Political general

A political general is a term used by historians and most often applies to the American Civil War. In this context, it means a General officer who does not have formal military training or experience and who gained his position through political influence.^[1] To a lesser degree, it can also mean generals who engaged in politics during or after their time as a general.^[2] A "political general" can seem to be a contradiction in terms in a country such as the United States where by law the military is under civilian authority.^[3] An example was Dwight D. Eisenhower, who graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in the class of 1915.^[4] He was an experienced staff officer who commanded the invasions of North Africa and Western Europe.^[3] Eisenhower developed the political skills to deal with his British and American officers as well as political leaders.^[3] He later became President of the United States.^[3]

Daniel Sickles, a Civil War Union "political general"

Background

In history, many great generals were also political leaders. Julius Caesar was a general who became the dictator of Rome in 44 BC.^[5] Genghis Khan was the son of a Mongol chieftain who became a general and then the leader of the Mongol Empire.^[6] As a general, Alexander the Great never lost a battle. He was a king who was also a general.^[6] In the British Army of the 17th and 18th centuries, the officers were often aristocrats and most obtained their rank by purchase.^[7]

In American history up to the Civil war, there had been a long line of amateur military leaders going back to the colonial militias.^[8] Before he led the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, George Washington had little military experience.^[8] Andrew Jackson only had experience in the American Indian Wars.^[8] But he successfully defeated a larger and more professional British army at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.^[9]

During the American Civil War, two great armies were raised that were made up largely of citizen-soldiers.^[10] There simply were not enough trained generals to lead all these men. Both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis appointed political generals, some of whom later proved to be incompetent.^[11] Others proved to be good or even great generals. Many of these generals had very little or no military training before being commissioned a general.^[10] Confederate general Patrick Cleburne was such a leader.^[10] He earned his nickname as the "Stonewall Jackson of the West" by being a great general.^[12] One of the worst examples was Union general Daniel Sickles. He was a Tammany Hall politician^[a] who used his influence to rise to the rank of major general.^[14] Sickles nearly lost the Battle of Gettysburg for the North yet, after 34 years of lobbying, managed to get himself awarded the Medal of Honor.^[14]

Notes

1. Tammany Hall was a New York City political machine that became known for its patronage (rewarding supporters with special favors and jobs), acting in its own interests, dishonesty and corruption.^[13] It lasted for nearly two centuries but was gone by 1966.^[13]