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Werke von Gary Ecelbarger

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Rechtmäßiger Name
Ecelbarger, Gary L.
Geburtstag
1962-12-20
Geschlecht
male

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My main impression of this book is that it is flamboyantly written, The title gives a foretaste. It is hard to say that this very battle was when Dixie died. Many other battles lay claim to that epithet, from Fort Donelson to Chattanooga, and from Gettysburg to Five Forks. It is clear that the battle was important. It weakened John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee irreparably, though the army still was around for some more big battles in Tennessee. William Sherman's victory facilitated the occupation of Atlanta more than a month later, which changed the mood of the Union electorate enough to get Abraham Lincoln reelected in November. Interestingly, Sherman hardly appears as an active character in the book.

Throughout the book Ecelbarger writes in kind of a borderline poetic diction which is sort of entertaining but can get tiresome. In battle scenes (most of the book) he is more straightforward, but even there sometimes slides into an almost epic kind of vocabulary.

However, on the other side, Ecelbarger met my desiderata for a battle narrative: he introduced leading figures in a way to make them memorable; he went to great lengths to reduce the confusion of similar names (six General Smiths!) and military unit designations; and he kept the pace lively. This battle was a full day of fighting all over the countryside, with frequent changes of location, and lots of advance and retreat. Ecelbarger handled this well, and made it possible if not easy to follow the tangled sequence of nearly simultaneous events. I ended up feeling that I can remember what happened in the battle and who did what, to at least a moderately detailed level. Ecelbarger writes from a somewhat northern-leaning perspective, perhaps because of fuller sources, but he shows tremendous sympathy for the soldiers on both sides of the lines both in their aspirations and their suffering.

There can never be enough maps, but the maps were fairly copious and helpful, though I would have liked a map for every fifteen minute segment of the battle. I will have to wait for Savas Beatie to put out one of their battle maps volumes. There is a full order of battle.

The best aspect of this book, aside, of course, from the information it imparts, is Ecelbarger's enthusiasm for his subject. On a personal note, I also like his enthusiasm for General Black Jack Logan, a favorite of mine from my old home town. But that enthusiasm can be expected: Ecelbarger wrote a biography of General Logan.

I must leave analysis of the accuracy of the book's content and of the validity of the author's viewpoints to the capable Civil War experts who are members of LibraryThing.
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anthonywillard | Aug 9, 2014 |
Nice overview of a very short period of Lincoln's political life. Discusses the time period between Lincoln losing the Senate race to Stephan Douglas in 1858 and winning the Republican nomination in May 1860. Has a nice concise bibliography. The writing was readable and would be a nice approachable book on the topic for someone wanting to know how Lincoln himself pursued the 1860 nomination for President.
 
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robiobinsk | 3 weitere Rezensionen | Feb 20, 2012 |
I purchased this book in the little book shop at the Lincoln Memorial on my first visit to that amazing shrine last year. I have read many books on Lincoln in the past and I would not rank this at the top, although I did learn some new facts about the political macinations that won Lincoln his party's nomination in 1860. It is a well-written, focused book, but it is not a compelling narrative and lacks the kind of anecdotal scenery that could otherwise have brought the period and its subject to life more sharply.… (mehr)
 
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Garp83 | 3 weitere Rezensionen | Feb 13, 2010 |
In 1860, William Seward of New York was considered a shoo-in for the nomination of the Republican Party in Chicago. His campaign manager, Thurlow Weed, was “arguably the ablest political tactician in the country.” The team he assembled was overflowing with money and supporters. The Lincoln team, by contrast, had perhaps 35 total operatives to Seward’s thousands. So how did Lincoln do it? How did he win the nomination?

This book tries to answer that question by delving into the nitty-gritty of local and national Republican politics in the year before the nominating convention. The author details the strategies and tactics employed not only by Lincoln but also by his two campaign managers, Norman Judd and Judge David Davis. A large part of the story concerns the Illinois rivalry between the gubernatorial aspirant Norman Judd and Chicago Mayor "Long" John Wentworth. Unfortunately, both tried to use Lincoln as a foil against the other so their infighting had the potential to make all three men losers. Lincoln was relatively successful however, at staying above the fray.

Lincoln spent much of the year of 1859 speaking on behalf of the Republican Party, as a putative “statesman” of the party rather than a candidate. This was all part of the Illinois team’s strategy, to keep Lincoln’s profile low and to keep the Seward team off-guard.

Ecelbarger generally gives more play to journalistic coverage of Lincoln than to Lincoln’s words, but this is an appropriate approach for his narrow topic. He makes a point of recounting the initial reactions of many reporters to Lincoln’s unkempt, spindly, gawky appearance and high, squeaky voice. These same journalists almost uniformly recorded that they soon forgot all of Lincoln’s unattractive qualities “as the message superseded the messenger.” Rather, they became impressed by Lincoln’s clearness, his simplicity, his earnestness, and his eloquence.

Although Lincoln’s speeches aren’t covered in much depth (with the exception of his speech in Cincinnati in September of 1959 and at Cooper Union in February of 1860), Ecelbarger does a decent job on his quick summaries of Lincoln’s positions. Most importantly, he shows how Lincoln avoided the more radical abolitionist stance of rivals Seward and Salmon Chase, hoping to convince party members he would be more electable than they as a middle-of-the-road candidate.

From the outset, the strategy of the Lincoln team at the Chicago nominating convention was not to win on the first ballot. This was the time for states to put forth names of favorite sons, and for all delegates to test the waters. Still, they also needed to keep Seward from winning on the first ballot; then it would be all over. Lincoln also had to get a minimum of 100 votes to be considered the only viable contender against Seward.

The strategy of Lincoln and his team to keep Lincoln’s profile low paid off at the nominating convention. Indeed, Judd managed to score a number of coups in terms of strategic placement of delegates and packing the house with Illinoisans, mostly because the Seward team discounted Lincoln as a serious candidate. (Judd even had the “best shouters” in the state brought in to attend the convention!)

In the final analysis, however, Davis, working the backrooms outside of the convention hall, saw that Lincoln could not win without Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania would not budge without a quid pro quo. Namely, Davis had to promise that the Pennsylvania delegation’s favorite son candidate, Simon Cameron, would be named to Lincoln’s cabinet. Even though Lincoln had telegraphed Davis to “make no contracts that bind me,” Davis paid no attention. He considered Lincoln naïve, and he was probably right on the issue of Pennsylvania. Davis knew that once the mighty Pennsylvania delegation fell to Lincoln, other states would fall in behind it.

There are some interesting parallels to the recent Obama election: Lincoln’s driving ambition; his determination not to settle for a number two position; the last minute shenanigans in Chicago that threatened to unsettle his campaign; the powerful competition from New York; and the importance of the key swing state of Pennsylvania. When the final balloting begins at the “Wigwam” convention center in Chicago, you find yourself sitting on the edge of your chair, even though you know the outcome!

This is definitely a “niche” book – not for those seeking a general history of Lincoln and definitely not for those interested in his presidency since the book ends with the nomination. It has some omissions (how, for example, did Judd get to be Lincoln’s campaign manager in the first place?) and some sloppy editing errors. But overall, it is a welcome addition to Lincolnalia.
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nbmars | 3 weitere Rezensionen | Feb 10, 2009 |

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