Political general

A political general is a general officer or other military leader without significant military experience who is given a high position in command for political reasons, through political connections, or to appease certain political blocs and factions.

In the United States, this concept was most prominent during the American Civil War.

History

American Civil War

Appeasement of political groups

The most important reason for appointing political generals was to appease important blocs of voters. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln used such appointments as a way to get the support of moderate Democrats for the war and for his administration ("War Democrats"). The first three volunteer generals Lincoln appointed, (John Adams Dix, Nathaniel Prentice Banks and Benjamin F. Butler) were all Democrats, and therefore these three officers were the most senior major generals in the Union Army. Republicans were also appointed including Richard James Oglesby of Illinois.

Geopolitical

Other promotions were used to gain the support of the specific group they represented, especially in cases of foreign immigrants. One of the largest ethnic groups in the U.S. at the time was German immigrants. Prominent German civilian leaders such as Franz Sigel and Carl Schurz, both of whose last military experience prior to the Civil War was fighting on the losing side of the 1848 upheavals in Germany, were appointed to high rank for their usefulness in rallying fellow immigrants to the cause. Two prominent Irish immigrants were given promotions: Thomas F. Meagher and Michael Corcoran, who prior to the war had been a captain and a colonel, respectively, in the New York State Militia. Meagher attempted to resign in December 1863. Corcoran died and Meagher's resignation was revoked to keep at least one Irishman in command.

Other officers were highly successful in their attempts to rally large numbers of troops, whether they were native born or foreign born, as was the case with Daniel Sickles, who raised large numbers of New York troops.

Border states

The Confederacy also used a large number of political generals, for largely the same reasons, although many such appointments were used to influence the Confederate sympathizers in the border states.

Former Vice President John C. Breckinridge was used largely because of hopes that he would inspire the citizens of Kentucky to join the Confederate Army. Former Governor Sterling Price served a similar function with regards to Missouri.

Other

Another reason for the rise of political generals during the American Civil War was the large number of volunteer soldiers in each army. Men who were prominent civilian leaders such as businessmen, lawyers and politicians became easy choices to place in command of a volunteer regiment.

Evaluation

During the American Civil War, a large number of political generals, including Sigel and Banks for the Union[1] and Breckinridge for the Confederacy, were undoubtedly popular with their men, largely because of their ties to the specific groups they represented. However, the vast majority were considered incompetent due to their being essentially amateur soldiers with no prior training or knowledge. This was a particularly large problem for the Union, where such generals were typically given fairly important commands.[1]

North Korea

United States

List of prominent political generals

The following is a partial list of some of the more prominent political generals on both sides, and a brief sketch of their war service.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

War of 1812

Mexican-American War

American Civil War

Union
Confederate

Spanish-American War

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964. ISBN 0-8071-0822-7. pp. xv–xvi
  2. ↑ Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. p. 440

Further reading