Abraham Lincoln never wrote a better letter than the one he wrote to General Joe Hooker, the third of his commanding generals, which is reprinted in full below.
"Washington, January 26, 1863
General:
I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done this upon what appears to me to be sufficient reasons, and yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things in regard to which I am not quite satisfied with you.
I believe you to be a brave and skillful soldier, which, of course, I like. I also believe you do not mix politics with your profession, in which you are right. You have confidence in yourself, which is a valuable, if not an indispensable, quality. You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good rather than harm; but I think that during General Burnside's command of the army you have taken counsel of your ambition, and thwarted him as much as you could, in which you did a great wrong to the country and to a most meritorious and honorable brother officer.
I have heard, in such a way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the Army and the Government needed a dictator. Of course, it was not for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals who gain successes can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship.
The Government will support you to the utmost of its ability, which is neither more nor less than it has done and will do for all commanders. I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to infuse into the army, of criticizing their commander and withholding confidence from him, will now turn upon you. I shall assist you as far as I can to put it down. Neither you nor Napoleon, if he were alive again, could get any good out of an army while such a spirit prevails in it.
And now beware of rashness. Beware of rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance go forward and give us victories.
Yours, very truly, A. Lincoln"
Did the letter have its desired effect? Yes and No.
Hooker accepted the letter with grace, and looked upon it as a treasure. Lincoln’s close friend Anson G. Henry, to whom Hooker showed the letter, thought it “ought to be printed in letters of gold.”
But Lincoln’s admonition did not save Hooker from a colossal defeat at Chancellorsville. He had to be replaced by General George Mead, who took command of the army just three days before Gettysburg.
Hooker did manage to redeem himself somewhat, and played an important role as a corps commander. But he eventually quarreled with General Sherman. Hooker asked to be relieved of his command, and spent the remainder of the war as Commander of the Northern Division, headquartered in Cincinnati.
(As a footnote to this letter, Hooker was a dashing, charismatic figure known for his boldness, his hard drinking, and his amorous activity. So many prostitutes followed his army that they became known as “Hooker’s Army.” However, contrary to wide belief, this is not the origin of the word “hooker.” The word was used as a synonym for a prostitute as early as 1845, almost two decades before the Civil War.)
For a leader, there is much to learn from this masterpiece of a letter.
One, Lincoln understood that honest, sincere compliments always help medicine-like criticism go down. But there is nothing falsely flattering about Lincoln’s words. They are measured and honest.
Two, Lincoln was self-assured. One of Lincoln’s salient traits was his willingness to command. He reveals that he knows what is going on, and shows courage in the face of any attempted coup. (Several Union generals are known to have discussed seizing Washington and installing another leader in Lincoln’s place.)
Three. Lincoln was friendly and kind. Lincoln wants to help his hard-to-get-along-with general. He believed that it is essential to convince others that you are their sincere friend before attempting to correct their behavior.
Four. Lincoln knew that not everyone is capable of accepting honest criticism. Lincoln took a chance on being forthright with Hooker. Earlier Lincoln had written a carefully worded letter to his egotistical, peevish general-in-chief Henry W. Halleck. Halleck threatened to resign. (Lincoln refused to accept his resignation, but used him more sparingly thereafter.)
Even though Lincoln’s letter did not break Hooker’s habits nor change his character—Hooker did backslide more than once --Hooker accepted the admonition, and managed to salvage his career.
A Biblical proverb puts it this way: “Rebuke a fool and he will hate you. Rebuke a wise man and he will love you.”
Author Resource:
Gene Griessman, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized Lincoln author and presenter. He produced the training video 'Lincoln on Communication" and is author of the book Lincoln SpeaksTo Leaders. He is editor of The Achievement Digest. His website is www.presidentlincoln.com
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