Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower converses with Civil War scholar, Pulitzer Prize historian Bruce Catton on the Lincoln Civil War years. Music by Robert Russell Bennett.
As stated, the careers of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Abraham Lincoln present an interesting contrast. Ike had been a military man all his adult life when he found the Presidency all but thrust upon him. Abe, on the other hand, a man of very little military experience, found the Civil War thrust upon him only a month after his inauguration.
Eisenhower offers a professional soldier's view of how Lincoln handled his role of Commander in Chief. He analyzes Mead's action against Lee in the Battle of Gettysburg, and the generalship of McClellan and Grant. Also covered in conversation are the changes in the functions of the Commander in Chief over the past 100 years, and Ike's admiration for General Robert R. Lee.
This Special NBC half hour broadcast was produced at the library of the Eisenhower residence in Gettysburg Pennsylvania.
