But the war also sent his way meetings with two people who would change his life forever. The first was Ulysses S. Grant, who asked John to speak to his regiment (21st Illinois) to prevent them from deserting as it switched from a 3 month volunteer regiment to a 3 year war regiment. John’s rousing speech was successful and reinvigorated the regiment, impressing Grant. It could be argued that John’s speech, which gave Grant an opportunity to command, might have saved the Union. The one other person whom John would play a pivotal role for was Abraham Lincoln. John despised Lincoln as an abolitionist, but after seeing how slaves were treated, John became a firm abolitionist himself. So great a friend of the Union did John become, and acknowledging his speaking power, he was pulled from the line in late 1864 to go back to Illinois to stump in the southern part of the state for Lincoln. And with that election the Republicans took southern Illinois for the first time. Still, John had some problems with General Sherman. John felt that Sherman looked down on him because of the lack of attending the United States Military Academy at West Point. Despite the friction between the commanding General of the Army of the Tennessee and the XVth Corps Commander, both brought the war to a successful conclusion. In his last act in the Union Army John was promoted to Command of the Army of the Tennessee, and lead that unit in the grand victory parade in Washington, D.C. He resigned the next day to return to politics.

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John returned to the U.S. Senate and was a firm opponent of leniency toward the south. But as his political star waxed, waned and then rose again, so did his personal life. Financial troubles plagued him constantly with bad dealings and bad press, even when shady deals were made that didn’t involve him. His belief in the patronage system was attacked, but despite all this John persevered. He also became a leading advocate of black rights for the freed slaves. Freeman Douglass became a friend of his. Perhaps John’s most lasting impact was his affiliation of the Grand Army of the Republic veteran’s organization. As the president of the organization he instituted a day to remember the Union soldiers who fell in battle in the Civil War. Later it would be expanded to encompass all the honored dead from all wars the United States has fought as Memorial Day. Finally, John and the reviewer share a great passion in books. No matter how financially ailing he might be, John would always find the means to purchase the books that caught his eye. Even his wife Mary could not control that one impulse of his. John’s untimely death when he was one of the leading candidates for the Presidency of the United States from the Republican Party leaves a tantalizing question of how the United States would be today if he had become President.

Black Jack Logan: An Extraordinary Life in Peace and War was written by Gary Ecelbarger. It is a flawlessly written book with no grammatical or typographical errors. The illustrations in the book add to the text. It is very well researched and annotated. The book is a good read, and carries the reader along as the panoply of John’s life unfolds. The one part of the book that is open to criticism is the editorial decision to switch from using John’s childhood nickname of Jack in the book, to Logan, when John dropped Jack for his given name. It is understood the author did so to avoid confusing the reader with John’s father, but it does disservice to the reader to think they can not differentiate between the two men. It is felt that the author should have been consistent in his usage. Despite this one miniscule flaw, it is highly recommended for anybody who is interested in the Civil War, American politics, or American history in general. Weighing in at 381 pages and a list price of $22.95 (US), that works out to about 17 cents a page for a book about one of America’s most unsung heroes, and is worth every penny.

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