daunting task of Quartermaster General of the Union army. Being a perfectionist, honest and trustworthy he was the right man for the job.
Arming, supplying and moving hundreds of thousands of men was chaotic to say the least, but Meigs's administrative ability served the country well. He also had to fight government bureaucracy and corruption.
When reading other books of the Civil War where the fighting generals get all the glory you don't often think about the behind-the-scenes action that must take place. This book was certainly an eye-opener and was written from that viewpoint.
After the war, Meigs was also in charge of returning dead soldiers home from their graves all over the country. He then dismantled the army and vast amounts of supplies, equipment and animals.
This book was extensively researched and was a testament to a man who should be lauded along with Lincoln, Grant and Sherman for guiding the Union army to victory.
Recommended to Civil War enthusiasts who want a different perspective.
March 9, 2018
It is great to read a biography about the Civil War’s important support staff. Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army Montgomery C. Meigs (1816-1892) was a logistical mastermind. Meigs was a graduate of West Point and served in the Army Corp of Engineers. Meigs developed into an excellent administrator.
The book is well written and researched. The writing style brings the period of history to life. O’Harrow evenly divides the narrative between Meigs’ life prewar and the Civil War events. The book is easily readable and is a must read for Civil War history buffs.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is almost nine hours. Tom Perkins does a good job narrating the book. I was recently introduced to Perkins when I listened to the book “Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow”. He is a long-time audio engineer that has recently started narrating audiobooks.
The book is well written and researched. The writing style brings the period of history to life. O’Harrow evenly divides the narrative between Meigs’ life prewar and the Civil War events. The book is easily readable and is a must read for Civil War history buffs.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is almost nine hours. Tom Perkins does a good job narrating the book. I was recently introduced to Perkins when I listened to the book “Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow”. He is a long-time audio engineer that has recently started narrating audiobooks.
March 26, 2017
AMAZING!!! If I could give it 10 stars, I would. Mr. O'Harrow did a great job with an interesting character. Meigs was such a disciplined individual. In my opinion, he was a bit merciless, but still such an admirable man of character.
If you're a Civil War reader, pick this one up; I don't think you'll be disappointed. I read a library copy but will be buying a personal one for my Civil War stack.
If you're a Civil War reader, pick this one up; I don't think you'll be disappointed. I read a library copy but will be buying a personal one for my Civil War stack.
October 17, 2024
A book that fills a gap in Civil War biographies, this was one of the best books I've read so far this year. The chapters were short and concise; I really appreciate short chapters in history books. The author pays tribute to the often under-appreciated quartermaster general of the Union army. This book will get a spot in my Civil War biography top shelf. A wonderful study.
September 18, 2021
In the American army, one of the popular truisms is "amateurs study tactics, while professionals study logistics," and the US Army's most famous logistician was Montgomery Meigs, the Quartermaster General of the Union armies in the Civil War. Meigs had already made a name for himself as a builder and architect in Washington DC before the war (he was responsible for, among other projects, the reconstruction of the Capitol building and the design of the Washington Aqueduct, the city's first reliable and healthy water supply) as well as for efficient administration and honesty. The Civil War presented him with a new and enormous challenge: the movement and supply of great armies in active operations, spread out over an area the size of Europe, with supplies to arrive on time and purchased at prices that wouldn't bankrupt the government. This logistical support included the first large-scale use of railroads as a tool for moving troops and supplies over vast distances. In all of these challenges, Meigs and his Quartermaster Department managed to overcome every difficulty, and they played a vital, if unsung, role in the defeat of the Confederacy and the preservation of the Union. Robert O'Hara's fine, if short, biography is an overdue update on the life of this remarkable man and his accomplishments. A couple of maps would not have gone amiss, but that is to quibble. A must for any Civil War buff or for someone studying the history of military logistics. First rate.
December 26, 2016
This is an illuminating biography of the Civil War's logistics expert--General Montgomery Meigs. His task was not the publicly acclaimed winner of battles. He was the one who helped make battles--and the war--winnable. He was responsible (with others in his department) for providing ammunition, food, uniforms, forage, and so many other resources of war. If there was too little of any key resource, an army would be in difficulties.
Meigs was very good at what he did. The author of this biography, O'Harrow, writes cleanly and well, although not elegantly. He gives us a sense of Meigs' work and his persona.
Meigs work was far reaching. He showed up in Chattanooga to develop logistical support for Grant's effort to break the Confederate siege, after the major Union defeat at Chickamauga. He mainly stayed in Washington, D. C. and devoted enormous energy tro keeping Union forces supplied. But--compared with the Confederates' logistical efforts--he was very successful. It did not hurt, of course, that the North had more resources available. But Meigs deployed those well.
The story of Meigs as a person is also told pretty well.
In short, I think that this is a very good biography of an important--and often underappreciated soldier-- in the Civil War. . . .
Meigs was very good at what he did. The author of this biography, O'Harrow, writes cleanly and well, although not elegantly. He gives us a sense of Meigs' work and his persona.
