General John Pope: A Life for the Nation [Hardcover]

Peter Cozzens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2000

Ambitious and outspoken, John Pope was one of the most controversial figures to hold high command during the Civil War, Reconstruction, and in the American West. "General John Pope: A Life for the Nation" is the first full biography of this much maligned figure, who played crucial roles in both the Eastern and the Western Theaters of the Civil War. Renowned Civil War scholar Peter Cozzens has mined Pope's own memoirs and a wealth of other primary sources to provide a complete picture of this gifted strategist. Uncovering new information about Pope's pre- and postwar career and his path to power, Cozzens delineates the political environment that surrounded Pope and provided the context for his actions. Cozzens examines Pope's early career first as commander of the Army of the Mississippi and then as leader of a hastily formed Army of Virginia against Robert E. Lee. After his famous defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run, Pope was sent to the frontier. There, he held important commands on the western plains over the next twenty-four years, all the while struggling to clear his reputation of the events at Second Bull Run. A principal architect of the Red River War, which broke the resistance of the Southern Plains Indians, Pope espoused humanitarian treatment of subjugated tribes and was recognized as one of the army's leading authorities on Indian affairs. In place of the simplistic caricature that has satisfied most historians, Cozzens has crafted an accurate, humane, balanced portrait of a complex man involved with the most complex issues of his day. A monumental work on a long-neglected figure, "General John Pope" offers a fresh look at a key nineteenth-century military leader as well as the most detailed analysis available of Federal leadership during the Second Bull Run campaign.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Most students of American history remember John Pope only as one of several mismatched Union commanders decisively defeated by Robert E. Lee, and so he was at Second Bull Run in 1862. But Cozzens shows in this finely balanced biography that there was more to Pope's life. He reintroduces readers to a talented man with big strengths and big weaknesses whose ambition and overbearing personality were his worst enemies." -- Choice "Best and most complete Pope biography to date... Although the present volume provides a balanced coverage of Pope's entire life, of most interest is the analysis of his role at Second Manassas... An especially valuable addition to every Civil War enthusiast's bookshelf." -- Robert Wooster, Journal of Southern History "One of the great military men of American history is sensitively but candidly portrayed here, from his famous defeat at the Battle of Bull Run to his subsequent successful campaigns in the West and his advocacy for the humane treatment of Indians." -- Forecast "Cozzens, a talented and prolific writer, has finally provided a balanced view of Pope's life and long military career... Scrupulously researched ... this book is an important addition to the body of Civil War literature." -- Eric Wittenberg, Civil War News "A distinguished entree into the crowded library of Civil War literature." -- Stephen E. Towne, Indiana Magazine of History "A finely nuanced portrait of a controversial officer. Using abundant primary sources, Cozzens submits the first dispassionate account of Pope's accomplished career and challenges traditional assumptions concerning his capacity for leadership." -- Ray Brown, Civil War History "Cozzens examined an impressive body of evidence in writing what is easily the best and most detailed biography of Pope. Moving well beyond common caricatures of Pope as a vainglorious failure, Cozzens deals effectively with the intensely political context within which his subject, a rare Republican among top Northern military leaders, operated in Virginia... With this biography, Cozzens has closed one of the few gaps in the military historiography of the Civil War." -- Virginia Quarterly Review "In this exhautively researched and well-written volume, [Cozzens] examines the career of one of the most enigmatic figures of that era." -- Lowell H. Harrison, Journal of Illinois History "Thorough, well-balanced, and exhaustively researched... The full story as Cozzens presents it gives depth, texture, and context to a man mainly remembered today for one lost battle." -- Stephen Currie, American History ADVANCE PRAISE "No major army commander of the Union has been as much misunderstood and unknown as General John Pope. For over a century his career has lived in the realm of cliches and apocryphal jokes. Peter Cozzens discovers a full man, with great strengths and great weaknesses, in one of the most important and needed military biographies in a generation. This is certainly Cozzens's finest book yet." -- William C. Davis

Product Details

• Hardcover: 472 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press; 1ST edition (March 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252023633
• ISBN-13: 978-0252023637
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,335,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Cozzens is the author of sixteen critically acclaimed books on the American Civil War and the Indian Wars of the American West. He also is a Foreign Service Officer with the U. S. Department of State.

All of Cozzens' books have been selections of the Book of the Month Club, History Book Club, and/or the Military Book Club. Cozzens' This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga and The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for Chattanooga were both Main Selections of the History Book Club and were chosen by Civil War Magazine as two of the 100 greatest works ever written on the conflict.

