Francis Preston Blair's biography connects Civil War command with the rapid realignment of American party politics. He moved from the Democratic Party to the Free Soil and Republican parties before a later return to the Democrats. He remained unmistakably a politician and public figure even while holding senior field command. His Seventeenth Corps, however, belonged to the experienced Army of the Tennessee that had campaigned under Grant since 1862. Questions about a commander's political path do not erase the operational experience accumulated by the formation he led.
Notable Point · 52:14-54:17
Francis Blair as politician and corps commander
Blair's changing party affiliations and the Seventeenth Corps's campaign experience put a political general in charge of veteran troops.