Sherman's Forgotten General, Henry W. Slocum

By Brian C. Melton
Illustrated, appendix, footnotes, selected bibliography, index, 290 pp. University of Missouri Press, 2910 LeMone Blvd., Columbia, MO 65201, $44.95 plus shipping.

Reviewer: John F. Marszalek
John F. Marszalek is Giles Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Mississippi State University and author of numerous books including Sherman, A Soldier's Passion for Order (1993), republished in a new paperback edition by Southern Illinois University Press in the fall of 2007.

Review:
Henry W. Slocum fought in both the Eastern and the Western theaters of the Civil War under famous generals like George B. McClellan, Joseph Hooker and William T. Sherman. He led forces in such battles as Bull Run, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg in the East and commanded the troops who first occupied Atlanta and Savannah in the West.

Slocum advanced steadily through the officer ranks until he became commander of the Army of Georgia in Sherman's juggernaut that marched to the sea and through the Carolinas.

He was a major Union Army military figure, yet he is hardly known, except for his allegedly dismal performance at Gettysburg and his mediocre postwar political career when he switched his allegiance from the Republicans to the Democrats.

Brian C. Melton attempts to present a full-scale biography to make up for the lack of published information on his subject. He has undertaken a difficult task, primarily because the manuscript resources on Slocum are so slim.

Not only did the general not leave behind many personal papers, but he is also noticeably absent in the correspondence of the famous generals he served. Consequently, Melton has to use public papers, but these do not always provide the kind of personal information a biographer hopes to have.

Melton argues correctly that Slocum's activities in the Civil War were significant, and that he deserves to have his story told. His role as rising officer during the war in both the East and the West can tell us much about the personal and military dynamics between the famous generals and those who served below them.

However, Melton does not choose to provide that kind of analysis. Instead, he concentrates on the influence of these superiors on Slocum. "He tended to absorb the characteristics of his commanding officers and their reputations and then put them to practice in his own style and within his own sphere of influence."

When serving under McClellan, Melton argues, Slocum reflected that general's "excessively nervous" disposition and his desire to find victory through "complicated maneuvers."

When serving under Hooker, "he became cantankerous and actively undercut Hooker, just as Hooker had Burnside." Under Sherman, however, "Slocum began to live out Sherman's reputation, becoming at times even more aggressive and driving than Sherman himself."

This argument is fascinating, but it requires further explanation. Why did Slocum have this kind of reflective personality? Did other subordinates imitate their commanders in this same way and what does such reflection tell us about Civil War command relationships in general?

Anyone wishing to learn about Henry C. Slocum will now go to this new book. Brian Melton provides as much factual information about Slocum as the sources allow. Readers, however, will wish for more.