Meigs work was far reaching. He showed up in Chattanooga to develop logistical support for Grant's effort to break the Confederate siege, after the major Union defeat at Chickamauga. He mainly stayed in Washington, D. C. and devoted enormous energy tro keeping Union forces supplied. But--compared with the Confederates' logistical efforts--he was very successful. It did not hurt, of course, that the North had more resources available. But Meigs deployed those well.
The story of Meigs as a person is also told pretty well.
In short, I think that this is a very good biography of an important--and often underappreciated soldier-- in the Civil War. . . .
July 24, 2024
Being a Civil war junkie I found this book to be very interesting and satisfying to read. It’s probably not for everyone unless you’re interested in the war or in logistics and organization and supplies. I had never heard of Gen. Meigs but now have a great appreciation for his talents, ethics and accomplishments. Thanks for the suggestion Allison.
November 3, 2020
As I was reading GRANT by Ron Chernow, I was fascinated by the logistics of the war. This book beautifully augments GRANT.
Grant himself cut his teeth as a Quartermaster. But the man who was in Washington at the side of Lincoln was General Montgomery C. Meigs. He was the mastermind of logistics. The book title includes, "Master Builder of the Union Army."
Additionally: The first aqueduct bringing clean water to Washington DC was built by Meigs.
As was: A wing of the Capitol.
The building of the Capitol Dome is shared with an architect. Meigs technical expertise was invaluable in the construction.
The National Building Museum
Original member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Helping to build the Northern Navy.
Grant himself cut his teeth as a Quartermaster. But the man who was in Washington at the side of Lincoln was General Montgomery C. Meigs. He was the mastermind of logistics. The book title includes, "Master Builder of the Union Army."
Additionally: The first aqueduct bringing clean water to Washington DC was built by Meigs.
As was: A wing of the Capitol.
The building of the Capitol Dome is shared with an architect. Meigs technical expertise was invaluable in the construction.
The National Building Museum
Original member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Helping to build the Northern Navy.
February 21, 2017
As a scientist, I always had this vague feeling that Montgomery Meigs didn't get the credit he deserved in the Civil War. Now that I have read this excellent book by Robert O'Harrow, I'm sure of it.
A West Point graduate and trained engineer, Meigs was frustrated by his desk job far away from the excitement of pre-war Washington DC. In 1837 he was paired with Robert E. Lee to improve navigation in the Mississippi River. Eventually Meigs was called to the city to oversee the design and building of an aqueduct to bring drinking water from Great Falls to Washington. He also took a heavy interest in guiding the redesign and building of a new dome over the Capitol building. Along the way he became close friends with, and received considerable support from, Jefferson Davis, whom he invited along with Stephen A. Douglas and the Smithsonian's Joseph Henry to the aqueduct groundbreaking.
When the war began, Meigs parted ways with Davis and other former friends; he never forgot their treason to the Union. He quickly became a valued adviser to Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of War Cameron and his successor Stanton, and other military generals who became more famous for their exploits and failures. But all acknowledged that the Union war effort would not have been possible without Meigs leading the Quartermaster corps. As Quartermaster General, Meigs built a system of acquisition and distribution that enabled supplies ranging from horses to food to clothing to wagons to ammunition to reach soldiers in far-flung locations and always on the move. Where Southern forces were routinely starving, wearing rags, and ill-equipped, Meigs and his quartermaster staff kept the Union well-fed, well-clothed, and well-armed. It made the difference in the war.
Meigs and the Quartermaster Corps are usually covered with extreme brevity in other books on Lincoln and the Civil War. O'Harrow does justice to Meigs, delving into his history as well as his war service. The first half of the book examines the various projects, bureaucratic ordeals, and accomplishments in the two decades leading up to the war of a man that all parties agree was devoutly honest, hardworking, and skillful in developing grand building projects. The second half of the book focuses on his actions during the Civil War itself, including the phenomenal accomplishment of getting supplies to Armies and Navies throughout the North, the South, and the West. Meigs interacts and becomes a trusted adviser to Abraham Lincoln, to Edwin Stanton, and even to William Seward. He comes off as a confident man, skillful in making things happen, though sometimes frustrated and quick to anger at fraud and incompetence. Following the war he remains Quartermaster General for many years, designs and constructs the Pension Building (now the National Building Museum), and even learns how to use new technology - the typewriter - to compensate for his notoriously illegible handwriting and shorthand.
In this concise book of about 250 pages of text (plus another 40 pages of well-researched notes), O'Harrow squeezes in 34 quick-to-read chapters. The writing is fluid and interesting; the information comprehensive and insightful. Perhaps more could be written about Meigs's personal life - his wife and family are related to minor players in the background despite his clear love and admiration for them - but these are minimal grievances in an otherwise comprehensive, yet highly readable, book.
