John M. Schofield and the Politics of Generalship

Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 2006. K3 - A first edition (numberline starts at "1") hardcover book SIGNED and inscribed by Donald B. Connelly to previous owner on the half-title page in very good condition in very good dust jacket that is mylar protected. Dust jacket has some wrinkling, chipping, and crease on the edges and corners, scattered light scratches, rubbing and scuffing, less than 3" diagonal dent/crease on the back top right side, light tanning and shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners, wrinkling on the spine edges, light discoloration and shelf wear. Civil War America, Gary W. Gallagher, editor. 9.5"x6.5", 471 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. IN THE FIRST full biography of Lieutenant General John McAllister Schofield (1831-1906), Donald Connelly examines the career of one of the leading commanders in the western theater during the Civil War and the role of politics in the formulation of military policy in both war and peace in the latter half of the nineteenth century. A graduate of West Point, Schofield played important roles in the battles at Franklin and Nashville and in the war's closing operations. Connelly relates how Schofield, as a department commander grappling with guerilla warfare, martial law, slavery, and the use of African American troops, had to cope with contending political factions that sought to shape military and civil policies. Following the war, Schofield occupied every senior position in the army - including secretary of war and commanding general of the army - and became a leading champion of army reform and professionalism. He was the first senior officer to recognize that professionalism would come not from the separation of politics and the military but from the army's accommodation of politics and the often contentious American constitutional system. Seen through the lens of Schofield's extensive military career, the history of American civil-military relations has seldom involved conflict between the military and civil authority, Connelly argues. The central question has never been whether to have civilian control but rather which civilians have a say in the formulation and execution of policy.. Signed by Author. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.