Customer Reviews

Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This easy to read book shows how the telegraph's ability to provide high-speed communications shaped the course of the Civil War. As the author points out, the Union clearly had an advantage in its ability to utilize this technology. Was it as decisive in the Union's ultimate victory, as suggested by the subtitle? The author tries to make that argument, but it seems that it would be more accurate to say that the Telegraph enabled Lincoln to prevent his incompetent generals from losing the war until he finally find the men who could win the war. However, it is clear that Lincoln embraced a new technology and developed a new type of executive leadership to take advantage of it. In doing so, he layed the groundwork for the evolution of communications as a tool to project leadership and authority. Overall, this is an interesting book that is easy to read, and provides a fresh perspective on Lincoln's role in the Civil War.

[This review is based on a pre-publication Uncorrected Proof copy]

A truly exciting book. It shows President Lincoln stretching his communication powers to the utmost, to prod timid generals and to support energetic commanders like Grant.

Lincoln refused to accept defeat. He was confident in the justice of the union cause, and confident that right would prevail ... if only they did not lose heart. He used the new technology of the telegraph to put iron in the backs of his commanders.

Some presidents (Carter and Johnson, in particular) have used modern communications to micromanage and undermine their subordinates. Lincoln, with his excellent judgment, somehow avoided this trap, using the telegraph to both guide and empower his generals.

Wheeler shows how Lincoln's use of the telegraph trickled down to his subordinates. General Grant used the telegraph to operate as General-In-Chief while traveling with the armies, rather than managing at a distance from Washington D.C. There is no doubt that this dramaticallly improved Grant's ability to quicky improvise, based upon changing battlefield conditions. And, in Wheeler's vivid language: "His decision to operate from the field would not have been possible but for the army's central nervous system running over telegraph wires."

Tom Wheeler is the perfect author for this trailblazing study of Lincoln's instant communications. He combines first-hand knowledge of modern communications and leadership with a contagious enthusiasm for President Lincoln and the Civil War.

As a commander of a Army Signal Company in Vietnam in the 1960's, I found this book to be a "must read" for me. After I read the first chapter "on-line" I immediately purchased it. Lincoln's use of the "new" telegraph to communicate in "real" time with his generals is fascinating. To view his handwritten messages that were telegraphed brings this book to life. The "bite" to many of his messages must have been painful to the generals who received them. My favorite was the telegram to a field commander in which Lincoln asked what had happened in the last 25 minutes to an action in which the field commander was engaged miles away! The messages bring to life the urgency of Civil War engagements and of Lincoln's active, on-going involvement. His frequent visits to the close-by telegraph office to read, personally, the latest telegrams from the field is inspiring. Great leaders understand unique opportunities and take advantage of them. The inability of Army headquarters' staff to grasp the opportunity to communicate was unbelievable. The parallels of Lincoln's t-mail with today's e-mail provides us with a small insight of just how important Lincoln's use of this means of communucation truly was in managing the War.

'Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War' by Tom Wheeler provides an insightful perspective on how Lincoln's desire to be a hands on commander in chief led him to actively monitor the wires, including corresponding with his field generals and, reading up on the communications between his battle commanders. Making a point that the Federalist won the war due to the three reasons; the first two commonly accepted - the use of the rail system and the overabundance of men, it is in the third reason presented by author Tom Wheeler: Lincoln's use of the telegraph that adds new insight into the war and Lincoln himself.

What is true is the fact that Lincoln did spend a great, great deal of time in the Wire Room, to a point that he was obsessed with sending or reading communications to his commanders. In the ongoing frequency of Lincoln's visits to the telegraph room, the reader 'feels' the confinement the war had on Lincoln, as well as his ability as a hands-on president to become involved with his troops and the war itself on a real-time basis. Was the Telegraph one of the reasons why the Federalist were able to keep the Union in tact? It very well might have been.

Wheeler provides a very interesting perspective on Lincoln and the war. He also, cleverly brings the story 'current' by juxtaposing in content the use of today's email. The material presented was easy to read and very informative. Highly recommended.

My interest crept up on me, as I read this book. The focus upon the t-mails alone, initially gave me the sense that the author's choice of direction could become too narrow. But, in Lincoln's own words, as he dealt with his general problem, it becomes clear what a great insight into Lincoln's thinking this approach reveals. Lincoln's management skills, his understanding of human nature, and his resolve to find men who were as focused as he, in destroying Lee's army...are all displayed directly and clearly through his t-mails...including the ones never sent.

