Master of War: The Life of General George H. Thomas
On Nov. 18, 1879, a sublime equestrian statue, arguably the finest equestrian sculpture in Washington, D.C., was unveiled. Since that day long ago, the field on which the statue sits at the intersection of Vermont Avenue and Fourteenth Street has gradually given ground to the encroaching and changing roadways. From a distance it is hard to read the inscription on the pedestal. Washingtonians simply know the place as Thomas Circle, another one of those roundabouts in Washington that perplexes drivers. They drive by oblivious to whose life the statue celebrates. In some strange way that may be exactly what Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman wanted in the end, even though President Grant championed the statue and both men attended the 1870 funeral of its subject, Gen. George Henry Thomas. To them, this most successful of all Union generals, was to be forever slighted and maligned to enhance their own reputations. At least that is what Benson Bobrick, author of this splendid, and much needed, biography, Master of War, wants the reader to believe. The subtext of this book is hardly “sub.” In elegant prose Bobrick rescues from the seeming dustbin of history the annals of this often underrated and forgotten Civil War hero. Thomas was the only Union general to never lose a fight in which he was the independent field commander. He was the only Union general to successfully destroy a Confederate army, John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee, at the battle of Nashville in the closing month of 1864. Somehow the history books miss this point. Blame that on Grant and Sherman. For Bobrick, Thomas is the undisputed hero of the war and the man who in the end won it for the North. His argument is crafted well and utilizes a variety of important primary and secondary sources in the construction of what is really a dual platform, Thomas was great, Grant and Sherman mediocre commanders at best. To the author Grant won merely by using his men as cannon fodder and Sherman’s March to the Sea was not nearly as epic as one might come to believe. To be sure Thomas is a sympathetic figure. Born and raised in Virginia, the West Point trained Thomas remained loyal to the Union. Perhaps that was his biggest flaw, one that he could in no way correct. A suspicious officer corps, an initially militarily dawdling Commander-in-Chief, Lincoln, and plain out jealousy would undermine the potential career of this fine soldier, who tolerated it all for the sake of professionalism and the cause. In this context Bobrick raises a key point — how would the war have played out had Thomas been given the command of the Army of the Potomac, for that might have happened had it not been for meddlesome back stabbers. Thomas was indeed a “master of war’ because he won convincingly with few casualties. He understood what others seemingly could not or would not, that a commander does not have to sacrifice the men under his responsibility in order to achieve victory. “Time and history,” Thomas once told a confidant, “will do me justice.” Albeit close to 150 years later, George Henry Thomas has found his champion in Benson Bobrick. In some ways a shot has been fired across the bow of those historians and biographers who hold Grant and Sherman in high esteem. A debate of sorts has been opened with the publication of this book. It will indeed be interesting how that debate plays out. Reviewer: James A. Percoco teaches U.S. and Applied History at West Springfield High School in Springfield, Va. He is author of A Passion for the Past: Creative Teaching of U.S. History and Divided We Stand: Teaching About Conflict in U.S. History. Percoco is a USA TODAY All-USA teacher and is an adjunct professor in the School of Education at American University where he serves as History Educator-in-Residence. |
Illustrated, maps, 416 pp., 2009. Simon and Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York, 10020, $28 plus shipping.