Lincoln's Hope for Victory: Henry W. Halleck, The General Who Refused to Command

By John F. Marszalek

Presentation to CCWRT on 18 September 2008, Summarized by Dan Bauer

©Cincinnati CWRT, 2008

John F. Marszalek's presentation on Henry Wager Halleck told of a man who was long on accomplishments but short on leadership skills. Marszalek believes Halleck to be one of the most significant figures of the 19th Century, and yet he was widely despised during the last three years of the war. He held the post of commanding general longer than anybody else in the war, but refused to command. Halleck's list of pre-Mexican War accomplishments was impressive.

He graduated 3rd in his class at West Point, joined the army corps of engineers, built the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty, and wrote a widely acclaimed report on the nations defense systems. Halleck was considered the leading military theorist in the United States.

During the Mexican War he was stationed in California and assigned the task of designing and building defense systems. After the war, he and two others founded a law firm. When California was ready for statehood, Halleck played a key role at the constitutional convention. He built the Montgomery Block building in San Francisco, the largest building west of the Mississippi until the 1900's and one of the few buildings which survived the great San Francisco earthquake. Halleck was a manager of the largest quicksilver mine in the world. Quicksilver is used to separate gold from rock.

When the Civil War broke out, Halleck was named Major General and was stationed in St. Louis as commander of the western district. It was under Halleck's overall command that the victories of Fort Henry and Fort Donaldson occurred and the battle of Shiloh. Halleck took command of 100,000 men and was able to take Corinth while loosing practically nobody. For this accomplishment, Halleck earned the nickname "Old Brains". In mid 1862, Halleck was the most successful general in the war.

Lincoln was so impressed with Halleck, that Lincoln called him to Washington to be overall commanding general even though the two had never met. Halleck was Lincoln's hope for victory. Lincoln told Halleck to visit McClellan during the Peninsular Campaign. Although Halleck felt McClellan should leave the peninsula and join up with Pope, Halleck never ordered him to do so. McClellan did not follow Halleck's suggestion. After McClellan was driven off the peninsula and Pope was badly defeated at Second Bull Run, Halleck suffered an emotional breakdown.

Halleck saw himself as more of an advisor than a commander. While this style of command worked very well with the aggressive Grant and Sherman in the west, it did not work so well with the cautious eastern generals. With the war going poorly in the east, criticism began mounting against Halleck and Lincoln. When it became apparent to Lincoln that Halleck would not be the great commander he had hoped for, why didn't Lincoln fire Halleck? Marszalek thinks there were three main reasons. First, Lincoln saw that Halleck was a great administrator. Secondly, Lincoln saw Halleck's military knowledge and strategy as being invaluable. Lastly, for the time being, nobody else was as qualified to hold the position.

After Grant's victory at Vicksburg, Lincoln felt Grant was finally ready to become overall commander and take Halleck's place. Lincoln made this move and created a brand new position for Halleck: Chief of Staff. Halleck thrived in this position. He was able to concentrate on what he did best, administration and deferred to Grant for making military decisions in the east.

While Lincoln met with Grant, Sherman, and Porter at City Point, Virginia to discuss the final strategy for the war, Halleck was hardly missed. Halleck was back in Washington happily doing his paperwork. What kept Halleck from being an effective leader? Marszalek suspects there are psychological and health reasons. Because Halleck ran away from home as a teenager, he was always looking for a replacement father figure. Marszalek thinks Halleck saw McClellan as this missing father figure. Halleck revered McClellan so much, he hesitated giving him orders. On the health side, Marszalek thinks Halleck suffered from hemochromatosis or too much iron in the blood. Halleck also suffered from a severe case of hemorrhoids and possibly an addiction to opium, the treatment for the hemorrhoids.

After the war, Halleck served as head of the Department of the James in Virginia, commander of the department of the Pacific in California, then commander of the South in Louisville, Kentucky. It is in Louisville where he died in 1872, a very wealthy man with an estate valued at $500,000. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.