A Politician Turned General: The Civil War Career of Stephen Augustus Hurlbut [Hardcover]

Jeffrey N. Lash (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2003

A new case study of one of Lincoln's political generals in the Civil War

A Politician Turned General offers a critical examination of the turbulent early political career and the controversial military service of Stephen Augustus Hurlbut, an Illinois Whig, Republican politician, and Northern political general who rose to distinction as a prominent member of the Union high command in the West during the Civil War.

This first biography of Hurlbut chronicles the early life and the Civil War career of one of Abraham Lincoln's foremost military appointments. Through exhaustive research of primary and secondary sources, author Jeffrey N. Lash identifies and evaluates the successes and failures of Hurlbut's generalship and combat leadership, both as field commander in Missouri in 1861 and as a division commander at the Battles of Shiloh ad Hatchie Bridge in 1862.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Kent State Univ Pr; 1st ed edition (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087338766X
• ISBN-13: 978-0873387668
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,605,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent biography of not so hot general/politician, May 7, 2006

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Politician Turned General: The Civil War Career of Stephen Augustus Hurlbut (Hardcover)

Stephen A. Hurlbut was a controversial figure throughout his whole life. He seemed incapable of giving anything more than mixed results in all his endeavors. Born in South Carolina, he practiced law in Illinois beginning in 1845. He served as a Whig in the state legislature just prior to the Civil War, and then was appointed brigadier general of volunteers in 1861. He served in northern Missouri for a time, but had little understanding of guerilla warfare. He did much better at Shiloh defending the Union left. He also commanded well at Corinth and Meridian, but failed to seize the initiative after the Confederates were defeated at Hatchie's Bridge. Although he was loyal and dutiful, he was not a strong leader of men. He was also a heavy drinker, which got him into hot water. He was extremely harsh toward southern sympathizers, blacks, and Jews, and it was a mistake making him commander of the Department of the Gulf in September 1864: he was charged with corruption and was antagonistic toward the Louisiana authorities. His drunkenness was also becoming a major handicap. After the war he became a Republican leader in Illinois and helped organize the GAR. He was a minister to Colombia, 1869-72, and then minister to Peru during the Peru-Chile War, where he drunken behavior was an embarrassment to the US. He died in Lima in 1882. Jeffrey Lash's account of Hurlbut's life is informative and well written and pulls no punches. Except for having the ability to organize for his political causes, this southerner with a Yankee heritage was only mildly competent in as well as out of uniform. Lash's efficient and well-fitted biography is better than Hurlbut probably deserves. Recommended.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Politicians and generals- has it changed?, December 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A Politician Turned General: The Civil War Career of Stephen Augustus Hurlbut (Hardcover)

Stephen Augustus Hurlbut - forger, card cheat, extortionist, profiteer, and falling-down drunk - Lincoln's and Grant's politician general. His personality shortcomings illuminate military campaigns, occupation, reconstruction, and politics in the Civil War years - before, during, and after - and hold lessons for future "administration" of occupied lands.