A West Point graduate and trained engineer, Meigs was frustrated by his desk job far away from the excitement of pre-war Washington DC. In 1837 he was paired with Robert E. Lee to improve navigation in the Mississippi River. Eventually Meigs was called to the city to oversee the design and building of an aqueduct to bring drinking water from Great Falls to Washington. He also took a heavy interest in guiding the redesign and building of a new dome over the Capitol building. Along the way he became close friends with, and received considerable support from, Jefferson Davis, whom he invited along with Stephen A. Douglas and the Smithsonian's Joseph Henry to the aqueduct groundbreaking.
When the war began, Meigs parted ways with Davis and other former friends; he never forgot their treason to the Union. He quickly became a valued adviser to Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of War Cameron and his successor Stanton, and other military generals who became more famous for their exploits and failures. But all acknowledged that the Union war effort would not have been possible without Meigs leading the Quartermaster corps. As Quartermaster General, Meigs built a system of acquisition and distribution that enabled supplies ranging from horses to food to clothing to wagons to ammunition to reach soldiers in far-flung locations and always on the move. Where Southern forces were routinely starving, wearing rags, and ill-equipped, Meigs and his quartermaster staff kept the Union well-fed, well-clothed, and well-armed. It made the difference in the war.
Meigs and the Quartermaster Corps are usually covered with extreme brevity in other books on Lincoln and the Civil War. O'Harrow does justice to Meigs, delving into his history as well as his war service. The first half of the book examines the various projects, bureaucratic ordeals, and accomplishments in the two decades leading up to the war of a man that all parties agree was devoutly honest, hardworking, and skillful in developing grand building projects. The second half of the book focuses on his actions during the Civil War itself, including the phenomenal accomplishment of getting supplies to Armies and Navies throughout the North, the South, and the West. Meigs interacts and becomes a trusted adviser to Abraham Lincoln, to Edwin Stanton, and even to William Seward. He comes off as a confident man, skillful in making things happen, though sometimes frustrated and quick to anger at fraud and incompetence. Following the war he remains Quartermaster General for many years, designs and constructs the Pension Building (now the National Building Museum), and even learns how to use new technology - the typewriter - to compensate for his notoriously illegible handwriting and shorthand.
In this concise book of about 250 pages of text (plus another 40 pages of well-researched notes), O'Harrow squeezes in 34 quick-to-read chapters. The writing is fluid and interesting; the information comprehensive and insightful. Perhaps more could be written about Meigs's personal life - his wife and family are related to minor players in the background despite his clear love and admiration for them - but these are minimal grievances in an otherwise comprehensive, yet highly readable, book.
January 14, 2017
An excellent biography about the incredible Montgomery C. Meigs, of his vital role not only during the Civil War, but of his earlier years as well. Meigs designed and over saw the DC water aqueduct in the 1850s, and served as chief engineer in the design and construction of our nation's Capitol Dome. As Head Quartermaster in the War, Meigs was assigned the responsibility of supplying the Union Army with everything troops needed to fight, everything from shoes to ammunition, horses and mules, guns and ships, hospitals and burials, you name it! As Meigs worked alongside President Lincoln throughout the War, the author, Robert O'Harrow, Jr. takes his readers on a remarkable journey deep inside the War effort. I had become interested in Meigs because I included one of his more famous architectural wonders, the Pensions Building in DC, in one of my books, The Rutland Mule Matter. I am very glad to have stumbled upon this book, a Christmas gift, and recommend The Quartermaster to anyone and everyone remotely interested in American History. It is well worth the read!
December 29, 2016
Over my lifetime, I have read over 100 books on the American Civil War. I have examined all battles (visited the vast majority) and all significant commanders in the war. However, this was the first book I have read on Montgomery Meigs, the Quartermaster of the Union, who is very deserving of being one of the main architects of the Union victory. Excellent book on his life.
July 1, 2017
The big stories about any war, including the Civil War, are written about the generals in the field. However no war can be won without competent, hardworking people in the background. This book is about one such man.
August 10, 2017
Bought the book at the museum bookstore at Gettysburg. It's a pedestrian biography of Montgomery Meigs, the quartermaster of the US army during the Civil War written by a journalist at the Washington Post. Meigs was a man of many talents. As an engineer he played an important role in providing Washington DC with running water in the 1850s and also in the reconstruction of the US Capitol that among other things gave it the prominent dome that's a familiar sight to so many. As quartermaster general during the war, he saw to supplying the Union army with the material supplies that were so important in crushing the comparatively poorly supplied rebels. Finally, after the war he oversaw the construction of the building that housed the large bureaucracy involved in paying pensions to Union veterans that still survives to house the National Architecture Museum. Meigs was a typically Victorian-era prig who was also an ardent supporter of abolition (at least once the war got under weigh) and vehement opponent of the rebel leaders (including Jefferson Davis, who had previously been a major supporter of Meigs). This book touches on all these points, but mostly in a cursory and unsatisfying way.
