Senator Baker Survives Ball's Bluff, or, Lincoln Administration Without Edwin Stanton?

OldReliable1862

First Sergeant
Joined
Jul 2, 2017
Location
Georgia
After several years, I'm finally returning to the very first "What If?" thread I ever submitted to this site, that is: what if Senator Edward Baker is not killed at the battle of Ball's Bluff?

Edward Dickinson Baker served in the Illinois senate, defeating some lanky fool named Abraham Lincoln, with whom he soon became firm friends. As a colonel in the local militia, he would personally catch the leaders of the mob that killed Joseph Smith. Baker would be elected congressman for Illinois, before serving as a colonel in the Mexican war, winning recognition from no less than Winfield Scott for his bravery. He would move to California, and later Oregon, and was elected as one of the first two Senators for the latter state.

With the beginning of the war, Baker would become commander of several regiments from Philadelphia, raised in the name of California to symbolize the West Coast's commitment to the cause of the Union. He would be commanding his brigade in the ill-advised battle of Ball's Bluff when he was struck by several bullets at once and killed. Lincoln was devastated at the news of his dear friend's death, and was seen visibly sobbing.

However, what if Senator Baker had survived, and what could have resulted from it? Here's where I'd like to expand on my initial question. In January 1862, Lincoln's first Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, would resign after he was accused of incompetence, and for urging that slaves be armed. Lincoln wanted Senator Joe Holt of Kentucky at first, but Seward and Chase wanted Edwin Stanton, from whom Cameron had sought legal advise regarding the arming of slaves. Stanton would, of course, go on to be one of the pillars of the Lincoln administration.

What if, in a scenario where Baker is still alive, Lincoln chooses him as Secretary of War? Baker's military credentials were excellent, and he would have the benefit of Lincoln's friendship. How much does the conduct of the war change in a scenario? Is the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War still formed without Baker's death, and how much does the Lincoln Administration change with Baker instead of Stanton at the War Department?
 
The implications of this could be very interesting, not least because I suspect there'd be better cooperation between the War Dept. and McClellan. Stanton was very much inclined to play politics and faff around with trying to strip McClellan of troops, and it wouldn't take much difference there to see an effective change in the outcome of the 1862 campaigns. (There's at least three distinct places I can think of by June 1862 alone where it could have thrown the timetable off to the Union's benefit).


That being said, you'd have to deal with the reluctance Lincoln had to lose an important senate seat.
 
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