This work examines Lincoln's influence on the strategy of the Civil War and proves convincingly that Lincoln chose good generals and that he was an excellent, if completely unconventional, strategist. The author Brigadier C. R. Ballard, was a British General who saw much service in South Africa and the First World War before being seriously wounded during the battle of the Somme in 1916. "IF ONE wishes to know something about one's own country, it is often a very good idea to ask a foreigner what he thinks of it. He may not be quite as well informed as a native, and he may not have all his details straight; but the details he does have enable him to form a judgment unaffected by local prejudices and local controversies. That is, by seeing things from a distance, he will have a better grasp of the whole picture."-Fletcher Pratt