The book divides into more or less two sections, the first half covering Meigs early life, with particular emphasis on his bureaucratic disputes in the 1850s, and the second half devoted to his services as quartermaster during the war. The author lets us know that he became interested in Meigs because once he was walking around in a park outside DC, and when he took an unaccustomed route, came across an inscription to Meigs. This lead him to look into the man's life. (As it turns out, Meigs was a needy man who craved attention and put up a certain number of inscriptions commemorating his activities for posterity's approbation). This section is mostly consumed with the bad relations that Meigs had with various people in the DC hierarchy, especially the last pre-war secretary of war. On the whole, our hero comes out the victory, but he isn't a particularly appealing character. The story is mostly told from the perspective of these conflicts and has comparatively little to say about the technical details of what he was doing.
The same holds true for the second half. There are some specifics about how exactly Meigs arranged the provisioning of the army, which must have been a herculean task, but the story is mainly anecdotal. We hear about his relations with Lincoln and Stanton (the man who managed the army institutionally as secretary of war). We also learn of Meigs' involvement in the provisioning of specific battles (particularly Chickamauga; Gettysburg gets only a cursory mention). There are some vague discussion of the huge numbers involved and some of the problems involved in having to delegate purchasing at a time when much oversight was technically impossible, but not much detail. A few things Meigs is quoted as saying suggest that he felt that a certain degree of corruption was inevitable and that it was better to put up with this than to hinder the war effort. Sounds a bit self-serving… Anyway, I would have preferred closer attention to this aspect of his career, which assuredly is far and away the most important activity in his life, and less about, say, his messing around in forts in Florida in the period directly before the start of the war.
Not much is made of the building of the pension office, which is a stunning building that is unknown to the vast majority of tourists to DC. The frieze around the building and those huge columns are amazing!
As already noted, Meigs became a radical abolitionist who felt that the South had to atone for its sins, and he was very much a man of his times in his eagerness to get into tiresome disputes via letter about real and imagined bureaucratic slights. But one doesn't get a really good feel for the man beyond this, so I found the book unsatisfying as either a personal portrait or a treatment of the man's official functions. I see there's another comparatively recent biography of the man ( Second Only to Grant: Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs by David Miller). Perhaps I'd find it more satisfying.
The book divides into more or less two sections, the first half covering Meigs early life, with particular emphasis on his bureaucratic disputes in the 1850s, and the second half devoted to his services as quartermaster during the war. The author lets us know that he became interested in Meigs because once he was walking around in a park outside DC, and when he took an unaccustomed route, came across an inscription to Meigs. This lead him to look into the man's life. (As it turns out, Meigs was a needy man who craved attention and put up a certain number of inscriptions commemorating his activities for posterity's approbation). This section is mostly consumed with the bad relations that Meigs had with various people in the DC hierarchy, especially the last pre-war secretary of war. On the whole, our hero comes out the victory, but he isn't a particularly appealing character. The story is mostly told from the perspective of these conflicts and has comparatively little to say about the technical details of what he was doing.
The same holds true for the second half. There are some specifics about how exactly Meigs arranged the provisioning of the army, which must have been a herculean task, but the story is mainly anecdotal. We hear about his relations with Lincoln and Stanton (the man who managed the army institutionally as secretary of war). We also learn of Meigs' involvement in the provisioning of specific battles (particularly Chickamauga; Gettysburg gets only a cursory mention). There are some vague discussion of the huge numbers involved and some of the problems involved in having to delegate purchasing at a time when much oversight was technically impossible, but not much detail. A few things Meigs is quoted as saying suggest that he felt that a certain degree of corruption was inevitable and that it was better to put up with this than to hinder the war effort. Sounds a bit self-serving… Anyway, I would have preferred closer attention to this aspect of his career, which assuredly is far and away the most important activity in his life, and less about, say, his messing around in forts in Florida in the period directly before the start of the war.
Not much is made of the building of the pension office, which is a stunning building that is unknown to the vast majority of tourists to DC. The frieze around the building and those huge columns are amazing!
As already noted, Meigs became a radical abolitionist who felt that the South had to atone for its sins, and he was very much a man of his times in his eagerness to get into tiresome disputes via letter about real and imagined bureaucratic slights. But one doesn't get a really good feel for the man beyond this, so I found the book unsatisfying as either a personal portrait or a treatment of the man's official functions. I see there's another comparatively recent biography of the man ( Second Only to Grant: Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs by David Miller). Perhaps I'd find it more satisfying.
September 1, 2018
The Forgotten Man who made a Significant Contribution to Union Civil War Victory
In a compact biography, Robert O’Harrow Jr. has captured the story of Montgomery C. Meigs, the now forgotten man who modernized Washington’s water supply, assumed responsibility for construction of the Capitol and its dome, and who as Quartermaster played an important role in the victory of the Union Army over the Confederacy. In all these roles, and in directing unprecedented government spending, he displayed competence, honesty and integrity at a time when corruption and kickbacks were endemic on major projects.
Meigs was a workaholic. He successfully advocated for, and oversaw construction of a high capacity aqueduct to bring clean water to Washington.