The prestigious Easton Press included This Terrible Sound as one of thirty-five volumes in its Library of the Civil War.

The History Book Club called his five-volume Eyewitnesses to the Indian Wars "the definitive resource on the military struggle for the American West."

Cozzens also was the creator of and series editor for Stackpole Books' Frontier Classics.

In 2002 Cozzens received of the American Foreign Service Association's highest award, given annually to one Foreign Service Officer for exemplary moral courage, integrity, and creative dissent. He also received an Alumni Achievement award from his alma mater Knox College, from which he graduated summa cum laude.

Cozzens is a member of the Advisory Council of the Lincoln Prize, the nation's foremost literary award in history after the Pulitzer.

www.petercozzens.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fuller picture of a much maligned general, May 2, 2008

By 

SCOTT A. MACPHEE (Coeur d'Alene, ID United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: General John Pope: A LIFE FOR THE NATION (Paperback)

I have enjoyed all of Cozzens' works very much, but I think that this is Cozzens' best written book. This book isn't really a reassessment of Pope. Rather Cozzens takes the traditional view of Pope's generalship at Second Bull Run and places it within the context of Pope's entire career. Cozzens doesn't pull any punches on Pope's performance in Virginia in 1862. He was a liar and a braggart, he needlessly antagonized his own men, and he was severely overtaxed as an army commander.

Still, Cozzens shows that Pope had probably the toughest assignment of any Union army commander in the war. He had to take three beaten and demoralized commands from the valley under three very poor commanders (Banks, Sigel, and McDowell). With that force he was to screen Washington AND attack Lee, coordinate with George McClellan, who was in full heel-dragging mode, obey Halleck's confused and contradictory directives, and do it all in unfamiliar country with almost no cavalry. His opponent was the best general of the war, and the ANV was flush with victory from the Seven Days. It was Pope's first experience commanding troops in combat. It's no wonder that Lee beat him.

But Cozzens also shows that Pope was a skilled administrator, an aggressive general, and, in time, a good strategist. The "exile" to Minnesota turned out to be an important command, and Pope played a huge role in defeating the plains Indians. He was an effective military governor during reconstruction. He retired a major general in the regular army, a successful and influential servant of his nation.

After reading this book, I have a whole new opinion of Pope, or rather my opinion is more complex. I still think he bears the brunt of the blame for Second Bull Run, but I can see more reasons for his defeat than just "Pope was an obnoxious jerk." I think it's a shame that Lincoln and Halleck didn't send him back to the west as a corps commander. Both Grant and Sherman had high opinions of Pope throughout the war (and, really, for the rest of their lives), and they could have used an aggressive general in an important command. I still see Pope's flaws, but I can also see some of his good qualities too.

This is just the sort of Civil War book I love. It takes a subject that I thought I knew very well and adds layers of complexity. As always, Cozzens displays thorough familiarity with the sources, and his opinions are backed by historical fact. He avoids the common downfall of the biographer, who often becomes too enamored of his subject. Cozzens keeps enough emotional distance between himself and Pope that he can show Pope's flaws as well as merits.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Major General John Pope, November 17, 2005

By 

B. O'Neill "Soontir" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: General John Pope: A LIFE FOR THE NATION (Paperback)

An excellent biography of a truely misunderstood Union Civil War General. Pope is most famous for losing the Battle of 2nd Manasses (called 2nd Bull Run also). He was whipped by Robert E. Lee and ended up being placed in command of the Department of the Northwest (Minnesota, the Dakota's), to fight Indians. He served the military honorably though for over 40 years, and was a good general, simply suffered from having to face Lee, having to deal with McClellan, Halleck, Washington, and being totally unprepared to command an army. Had this man stayed out west he probably would have done some truely great things. It is a shame Lincoln never sent him out west as a Corps commander right after 2nd Manassas, he would have been a huge asset for men like Grant and Sherman, who both liked Pope.

Before reading this book I always had the opinion that Pope was a fool, I was wrong. He was definitely nowhere near Lee or Jackson, but he was one of the best fighting generals the Union had, as his capture of Island # 10 and drive on Corinth proves. He did great things after the war as a department commander as well. He really did live a life for his nation.

Cozzens writes an outstanding biography of this man. He remains very level headed, not showing hatred for Pope or explaining away his mistakes. He makes clear that Pope made huge mistakes at 2nd Manassas, but also shows the reader throughout that Pope was a good man and a loyal soldier who did great things. He was one of the men who actually wanted to help the Indians out West, unlike men such as Sheridan who wanted them exterminated.

Only negative would be that we don't get that much detail on Pope before the Civil War, but you find that with every Civil War biography usually.