Lincoln's Men

January 4, 1999
Historians have plumbed the depths of Lincoln's religion, his humor, his marriage, his political prowess and his talents as a military tactician. Yet, as Davis (A Government of Their Own) points out, the vital relationship between Lincoln and the men of the Union Army, up to now, has gone unstudied. By examining original correspondences and diaries and a vast array of secondary sources, Davis expertly fills this gap and paints a vivid portrait of how Union soldiers viewed the man they came to call "Father Abraham." The soldiers knew a few key things about Lincoln. They knew the lives of deserters sentenced to death were often spared by him. They knew Lincoln was not unwilling to share their risks, as when he visited Fort Stevens in July 1864 and mounted a forward parapet to get a good close look at the Confederates. And they knew that after formal reviews he could be counted upon to wander among them and tell comical stories, even though, as one private recounted, "every lineament of his countenance indicated a mental strain which almost prostrated him." In the end, they realized Lincoln was more than their leader; he was also their fellow sufferer in a terrible war. By examining the life of Lincoln through the prism of these relationships, Davis sheds new light both on our 16th president and on his epoch.