title: Commander of All Lincoln's Armies : A Life of General Henry W. Halleck
author:  John F. Marszalek 
description: Often ignored, often disparaged, Henry W. Halleck has long required a serious biography by an accomplished Civil War historian. John Marszalek's effort was worth the wait. This book finally sheds light on how 'Old Brains' earned his moniker, and what he did-and gallingly failed to do-that caused him to forfeit it. Here is a highly valuable, highly readable contribution to Civil War scholarship that not only paints a vivid portrait of a complex life, but sheds much new light on the complexities of 19-century military command. (Harold Holzer, co-Chairman of the US Lincoln Bicentennial Commission)<br /><br />Not only does this study fill a biographical void; it is also remarkably evenhanded for an examination of a figure who never quite measured up to the Civil War responsibilities of his offices Scrupulous in its scholarship and fair in its judgments, John Marszalek brings to the work a comprehensive mastery of Civil War history that is indispensable. (Russell Weigley, author of <i>The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy</i>)<br /><br />In this first full-scale biography of Henry W. Halleck, John Marszalek offers a balanced appraisal of that controversial general's strengths and weaknesses. An excellent administrator, Halleck could not make command decisions. A disappointment as general in chief, he nevertheless helped organize Union victory in the Civil War. This important book provides new insights on the Union command structure. (James M. McPherson, author of <i>Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg</i>)<br /><br />'Old Brains' seemed an unlikely sobriquet for an officer whom most senior commanders in the Union Army regarded as bumbling and indecisive as a field commander, and hide-bound by paperwork as an administrator. Yet, for good or ill, few officers in Lincoln's army exerted more influence over the course of the Civil War than Henry W. Halleck. John F. Marszalek, one of our finest scholars of the era, provides the first in-depth look at Halleck in more than forty years, and surely the finest work on the subject we are likely to get. (William C. Davis, author of <i>Lone Star Rising: The Revolutionary Birth of the Texas Republic</i>)<br /><br />Henry Halleck has often been dismissed by students of the Civil War as a kind of glorified clerk. That is because until now no scholar has managed to bring to light the full history of this obviously gifted, but equally troubled and complex individual. In this rich and readable biography, John Marszalek at last gives us a convincing three-dimensional portrait of the man who commanded all of Lincoln's armies in America's greatest war. And in so doing, he has not only clarified Halleck's role in the war, he has enhanced our understanding of the war itself. (Craig L. Symonds, U.S. Naval Academy)<br /><br />Early in the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant assessed Henry W. Halleck as, 'a man of gigantic intellect and well studied in the profession of arms.' Grant and Abraham Lincoln, among others, would eventually abandon that admiration. In a meticulously researched and intellectually probing biography, John F. Marszalek explores the psychological and physical causes of Halleck's disappointing performance. In a path-breaking biography, Marszalek brings a new perspective to the interpretation of the Civil War. (John Y. Simon, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale)<br /><br />Civil War biographies do not come much better, if at all, than John F. Marszalek's account of Henry Wager Halleck. Written with scholarly precision and aplomb, it recounts the life and contributions of the Union's top soldier, 18621864, from his childhood on a New York farm...Researched in depth, closely reasoned, and energetically presented, Marszalek's biography will long remain the standard account of Lincoln's commander in chief. (Paul D. Casdorph <i>Journal of American History</i> 2005-12-01)<br /><br />John Marszalek has provided the most detailed and authoritative account of Halleck's early life, initial military career and later professional success as a lawyer...The book, as one would suspect from such an author, is skillfully put together and agreeably written. (Brian Holden Reid <i>Journal of Military History</i>)<br /><br />With this work, John F. Marszalek fills a large gap in the nineteenth-century U.S. historical record. Despite the considerable roles played by Henry Wager Halleck in disparate fields, no other full biography of the man exists...In preparing this life of Halleck, Marszalek certainly did his homework...Adding to the authoritative nature of the volume is its extensive scholarly apparatus, with forty-six pages of endnotes, plus twenty-seven well-chosen illustrations spanning Halleck's life...Marszalek's searching and balanced study offers frequent surprises for even the most attentive students of the era. (Malcolm Muir, Jr. <i>American Historical Review</i>)<br /><br />The reader is presented with a richly detailed and engrossing story of one of America's most notable and influential soldiers of the nineteenth century. John Marszalek is to be commended for his efforts on completing this biography, and he has made a valuable contribution to the study of soldiers and the profession of arms. This book is recommended to those interested both in the US Civil War and army leadership studies. (Major A.B. Godefroy <i>Canadian Army Journal</i>)
zlib_text: Commander of All Lincoln’s Armies
  
  Commander of All
  Lincoln’s Armies
  A Life of General Henry W. Halleck
  John F. Marszalek
  The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
  Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England, 2004
  
  Copyright © 2004 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
  All rights reserved
  Printed in the United States of America
  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
  Marszalek, John F., 1939–
  Commander of all Lincoln’s armies : a life of General Henry W. Halleck /
  John F. Marszalek.
  p. cm.
  Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
  ISBN 0-674-01493-6 (alk. paper)
  1. Halleck, H. W. (Henry Wager), 1815–1872.
  2. Generals—United States—Biography.
  3. United States. Army—Biography.
  4. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Biography.
  5. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Campaigns.
  I. Title.
  E467.1.H18M37 2004
  973.7′41′092—dc22
  [B]
  2004047614
  Designed by Gwen Nefsky Frankfeldt
  
  For Mississippi State University students
  1973–2002
  
  Contents
  Prol