...commanders. I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to infuse into the Army, of criticizing their Commander, and withholding confidence from him,...sleepless vigilance, go forward, and give us victories. "Yours very truly "A. LINCOLN" Thousands of books and monographs have been written covering the important...

...set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship. . . . And now, beware of rashness. Beware of rashness, but...sleepless vigilance go forward and give us victories." In the wake of Fredericksburg and the Mud March, confidence from Southern soldiers and civilians was...

..."Fighting Joe" Hooker commander of the Army of the Potomac on January 25, 1863, he instructed the general: "Beware of rashness, but with energy, and sleepless vigilance, go forward, and give us victories." Hooker certainly intended to give Lincoln victories. He had developed a plan for attacking Gen. Robert...

...which you did a great wrong to the country, and to a most meritorious and honorable brother officer. I have heard, in such a way as to believe it, of your...energy, and sleepless vigilance, go forward, and give us victories.11 This letter, which remained private until Hooker's death, shows Lincoln at his best. It...

...Army and the Government needed a Dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in spite of it, that 1 have given you the command. Only those generals who...sleepless vigilance, go forward, and give us victories. (CW 6:78-79) What an array of virtues must the writer of such a letter possess? Hooker was evidently...

...commander, Joseph Hooker, received from the president a general charge to seek "military success" but to "beware of rashness. Beware of rashness, but with...sleepless vigilance go forward and give us victories." Lincoln was in a sense echoing his earlier instructions to Burnside to "be cautious," and, though victories...

...superior and withholding confidence from him. In a final, fatherly touch, Lincoln counseled, "And now, beware of rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance, go forward, and give us victories." The circumstances of the appointment were extraordinary. Lincoln had placed in high command a man whom...

...generals who gain successes can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and 1 will risk the dictatorship. The government will support...sleepless vigilance go forward and give us victories." Perhaps no other piece of his writing shows as this does how completely the genius of the President...

...success, and I will risk the dictatorship." Lincoln warned Hooker, though, to avoid overconfidence: "And now beware of rashness. Beware of rashness, but...energy and sleepless vigilance go forward, and give us victories."9 28 General Joseph Hooker (tallest standing) and his staff at Lookout Mountain (1864)....

...prevails in it." Having delivered what should have been a thorough chastening, Lincoln urged Hooker to beware of rashness, but "with energy and sleepless vigilance go forward and give us victories." Hooker entertained no doubts of his ability to gain victories. A West Point graduate and a man of large...