Although he had no art history or architectural training, Meigs was determined to bring classical detail to the Capitol building when he was given responsibility for the construction project already underway. He studied the design of the domed buildings of Europe with the objective of creating a rival to the Parthenon and hired the Italian artist who had restored frescos in the Vatican to decorate the Capitol interior — over the objection of less talented American artists who objected to the use of a “foreigner”.
But Meigs' greatest contribution was in organizing the logistics and supply of the Union Army during the Civil War. In the spring of 1861, with the secession of the Confederate States, the Union troops suddenly swelled from some 14,000 to 300,000 and would grow to more than one million men by the end of the war. Spending in the first year of the war reached $174 million compared to $21 million in the war with Mexico in 1846-1848.
This first “industrialized” war was a prodigious consumer of material. In World War II, General Patton complained that his armored columns were stalled by the lack of gas. The same problem faced the Union Army but the constraint was feed for the horses and mules that supported army maneuver. Each man consumed three pounds of food a day, but a horse or mule consumed 26 pounds of feed a day. Moreover, counting all animals required for the supply wagons and other weapons of war, there was one horse or mule for every two Union soldiers. In the Peninsula Campaign in Virginia, the army consumed 600,000 tons of supplies each day, nearly all of which were delivered by horse and wagon.
Arguably, America’s genius in war production and supply that later was demonstrated in World War I and World War II had as its antecedent Meigs’ organization of supply and logistics in the Civil War.
Meigs became a trusted daily advisor to President Lincoln. He was also a trusted partner of more famous Union generals such as Sherman and Grant. His handwriting was atrocious and Sherman is said to have commented on one of his notes, “This message is from General Meigs. I therefore approve it but I cannot read it.”
Even at the end of the war, Meigs' service to his country continued. 1,250,000 Union soldiers had to be demobilized and transported home. Meigs also took responsibility for identifying Union war dead, many of whom had been buried in shallow unmarked graves near where they fell in various battles. Under his administration, battlefields were surveyed and some 50,000 such war dead were identified and given proper burial in cemeteries, including Arlington.
Author O’Harrow has shown restraint in writing a book of some 250 pages. He has given the reader a good appreciation of the subject of his biography and by being selective in his narrative sustains interest in a man of many talents who was a significant contributor to Union victory.
In a compact biography, Robert O’Harrow Jr. has captured the story of Montgomery C. Meigs, the now forgotten man who modernized Washington’s water supply, assumed responsibility for construction of the Capitol and its dome, and who as Quartermaster played an important role in the victory of the Union Army over the Confederacy. In all these roles, and in directing unprecedented government spending, he displayed competence, honesty and integrity at a time when corruption and kickbacks were endemic on major projects.
Meigs was a workaholic. He successfully advocated for, and oversaw construction of a high capacity aqueduct to bring clean water to Washington.
Although he had no art history or architectural training, Meigs was determined to bring classical detail to the Capitol building when he was given responsibility for the construction project already underway. He studied the design of the domed buildings of Europe with the objective of creating a rival to the Parthenon and hired the Italian artist who had restored frescos in the Vatican to decorate the Capitol interior — over the objection of less talented American artists who objected to the use of a “foreigner”.
But Meigs' greatest contribution was in organizing the logistics and supply of the Union Army during the Civil War. In the spring of 1861, with the secession of the Confederate States, the Union troops suddenly swelled from some 14,000 to 300,000 and would grow to more than one million men by the end of the war. Spending in the first year of the war reached $174 million compared to $21 million in the war with Mexico in 1846-1848.
This first “industrialized” war was a prodigious consumer of material. In World War II, General Patton complained that his armored columns were stalled by the lack of gas. The same problem faced the Union Army but the constraint was feed for the horses and mules that supported army maneuver. Each man consumed three pounds of food a day, but a horse or mule consumed 26 pounds of feed a day. Moreover, counting all animals required for the supply wagons and other weapons of war, there was one horse or mule for every two Union soldiers. In the Peninsula Campaign in Virginia, the army consumed 600,000 tons of supplies each day, nearly all of which were delivered by horse and wagon.
Arguably, America’s genius in war production and supply that later was demonstrated in World War I and World War II had as its antecedent Meigs’ organization of supply and logistics in the Civil War.
Meigs became a trusted daily advisor to President Lincoln. He was also a trusted partner of more famous Union generals such as Sherman and Grant. His handwriting was atrocious and Sherman is said to have commented on one of his notes, “This message is from General Meigs. I therefore approve it but I cannot read it.”
Even at the end of the war, Meigs' service to his country continued. 1,250,000 Union soldiers had to be demobilized and transported home. Meigs also took responsibility for identifying Union war dead, many of whom had been buried in shallow unmarked graves near where they fell in various battles. Under his administration, battlefields were surveyed and some 50,000 such war dead were identified and given proper burial in cemeteries, including Arlington.
Author O’Harrow has shown restraint in writing a book of some 250 pages. He has given the reader a good appreciation of the subject of his biography and by being selective in his narrative sustains interest in a man of many talents who was a significant contributor to Union victory.
