The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America (review)

BOOK REVIEWSI7I regarded as an anachronism. It is, primarily, because of this fact that only a handful of scholars have given much attention to Miles's military career. Now, Robert Wooster, in his probing and objective biography Nelson A. Miles and the Twilight ofthe FrontierArmy, has rescued Miles from near obscurity and placed him squarely in the center of the military's role in national expansion following the Civil War. In examining Miles's career, Wooster carefully details little-known episodes such as the controversy surrounding the final disposition of the Apaches following Geronimo's surrender in 1886. In his final assessment, the author concludes that Miles was arguably a better Indian fighter than both Custer or George Crook. Nonetheless, as Wooster points out, "Miles was an able though irritating officer whose great ambition rivaled only his great talent" (128). Over the years, Miles's relentless campaigns for recognition and promotion only served to further alienate him from important political supporters and fellow officers. These contemporaries went so far as to claim that Miles's marriage to Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's niece was a ploy to gain favoritism from the commanding general. However, Wooster demonstrates that this was as much a detriment to Miles's career as it was a benefit. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898 Miles was serving as commanding general of the army and in a position to earn lasting fame. Unfortunately , his irascibility in dealing with officials in the McKinley administration relegated him to a less-than-conspicuous role in the formulation of strategy and complex logistics. It was only when the grizzled veteran left Washington politics behind to take the field and invade Puerto Rico that his old flare for combat returned. As Wooster notes, "The responsibilities that accompanied the nation's burst of international activity demanded a new type of military leader, one who could get along with politicians, bureaucrats, and admirals who cared little about the Civil or Indian wars" (274). In short, Nelson A. Miles and his Old Army had become anachronisms. Both 7"Ae Custer Reader and Nelson A. Miles and the Twilight ofthe Frontier Army stand as important contributions to our understanding of the postCivil War army and the personalities involved in the final phases of Western expansion. As such, they will be highly regarded as welcome additions to the literature of the frontier military. David Dixon Slippery Rock University 7"Ae Last Best Hope ofEarth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise ofAmerica. By Mark E. Neely, Jr. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press; San Marino: The Huntington Library; Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1993. Pp. viii, 214. $24.95.) Almost sixty years ago, J. G. Randall noted that Abraham Lincoln was the "most over-worked subject in American history" (American Historical 172CIVIL WAR HISTORY Review [Jan. 1936]: 270). Earlier, James Thurber was so alarmed at the proliferation ofbooks about Lincoln and the Civil War that he proposed that publication in those areas be placed under federal government regulation and that a schedule of fines be imposed upon those rash enough to undertake another Lincoln book. Randall and Thurber might well have saved their energy, for the production of works about Lincoln continued undiminished. For this, Randall himself was partly responsible, for he pointed out that the Lincoln theme was far from exhausted and even suggested several areas in the Lincoln field that scholars might yet explore. His challenge was taken up with a vengeance . Today, both popular and scholarly interest in Lincoln stands at an all-time high:—and there are no signs that it will wane any time soon. Lincoln has become one of our principal growth industries, expanded, defended, and protected by a growing number of disciples, what some have called a Lincoln cult. "Getting right with Lincoln," David Donald's famous phrase, is no longer restricted to politicians. Collectors vie with one another for a decreasing number of artifacts, and museums and libraries compete with the collectors . Auction prices of the occasional autograph, letter, or first edition have been driven to astronomical heights. So-called Lincoln Groups, modeled after the Civil War Round Tables, have sprung up across the country. The number of conferences dedicated...