1864 election and the Union Army
A01=Zachery A. Fry
abolitionists
Abraham Lincoln and the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
Author_Zachery A. Fry
Category=JPA
Category=NHWR3
conscription and the Union Army
Copperheads
Democrats in the Union Army
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
George B. McClellan
junior officers in the Civil War
loyalty in the Civil War North
newspapers in the Civil War
Northern politics in the Civil War
officers in the United States Colored Troops
Republicans in the Union Army
Union Army and emancipation
Union Army officers
Union Army politics
Union Army veterans
Union soldiers and politics in the Civil War
unit resolutions in the Union Army
voting in the Union Army
Product details
- ISBN 9781469677422
- Weight: 272g
- Dimensions: 155 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 31 Aug 2023
- Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
The Army of the Potomac was a hotbed of political activity during the Civil War. As a source of dissent widely understood as a frustration for Abraham Lincoln, its onetime commander, George B. McClellan, even secured the Democratic nomination for president in 1864. But in this comprehensive reassessment of the army's politics, Zachery A. Fry argues that the war was an intense political education for its common soldiers. Fry examines several key crisis points to show how enlisted men developed political awareness that went beyond personal loyalties. By studying the struggle between Republicans and Democrats for political allegiance among the army's rank and file, Fry reveals how captains, majors, and colonels spurred a pro-Republican political awakening among the enlisted men, culminating in the army's resounding Republican voice in state and national elections in 1864.
For decades, historians have been content to view the Army of the Potomac primarily through the prism of its general officer corps, portraying it as an arm of the Democratic Party loyal to McClellan's leadership and legacy. Fry, in contrast, shifts the story's emphasis to resurrect the successful efforts of proadministration junior officers who educated their men on the war's political dynamics and laid the groundwork for Lincoln's victory in 1864.
For decades, historians have been content to view the Army of the Potomac primarily through the prism of its general officer corps, portraying it as an arm of the Democratic Party loyal to McClellan's leadership and legacy. Fry, in contrast, shifts the story's emphasis to resurrect the successful efforts of proadministration junior officers who educated their men on the war's political dynamics and laid the groundwork for Lincoln's victory in 1864.
Zachery A. Fry is assistant professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
