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“The Conduct of the War: Report of the Congressional Committee,” New York Times, April 6, 1863
The seven-member Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War held more than 270 meetings during four years of inquiry. Its thousands of pages of transcripts and reports covered military leaders and campaigns, contracts, Union prisoners, African American soldiers, and other issues. Newspapers disseminated its findings, but only one major piece of legislation resulted from its work.
New York Times
Exhibit Theme
Congress Investigates the Civil War
At the outbreak of the Civil War, some members of Congress expected an easy Union victory. After early losses to Confederate forces, they grew critical of President Abraham Lincoln’s military strategy. In 1861 a resolution to investigate two particular Union defeats was amended to create a Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War with a broader mission. The committee examined many aspects of the Union effort, intending to use its investigatory power to influence the president’s military decisions.
Between 1861 and 1865, the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War investigated and provided oversight of President Abraham Lincoln’s command of the Union Army in the Civil War.