His dissatisfaction with his generals leads him to question, to criticize, and finally, even to direct. Today he would have been accused of micro-management....something anathema to the current occupant of the White House. It's through his t-mails that he comes to deeply know and understand their many limitations....and through those same t-mails that he learns the type of men required to win the Civil War. Lincoln then acts decisively in removing the incompetents.....and then, and only then, finally gets the generals he deserves in Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan. His latter t-mails demonstrate his great respect, gratitude, and relief as he allows these generals a wider birth to act.

It's a fine book....to the point, insightful, and leading to a conclusion. Lincoln simply camped out every day at the telegraph office, and Tom Wheeler takes us into his mind....through his communications. T-mail was the e-mail of the Civil War.

Well, not quite, but it certainly affected how the war was fought. President Lincoln was able to reach out and "speak" to his generals in a way that had never been possible before. This could have resulted in interference in the conduct of the war but in fact the leadership style of President Lincoln simply allowed the President to act as a true Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces for the first time. A very interesting study.

It's a shame that there are a few typos and that the author referred to several generals in the field as "Lincoln's general staff." General staff officers are those officers who execute the will of the commander (Corps Surgeon, Division Signal Officer, etc.) and are not the same as commanding generals.

Very minor detail. Not enough to keep this from being a great book.

T-Mails gives a visceral feel for the application of a breakthrough technology, the Telegraph. On that front, the book more than met my expectations. One of the most interesting aspects to me is how the impact of the telegraph initially was not fully appreciated, and only over the course of the war and Lincoln's presidency did its impact begin to be realized. Interesting parallels with subsequent similar technologies and perhaps some implications for predicting the future impact of these kinds of advances.

What still has me captivated days later is how remarkable the underlying story of the Civil War and Lincoln's challenges leading the country through it are. I think it was a great decision for the book to include enough context about the Civil War to re-tell that story -- this created, at least for me, a gripping backdrop, even though I didn't realize I wanted to hear that tale again when I bought the book.

For full disclosure, I know and like the author and that is why I bought the book. I am writing this review, however, because he did an excellent job on it.

-- David Weiden

This is a fascinating historical tidbit as Tom Wheeler talks about President Abraham Lincoln's use of the latest technology - the telegraph - during the American Civil War. While not an unknown subject to historians, Wheeler retells the story in a readable way and yet also brings out some new historical insights as he recounts how Lincoln's use of the telegraph in new and innovative ways that set out new models of the relationship between a President and his military commanders and foreshadowed our daily use today of the internet and of email. Although written very much as a popular history, the author's work stands equally well as a work of scholarly history supported by extensive endnotes and a good bibliography. The result of his effort is a history of interest to the general reader and yet also useful to the historian.

That puts the reader in the thick of the action, agonizing over McClellan's infuriatingly self-aggrandizing and misleading missives to Lincoln, cheering while following Grant and Sherman as they cut a decisive, telling swath through the Confederate army, and looking over Lincoln's shoulder -- as it were -- as he communicated ever more confidently, to his generals in the field.

This is a relatively small book, but one that demonstrates how the telegraph forever changed the way battlefield tactics were devised and implemented in the Lincoln administration, from the start of the Civil War, up to April 14, 1865.

It covers the Civil War in a way unlike anything else I have ever read on the subject, and shows how Lincoln, at first hesitantly and then at last confidently, used the Telegraph to receive and then convey vital information to his generals in the field. The tension builds, especially when the reader understands how close the Confederate army came to the Nation's Capital, and how the telegraph was able to stem this tide.

Of interest also, is the part about how the Associated Press was formed.

My biggest gripe about this book is the deficiency in proofreading. It is hard to get past the part (P32, hardcover) about the New York speech fitting "snuggly" (should be "Snugly") without conjuring up visions of fluffy teddy bears and static-free dryer sheets. Then again, (P 52, HC) the phrase "McClellan had sat" -- could have flowed a little better. "Lincoln had Stonewall Jackson in his sites" -- should have read "sights" (P 56, HC), and last but not least (P 138, HC) the president's "muffled furry" could have been alluding to the snuggly on page 32, but more likely meant "muffled fury". This fascinating book is something that could be read from cover to cover -- and a little extra proofreading would have made a big difference in the way the narrative flowed.

This is an easy to read, informative book. Lincoln was the first president to use telegraphy duing wartime to confer with and/or direct his armies. In this age of modern communication we tend to forget how difficult it use to be. The telegraph was invented at the right time and Lincoln was in the right place and of the right frame of mind, to take a giant step forward. This is an interesting history of how Lincoln learned to communicate during a war and how he inserted himself into the conflict.