May 20, 2017
It's always nice to see unsung national heroes be singled out for their contributions which are almost always restricted to the fine print of footnotes and indices. Montgomery Meigs was one of Lincoln's closest military advisers, and one of these many forgotten men in history.
Until fairly recently, my comprehension of conflict was woeful. I did not understand that the battle between forces is but a small part of war. Soldiers must be recruited, registered, transported, clothed, housed, feed, treated, paid, and kept busy during lulls, often far away from home, and then, sadly, organized in burial, or if not, taken care of after the guns are silenced by a mammoth pension system. The work to ensure this assimilation must be flawless and constant -- so imagine the organization. Now, picture these challenges where there is no army and one must be built on the fly, and where there is absolutely no system and one must be constructed from almost absolute scratch. What this entails aside from the particulars associated with soldiers: hiring tens of thousands of subordinates and monitoring their activities, rooting out rampant corruption, making deals with unscrupulous contractors, imposing organization where all outside factors conspire to tear that structure apart -- and all of this occurring within a devastating conflict that may well break apart the nation for good.
This is the challenge Lincoln, Stanton, Scott, et al faced in 1861-62, and one that Meigs, more than any other man, helped alleviate. It is one of the greatest administrative successes in world history, a feat terrifying in its magnitude and awesome in its scope. Logistics might seem a boring and bland affair, but it is not. It is the key to any large-scale affair, and through his genius Meigs earned the place in history O'Harrow helps fashion for him. A quick, easy, relatively colorful history you can read in a weekend.
(Bonus shameless plug: I wrote a piece on Meigs for the NYT Disunion series a few years back that can serve as a nice appetizer to this book's main course.)
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...
Until fairly recently, my comprehension of conflict was woeful. I did not understand that the battle between forces is but a small part of war. Soldiers must be recruited, registered, transported, clothed, housed, feed, treated, paid, and kept busy during lulls, often far away from home, and then, sadly, organized in burial, or if not, taken care of after the guns are silenced by a mammoth pension system. The work to ensure this assimilation must be flawless and constant -- so imagine the organization. Now, picture these challenges where there is no army and one must be built on the fly, and where there is absolutely no system and one must be constructed from almost absolute scratch. What this entails aside from the particulars associated with soldiers: hiring tens of thousands of subordinates and monitoring their activities, rooting out rampant corruption, making deals with unscrupulous contractors, imposing organization where all outside factors conspire to tear that structure apart -- and all of this occurring within a devastating conflict that may well break apart the nation for good.
This is the challenge Lincoln, Stanton, Scott, et al faced in 1861-62, and one that Meigs, more than any other man, helped alleviate. It is one of the greatest administrative successes in world history, a feat terrifying in its magnitude and awesome in its scope. Logistics might seem a boring and bland affair, but it is not. It is the key to any large-scale affair, and through his genius Meigs earned the place in history O'Harrow helps fashion for him. A quick, easy, relatively colorful history you can read in a weekend.
(Bonus shameless plug: I wrote a piece on Meigs for the NYT Disunion series a few years back that can serve as a nice appetizer to this book's main course.)
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...
May 27, 2017
So many books and people tell you more than you really want to know about the Civil War, about all those boys dying and their leaders realizing halfway in that slavery was a national sin, but O'Harrow's Quartermaster glances sideways at the war because its hero really wants to build things and be remembered for the building, so with that strange American enlightenment aw shucks approach to European history and art and philosophy, Montgomery Meigs young West Point military engineer looks at Roman bridges and Italian palazzi and starts sketching and gathering materials and convincing a distracted and intermittently corrupt congress to build an aqueduct system for the capitol (Rome again!) and a dome for that undeserving congress and an architecturally significant bridge for himself that you can see if you visit Washington, D.C. today, but the aforementioned war arrives and his talents turn to supplying the Union armies with sufficient materiel on time to wear down the pre-industrial forces led by his fellow West Point engineer and friend Robert E. Lee, on whose confiscated estate Meigs begins the Arlington National Cemetery, filling up Lee's land with thousands of the dead Meigs held him responsible for, including late in the book and in its most poignant scene, his own twenty two year old son John Meigs, walking with two aides on a mapmaking trip in the Shenandoah Valley not far from Staunton, surprised and shot by rebels in Union cloaks, and the war comes home to the idealist, the designer of better systems, the careful accountant, the autodidact architect, who will stay by Lincoln's side as he breathes his last on the eve of the celebration of the end of the war, a war in the periphery of this man's life, summarized ably with confidence and a lively pace for interested readers with other interests.
