One of Lincoln's many burns

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• PugJesus@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Explanation: US President Abraham Lincoln had a very contentious relationship with most of the commanders of the Union Army during the US Civil War. The US Army before the US Civil War was pretty small to begin with - that many of its officers defected to the pro-slavery South did not help matters. Lincoln was largely left with an officer corps which did not have the competence or experience to lead a modern war of the type and scale the US Civil War turned out to be. Some high-ranking officers, on top of that, were so bereft of competence that they did not even realize how incompetent they were, such as McClellan and Joe Hooker.

  Lincoln, something of a wit and unafraid of violating ‘usual’ social etiquette, could make quite cutting remarks on the rotating band of idiots in the Union brass.

  The Union’s fortunes would improve significantly with the eventual appointment of General George Meade to command of the Union armies, a stolid and dependable officer who had proved himself in combat during the Civil War, and whom Lincoln respected. But the great saviors of the Union’s military fortunes would ultimately be General Grant (who would come to command, amicably, over Meade) and General Sherman - both low-ranking pre-war officers who had left the Army and had dead-end civilian careers, but were vindicated in the US Civil War as some of the greatest military minds of their age.

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  • m0darn@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    And “headquarters where hindquarters ought to be” means that he is too hesitant to advance, is that right?

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    • PugJesus@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Hooker was often quite aggressive, and, in fact, even sustained a head injury during one battle because of his forward positioning.

      Lincoln is saying Hooker has his head (headquarters) up his ass (hindquarters) - ie, that he’s an idiot without vision.

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