Candice Shy Hooper - Lincolns Generals Wives: Four Women Who Influenced the Civil War—for Better and for Worse

More praise for Lincolns Generals Wives

Candice Hoopers vivid new look at the lives of these Union generals wives reveals a hidden chapter of Civil War history. Brimming with rich detail, Hoopers brisk and beguiling narrative weaves together the military and the personal to introduce a fascinating cast of characters: John Charles Frmont and Jessie Benton, George McClellan and his wife Nelly, Ellen and William T. Sherman, and Ulysses Grant and Julia Dent. These Union women emerge from the shadows and take their rightful place in the forefront of Civil War womens history.

Catherine Clinton, author of Mrs. Lincoln: A Life

Cliches ought to be avoided like, well, cliches, yet occasionally one has substance, and none more than the old adage about there being a good woman behind every successful man. It is almost always true, and demonstrated nowhere better than in Candice Hoopers fine new work Lincolns Generals Wives. No women gave their husbands greater entree into high political and military circles than Jessie Benton Frmont, Nelly Marcy McClellan, and Ellen Ewing Sherman. None acted as a greater stabilizing force and safe haven from the pressure of command than Julia Dent Grant. Among them they reveal the full gamut of a spouses potential influence on her husbands career, from the harm to be done by Jessies too strong an advocacy to the damage done by Nellys ego boosting, to Ellens unflinching faith and loyalty that sustained her Cump, and perhaps most of all in Julia, whom Hooper aptly summarizes in three perfect words: center of gravity. This is a fine book, imaginatively conceived, deeply researched, and ably written. Our hats should be off to all five of the women involved.William C. Davis Jr., author of Crucible of Command: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. LeeThe War They Fought, the Peace They Forged

Candice Shy Hoopers Lincolns Generals Wives offers unprecedented opportunities to appreciate heretofore unheard voices in the strategic debates that shaped wartime polices in the Civil War North. The four generals whose spouses are profiled in this work all benefited from both the overt and subtle input of their closest confidante who might serve as a moral compass, calm doubts, or rein in overconfidence, or quietly and simply provide a secure sounding board for important decisions. As the author clearly shows, the wives of Generals Frmont, McClellan, Sherman, and Grant each tried to meet these challenges, and Hoopers evaluation of their methods and prioritiesas well as their successes and failuresmerits our attention.Carol Reardon, George Winfree Professor of American History, Penn State University

For those who think they know everything about the Civil War, here are fresh, revealing, well-crafted portraits of women who not only helped propel their husbands to major military careers but established themselves, for better or worse, as formidable battlers in their own right. Yet this is even more than behind-the-scenes history. For in turning the spotlight on the generals wives, the author invariably shines humanity on chieftains we have heretofore imagined only in tents, not homes; in the company of fellow officers, not families. Candy Hoopers research and analysis helps us better understand what inspiredor inhibitedthese generals and how their spouses helped shape them into heroesor failures.Harold Holzer, author of Lincoln and the Power of the Press: The War for Public Opinion (winner of the Lincoln Prize)

Hoopers book is unique in the annals of Civil War history. Here I found Julia Grant, wife of Ulysses S. Grant, and my great-great-grandmother, as Id never known her before. Thoroughly researched and readable, the book is remarkably moving.Ulysses Grant Dietz, board member and Vice President, the Ulysses S. Grant Association and Presidential Library

In this insightful study, Candice Shy Hooper reminds us of the important role played by the wives of several key players in the Union high command. Even as they served as sounding boards and personal advisers for their husbands, these women took it upon themselves to protect their mens interests and advocate on their behalf; at times they became subjects of controversy. Essential reading for those who want to understand these men, the war they waged, and the women who stood beside them.Brooks D. Simpson, Arizona State University

With Lincolns Generals Wives, Candice Shy Hooper has opened a new door in Civil War scholarship. Her invaluable book sheds light not only on the lives of these four remarkable women and their marriages but on the broader theme of Civil War era politics, of both the national and gender varieties.Clay Risen, coeditor of Disunion, the New York Timess series on the Civil War

If ever there has been a need for a particular book, it is certainly for this one. Candy Hooper has studied the wives of four Civil War generals and demonstrated the essential roles they played in their husbands lives and the life of the nation. She presents important insights into military history, the Civil War, and gender history. Scholars and the general public will find this book well-written and intriguing. It is a must read.John F. Marszalek, executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Associations Ulysses S. Presidential Library, Mississippi State University, and the author of important books on Grant, Sherman, and the Civil War

Hoopers book gives us a fresh look at some of the most famous military men in American historythrough the prism of their marriages. Lincolns Generals Wives proves the old adage that the toughest job in the military is that of a military spouse.General Paul Kern, U.S. Army (retired)