May 2, 2021
A good book, providing a biography of one of the American Civil War’s most fascinating and critical leaders. Montgomery Meigs was appointed Chief Quartermaster of the US Army early in the war. In this role he ensured that the US was able to consistently obtain local material superiority throughout the war. But the book dives much deeper into Meigs’ life and work. His 20-year Engineering career, especially his work on the Washington Aqueduct and the Capitol Building in the late 1850s, take up the first part of the book. In this pre-Civil War period his hard work ethic and administration skills became well known in upper political circles. Thus, when the war started, the Engineering Captain was quickly promoted to General and placed in charge of Army logistics. He led the US Government’s first foray into big acquisition, with all the political and commercial issues this entailed. Meigs’ fierce loyalty and extensive stamina turned what initially appeared to be a lucrative market for speculators into a well-run machine of efficiency. Despite these extensive other duties, he remained an Engineer, overseeing the completion of his civil projects over the course of the war. The author presents Meigs as a fascinating character, able to divine the rules for governing big spending in the morning and adjudicating between Capitol Building project statuary choices in the afternoon. A great book for anyone interested in the early stages of big US government projects. Highly recommended for all civil war armchair historian.
August 5, 2018
A brief but adequate account of another unsung hero of the Civil War. As with Herman Haupt, Meigs' pre-and-post war careers were just as fascinating as his war efforts. He could rightly be called one of the architects of the nation's new capital, as he figured prominently in the design and construction of the Capitol Dome, the city's aqueduct system, and original Smithsonian building, and other now-famous buildings around the capital. The accounts of his military service as the Union's chief quartermaster also gives insight into the challenges faced by building a supply network from scratch and maintaining that system during combat operations. There are several aspects of his life and service that I felt needed further clarification or explanation, but overall this is a great account of a character that is virtually unknown compared to the usual high-profile ones but whose work was arguably just as important.
July 28, 2017
A solid biography of Meigs that covers his important work with major projects before and after the Civil War, his service as Quartermaster of the Union army, and his relationship with Lincoln and Stanton.
It is a very readable biography.
I think a downside is that you're left with the feeling that there is room for more context, information and nuance. For example, Roy Morris spends more time in his biography of Sheridan on the death of Meig's son than this biography does. Another example is the delay of pontoon trains to Burnside that contributed to the Fredericksburg fiasco - there isn't an in depth discussion of the major logistic fowl up and the trouble it caused.
In the end, though, a solid, readable bio of an important Civil War figure and an important figure in the story of Washington, DC as a city.
It is a very readable biography.
I think a downside is that you're left with the feeling that there is room for more context, information and nuance. For example, Roy Morris spends more time in his biography of Sheridan on the death of Meig's son than this biography does. Another example is the delay of pontoon trains to Burnside that contributed to the Fredericksburg fiasco - there isn't an in depth discussion of the major logistic fowl up and the trouble it caused.
In the end, though, a solid, readable bio of an important Civil War figure and an important figure in the story of Washington, DC as a city.
August 12, 2018
An Interesting Look at the Life of a Neglected Figure
Montgomery Meigs is an unjustly neglected figure in the history of the Civil War, who often pops up in other stories (memorably in Ken Burns’ The Civil War), but who rarely takes center-stage. In this brisk and readable life, a story unfolds of a dogged and honest soldier and engineer who played a quiet-but-vital role at the crossroads in the life of the Republic.
I certainly recommend this to anyone with an interest in the Civil War, the logistics of war and government, as well as life in Washington during the time period that spanned the end of the antebellum years through the first stirrings of American global power, when Washington went from being a sleepy backwater without even proper water to becoming the sort of imperial city that we know today.
Montgomery Meigs is an unjustly neglected figure in the history of the Civil War, who often pops up in other stories (memorably in Ken Burns’ The Civil War), but who rarely takes center-stage. In this brisk and readable life, a story unfolds of a dogged and honest soldier and engineer who played a quiet-but-vital role at the crossroads in the life of the Republic.
I certainly recommend this to anyone with an interest in the Civil War, the logistics of war and government, as well as life in Washington during the time period that spanned the end of the antebellum years through the first stirrings of American global power, when Washington went from being a sleepy backwater without even proper water to becoming the sort of imperial city that we know today.
October 13, 2018
This book is such a breath of fresh air in Civil War biographies. So much attention has been given to battles and commanders that other vital dimensions have been neglected. How do you supply moving armies with hundreds of thousands of tons of supplies a day? In the words of Treasury Secretary Hugh McCulloch, "The civil war in the United States could not have been prosecuted by the Government with the smallest hope of success,had not the Union armies been properly provided and cared for by. The Quartermaster's Department. Fortunately for the country, there was at the head of this department M. C. Meigs." In addition he expanded the US Capitol, constructed it's dome, brought running water into Washington DC and founded Arlington National Cemetery. Fascinating man with a brilliant mind.
February 13, 2019
Most military history works-- quite correctly-- focus on those doing the fighting. This one focuses on a man who was a key player in the Union victory of the US Civil War-- the quartermaster. He managed the expansion of the military machine from a small simple force into a mammoth army with production and logistic capabilities unheard of before that time. Along the way he contended with unscrupulous merchants of every kind as well as politicians in their pay. Meigs also was the designer of the US capitol and other projects before the war, working closely with figures such as Jefferson Davis who later became his enemies both professionally and personally. His road was not an easy one, and his story is as interesting as more popular figures from the Civil War.
