Stanton and Halleck

[MikeyB]

What was the relationship between Halleck and Stanton?

Could Stanton issue actual marching orders to troops in the field? Did he submit policy and general directives to Halleck and Halleck issued all orders? Did Stanton have the authority to countermand Halleck's instructions?

Did they work well together, or hate each others guts?

 

[Saint Jude]

Although Halleck was supposed to function as a commander-in-chief, in reality he was (as Lincoln said) just "a first-rate clerk" who did the bidding of Lincoln and Stanton. As near as I can tell, he spent most of his energy on avoiding taking responsibility for anything.

 

[jackt62]

Stanton was one of Lincoln's most effective cabinet officials who successfully managed the burgeoning War Department through most of the ACW. In contrast to Halleck, Stanton was a man who understood how to use power and did so for better or worse. Halleck, as noted already, was adept at shirking responsibility and was mostly known for being the conduit for transmitting orders and directives back and forth between Washington and the field armies. In that regard, Stanton had little use for Halleck and considered him simply as an administrative functionary.