Political general
A political general is a term used by historians and most often applies to the American Civil War. In this context, it means a General officer who does not have formal military training or experience and who gained his position through political influence.[1] To a lesser degree, it can also mean generals who engaged in politics during or after their time as a general.[2] A "political general" can seem to be a contradiction in terms in a country such as the United States where by law the military is under civilian authority.[3] An example was Dwight D. Eisenhower, who graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in the class of 1915.[4] He was an experienced staff officer who commanded the invasions of North Africa and Western Europe.[3] Eisenhower developed the political skills to deal with his British and American officers as well as political leaders.[3] He later became President of the United States.[3]
Background
In history, many great generals were also political leaders. Julius Caesar was a general who became the dictator of Rome in 44 BC.[5] Genghis Khan was the son of a Mongol chieftain who became a general and then the leader of the Mongol Empire.[6] As a general, Alexander the Great never lost a battle. He was a king who was also a general.[6] In the British Army of the 17th and 18th centuries, the officers were often aristocrats and most obtained their rank by purchase.[7]
In American history up to the Civil war, there had been a long line of amateur military leaders going back to the colonial militias.[8] Before he led the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, George Washington had little military experience.[8] Andrew Jackson only had experience in the American Indian Wars.[8] But he successfully defeated a larger and more professional British army at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.[9]
During the American Civil War, two great armies were raised that were made up largely of citizen-soldiers.[10] There simply were not enough trained generals to lead all these men. Both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis appointed political generals, some of whom later proved to be incompetent.[11] Others proved to be good or even great generals. Many of these generals had very little or no military training before being commissioned a general.[10] Confederate general Patrick Cleburne was such a leader.[10] He earned his nickname as the "Stonewall Jackson of the West" by being a great general.[12] One of the worst examples was Union general Daniel Sickles. He was a Tammany Hall politician[a] who used his influence to rise to the rank of major general.[14] Sickles nearly lost the Battle of Gettysburg for the North yet, after 34 years of lobbying, managed to get himself awarded the Medal of Honor.[14]
Notes
- ↑ Tammany Hall was a New York City political machine that became known for its patronage (rewarding supporters with special favors and jobs), acting in its own interests, dishonesty and corruption.[13] It lasted for nearly two centuries but was gone by 1966.[13]
References
- ↑ Brooks D. Simpson, 'Lincoln and His Political Generals', Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, Vol. 21, Iss. 1, (Winter 2000), pp. 63-77
- ↑ Steven Lee Myers (6 April 2008). "Generally Speaking". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Patrick J. Garrity (17 October 2012). "Eisenhower the Political General". The Claremont Institute. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ↑ Thomas W. Fleming (7 May 2013). "War List: First in Their Class at West Point". HistoryNet. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ↑ "Julius Caesar (100BC - 44BC)". History. BBC. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Top Ten Military Generals of All Time". TheTopTens. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ↑ Steven Schwarmenfeld, The Foundation of British Strength: National Identity and the British Common Soldier (Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Florida State University, 2007), p. 8
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Dan Zeiser. "The Most Effective Political General". The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ↑ "Jackson, Andrew". War of 1812. The Historica-Dominion Institute, The Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Parks Canada. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Blake Whitaker. "Changing Generalship and Tactics in the late 19th Century". MilitaryHistoryOnline.com, LLC. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ↑ James M. McPherson, Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution (New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 70
- ↑ John Hugh Reynolds, Makers of Arkansas History (New York; Boston: Silver, Burdett and company, 1905)pp. 244–251
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 David W. Dunlap (4 July 2016). "Tammany Hall site revisited, renamed". Hurst Corporation. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Daniel Edward Sickles (1819-1914)". North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.