Lincoln And His Admirals

The book Lincoln and His Admirals Begins with a gripping account of the attempt to re-supply Fort Sumter–a comedy of errors that shows all too clearly the fledgling president’s inexperience–Symonds traces Lincoln’s steady growth as a wartime commander-in-chief. Absent a Secretary of Defense, he would eventually become de facto commander of joint operations along the coast and on the rivers.

Marc writes about the book :

Weeks into his presidency, Abraham Lincoln was confronted with his first naval question: What to do about Fort Sumter? First, should he re-supply it–and risk war–or not and concede defeat, thereby giving the secessionist South a valuable bit of propaganda? Was there a diplomatic solution? To help answer these questions, he turned to men, most of whom he barely knew, with military, naval and diplomatic expertise.

You can read more of his book review on his blog the Spinning Clio: Where History and Politics Meet.