Kenneth Noe | Reconsidering Lincoln as a Military Genius

Dr. Kenneth Noe spoke to the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia about his new book, “Abraham Lincoln and the Heroic Legend,” on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. During the discussion, Dr. Noe presented a probing analysis of Abraham Lincoln as a wartime commander-in-chief. He presented a richly detailed account of how Lincoln’s contemporaries and later historians helped create the idea that Lincoln, the untutored amateur, turned into a military genius far superior to even his best generals, and even George McClellan. With a complex and fascinating analysis, Noe describes the processes by which historians and the public have sought to canonize Lincoln. By exploring history, historiography, memory, myth, and legend, Noe forcefully argues for a more nuanced assessment of Lincoln’s wartime presidency. Kenneth W. Noe is the Auburn University Draughon Professor of Southern History Emeritus, having served on the faculty for 20 years. He was born and raised in Virginia, and graduated from Emory & Henry College. He earned master's degrees at Virginia Tech and the University of Kentucky, and received his doctorate from the University of Illinois. He is the author or editor of nine books. His previous book, The Howling Storm: Weather, Climate and the American Civil War, was a Lincoln Prize finalist in 2021 and co-winner of the 2022 Colonel Richard W. Ulbrich Memorial Book Award. Currently, he is co-editing with Jennifer Murray a collection of essays on the Army of the Potomac. To join us at a future meeting, please become a member of the Lincoln Group of DC. More information on membership can be found here: https://www.lincolnian.org/membership