This minor battle turned into a major political debacle, got a sitting senator killed and directly resulted in the creation of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. A powerful committee that caused the good reputations of many Democrat U.S. Army officers to be lost if they lost a battle or did not perform well; an investigation into treason would be their normal punishment. The committees mission seemed to be to purge the Army of officers that were Democrats and endorse abolitionist Republican officers like John C. Fremont, John Pope, Ambrose Burnside, and Joseph Hooker into major command positions. President Lincoln clearly bowed to their pressure and demands on many occasions.

What would the Union army been like without men like Burnside, Hooker and Fremont?

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David Upton