Abandoned by Lincoln

Following an easy victory over the Confederates in Tennessee, Pope took over the Union's Army of Virginia just before it was overwhelmed by Robert E. Lee's forces at the second battle of Bull Run in 1862. Pope was relieved of command and, according to popular lore, went into permanent eclipse. The authors of this scholarly biography of the maligned general reveal that he actually served 24 additional years in the army, restoring civil government in postwar Missouri, taking an active role in Reconstruction and becoming the army's chief expert in Indian affairs. Schutz and Trenerry, members of a Civil War Roundtable in Minneapolis-St. Paul, argue convincingly that Pope's negative reputation in connection with the second battle of Bull Run is undeserved. He was given unwilling command of an ill-prepared army and was forced to commit it to battle before he had time to fully grasp the reins of authority; one of his key lieutenants refused to obey a crucial battle order; and political rivalry with General George McClellan resulted in the withholding of crucial support for Pope and his army.