January 1, 2022
Montgomery Meigs should be better known, and *this* is just the book to do it. Highly recommended. Shoutout to Atun-Shei films for being instrumental in bringing Meigs back to my attention, which led to me seeking this book out. The private side of Meigs is here explored masterfully. His Southern (Georgia) origins but solid Union loyalty. The loss of his son to the war. His hatred of Lee, and the origins of Arlington National Cemetery. His presence at the death of Lincoln. His logistical brilliance for trains, munitions, and more. The focus on the human being amidst the devastation he witnessed and took part in is carefully conveyed. The book felt like a visit from an old, dear friend, a visit which came to an end far too early.
October 26, 2017
I loved this book. It is not writing on the level of Stephan Ambrose or David McCullough but O'Harrow is a compelling author and tells Meigs story in an engaging way.
It was delight to read the story of one who was committed to public service and masterfully competent in his work. Without a doubt, Meigs was a major contributor to the Union victory.
As a fan of the How it's Made TV show, I was fascinated by the innovations executed by the Quartermaster Corps to move and equipment massive armies. We live within the footprint of major Civil War battles, and I will never see the battlefields that we visit in the same way again.
It was delight to read the story of one who was committed to public service and masterfully competent in his work. Without a doubt, Meigs was a major contributor to the Union victory.
As a fan of the How it's Made TV show, I was fascinated by the innovations executed by the Quartermaster Corps to move and equipment massive armies. We live within the footprint of major Civil War battles, and I will never see the battlefields that we visit in the same way again.
January 9, 2018
This is an eminently readable book about an important but ofter overlooked figure. While O’Harrow is not an historian he does an excellent job as far as he goes. Unfortunately, I wish this had been considerably longer with more details about how the Quartermaster Corps got the job done. Horses were provided, depots were set up, forage was accumulated, railroads repaired, rolling mills established, bridges were repaired overnight. HOW? It cries out for more detail. Fortunately, he has included a significant bibliography that may have the answers there, but it would have been so much more powerful with this fine biography.
January 26, 2023
A revealing perspective on a crucial role in the success of the Union army during the Civil War, O'Harrow's book paints a fascinating picture of M.C. Meigs, the Quartermaster General.
There are a lot of interesting pieces both about his experience, including his relationships with Lincoln and the rest of the cabinet, his relationships with commanders in the field, the endemic levels of graft and corruption throughout military procurement and acquisition at the time, the posturing of southern senior executives before the war began, and Meigs' reflections on his own role and contribution.
Really enjoyed the book!
There are a lot of interesting pieces both about his experience, including his relationships with Lincoln and the rest of the cabinet, his relationships with commanders in the field, the endemic levels of graft and corruption throughout military procurement and acquisition at the time, the posturing of southern senior executives before the war began, and Meigs' reflections on his own role and contribution.
Really enjoyed the book!
May 9, 2019
Talk about an interesting book about an interesting topic! It never really occurred to me before reading this just how important a position the quartermaster is and how important their duties are. Montgomery Meigs, the quartermaster for the North during the Civil War, might just be the perfect person to illustrate this point. This was a great book about not only his life and work, but also the importance of his position and duties (as well as the lasting effect thereof). I am happy to have stumbled across it in my browsing, and it is a book that I would recommend.
March 27, 2020
This is a well-written biography of a lesser known personality of the Civil War who had as much of an impact on the Union war effort as Grant or Sherman. The author gives us an in-depth look at Meigs’ work before the war - including the design of the Washington Aqueduct and the U.S. Capitol Dome - before pivoting to the extraordinary work that he did in supplying the Union armies while minimizing cost and corruption. Meigs has never received the acclaim that he deserves, but the author has done a magnificent job in presenting an engaging redemption for that omission.
February 3, 2021
A Hero Gets His Due
O’Harrow does right by one of the principal architects of the Union victory in the Civil War whose critical role as Quartermaster General is largely overlooked if not entirely unknown. The list of Montgomery Meigs’ contributions and accomplishments - the Capitol Dome, Cabin John Bridge, the Pension Building, Arlington National Cemetery, to name just a few - is an astonishing record of achievement by a dedicated and driven patriot. Honest to a fault, he was an innovator with a vision to whom our country owes a debt that can never be repaid.
O’Harrow does right by one of the principal architects of the Union victory in the Civil War whose critical role as Quartermaster General is largely overlooked if not entirely unknown. The list of Montgomery Meigs’ contributions and accomplishments - the Capitol Dome, Cabin John Bridge, the Pension Building, Arlington National Cemetery, to name just a few - is an astonishing record of achievement by a dedicated and driven patriot. Honest to a fault, he was an innovator with a vision to whom our country owes a debt that can never be repaid.
January 11, 2018
This biography is the very illuminating account of an extremely complex and honest man that was more than a mere supply officer. The brilliance of this engineer responsible for Washington D.C.'s first aqueduct; the expansion of our Nations Capitol building: the Smithsonian Centennial building; the National Building Museum; and overseeing the supplying of the Union Army during the Civil War makes for a great read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews