Yes, the Union generals in the first two years, especially McClellan, were pretty bad. He was good at training them, but not in leading them into battle.
And I should have said "outside military science". I don't question the ongoing value of studying the generalship of Napoleon -- or Caesar and Hannibal, for that matter. But the topic arose in reference to Sociology and International Law, and I do think that conflicts prior to the delegitimizing of the Right of Conquest as an organizing principle have little to teach us on those topics.
I should have said better generals at the start.
As for wars prior to WWI, I'm still not buying, but I'll definitely grant you the point about immigration policy.
Yes, the Union generals in the first two years, especially McClellan, were pretty bad. He was good at training them, but not in leading them into battle.
And I should have said "outside military science". I don't question the ongoing value of studying the generalship of Napoleon -- or Caesar and Hannibal, for that matter. But the topic arose in reference to Sociology and International Law, and I do think that conflicts prior to the delegitimizing of the Right of Conquest as an organizing principle have little to teach us on those topics.