Civil War Experience

Not long ago, I was discussing with my friends the effectiveness of commanding generals as presidents. But that's another blog.

This blog begins with the effectiveness of a single general. Ulysses S. Grant, the nation's 18th president. He was the greatest Union general of the Civil War, and one of the top generals in our history. However, as president, he proved to be a poor judge of character and was generally ineffective. In fact, I would argue that he was the worst president of the Gilded Age (which includes Grant through McKinley).

And so this got me thinking, could greatness in the Civil War be inversely proportional to greatness in the Executive Branch?

The next president, Rutherford B. Hayes, reached the rank of brigadier general and was brevetted major general by the end of the war. He was wounded 5 times. He had some military successes. And, like Grant, he was a pretty poor president.

Next up is James Garfield. He became a brigadier general sooner than Hayes and worked as Chief of Staff under Rosecrans, commander of the Army of Cumberland. Garfield was a good president until he got shot. So he actually didn't get much done.

Chester Arthur was too, brigadier general. He was eventually quatermaster general for New York. He saw no combat, but his years of organizing New York to send troops to battle are often said to be his best. He was, however, removed from the position in 1863 for political reasons. As president, he had two major positive accomplishments, one major poor decision, and was otherwise uneventful. He probably ranks as the second best Gilded Age president, behind...

Grover Cleveland, who dodged the draft by paying for someone else to go. This man is probably the greatest Gilded Age president, as I have already said.

Benjamin Harrison reached the rank of... you guessed it... brigadier general near the end of the war. He's not a stand out commander, and he's not a stand out president.

William McKinley was the last president to have experience in the Civil War. He actually fought under Hayes. Go figure. He reached the ranks of Captain and brevet major. Now, I can't tell you exactly what they are, but they're lower than brigadier general, I can tell you that. This man brought back power to the Executive Branch and is generally considered the first modern president.

Now, to rank these men by order of success in the Civil War:
1. Ulysses Grant
2. Rutherford Hayes
3. James Garfield
4. Chester Arthur
5. Benjamin Harrison
6. William McKinley
7. Grover Cleveland

And by success as president:
1. William McKinley
2. Grover Cleveland
3. Chester Arthur
4. Benjamin Harrison
5. Rutherford Hayes
6. James Garfield
7. Ulysses Grant

So, no it's not a perfect correlation. But I think there's something to be said for Civil War successes vs. Presidential successes.