Edwin Stanton

Edwin McMasters Stanton was a lawyer who became the 27th U.S. secretary of war in December 1814, serving under Lincoln through most of the Civil War. His management organized the North's massive military apparatus and steered it to victory, though Union generals often saw him as overcautious and meddling. After Lincoln's assassination, Stanton organized the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth and stayed on under Andrew Johnson during Reconstruction. He opposed Johnson's lenient treatment of former Confederate states; when Johnson tried to fire him, the clash triggered the House to impeach the presid…