audiobook The Quartermaster: Montgomery C. Meigs; Lincoln’s General; Master Builder of the Union Army by Robert O'Harrow Jr. in History

Review

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Masterful and pertinentBy L. RobertsonTo limit a review to "he was a great war hero" or "wow! logistics are important to the success of anything;" is to unintentionally undermine this wonderful book. Montgomery Meigs was passionate; creative; driven; loyal beyond measure; and in the end; instrumental in defining who we are as Americans and as a nation. Robert O'Harrow is masterful in revealing all of this and making it clear.The Quartermaster is that wonderful and all-too-rare balance of a book that "gets it" - in the sense of fully understanding what was going in this period of our history + delving into the minds of those who 'made' this period of our history + realizing that not every person who reads this is a consummate 'civil war buff;' or logistics geek; or whatever - and entertains ALL of those audience segments as he writes.O'Harrow masterfully architects the story of one of the forgotten pillars of this exceptional nation. Montgomery Meigs rises out of the shadows to make every reader smack their head and declare; "Wow! That's how it really happened?" Truly; this is a fast-paced; revealing look about how we assessed who we are and what we wanted to become + how the heck we made that a reality.One final note: In this fall of 2016 period; the parallels between 'a past time' and now are arresting.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. LARGELY UNKNOWN CIVIL WAR HERO MONTGOMERY MEIGS GIVEN HIS DUE IN THIS RECENT BIOGRAPHYBy MICHAEL URELLThe lifetime accomplishments of Montgomery Meigs (1816-1892) make this 2016 book by Washington Post Reporter Robert O'Harrow; Jr. a great read. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton stated that without the efforts of Quartermaster General Meigs the Civil War may have been lost or at least greatly imperiled. This was a great accomplishment for anyone's lifetime but there were so many more. The Meigs family way back were Puritans who settled in the New Haven; Connecticut area in the 1630's. Many members of the family were high achievers and attended the best universities. The family had close ties with the military and Montgomery; with a keen interest in engineering; entered West Point at age 16. He graduated 5th out of an 1836 class of 49. He soon began to work on Army Corps of engineers projects including helping build Fort Mifflin on the Delaware River and Fort Wayne on the Detroit River. It is interesting to note that he also worked with then Lieutenant Robert E. Lee on improving navigation on the Mississippi River. His favorite pre-war project was helping build the Washington Aqueduct which brought water into Washington D. C. From the Potomac River. He was particularly proud of the Union Arch Bridge which was a clever engineering feat that spanned the Cabin John Creek. From 1853 to 1859 he was involved in the building of the wings and the dome of the Capitol building. All of this working around Washington D. C. And being dependent on monies and support from Congress led him to have contact with many characters of the day. Senator Jefferson Davis was generally a supporter of him. Secretary of War Floyd under James Buchanan was not. Floyd and Meigs area of conflict was that Meigs was very honest and Floyd was the opposite. At one point just before the war this conflict led to Meigs being given orders to be sent to the Tortugas for a few months until the resignation of Floyd for corruption and a new administration under Lincoln came in. Lincoln and Secretary of State Seward sent Meigs and Lieutenant David D Porter to Fort Pickens in Florida to fortify the Fort and as a result it remained in Union hands throughout the war. Returning from that mission Meigs was promoted to Quartermaster General of the Union Army. So the table is set for you and I hope I have whetted your appetite. You will be amazed at the materials and logistics necessary to supply the Union Army. A smart; honest and able man was necessary and Montgomery Meigs was that man. And; oh yes; Meigs always had an eye for new weaponry. The building of Arlington National Cemetery was largely his doing and his loathing of the traitor Robert E. Lee is made clear. Visit section one at the cemetery and that will be more clearly spelled out for you. The book is well written and many parts of Meigs' life and the history of our country are covered. His further accomplishments went into the 1890s. You will want to read more about the events of those days.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Writing is okay. Learned less about logistics of the ...By rlWriting is okay. Learned less about logistics of the war than I thought I would. More of a retelling of Civil War information I already knew. The part that turned out to be most interesting was his work on bringing water to Washington and working on the rotunda of the Capitol expansion. Also learned how an honest man - probably the last ever - could with constant vigil work his way around the corruption that filled the halls of Congress then as it does today.