By nature a spectator, Halleck was the sort of military bureaucrat who preferred to keep a safe distance from the battlefield. He severely punished army infractions and kept a tight rein on subordinates. He carped at generals in a way that offended rather than motivated them. At first taken with him, Lincoln came to view Halleck as a paper-pusher who ducked tough decisions in the field. Hay later encapsulated Halleck’s conduct by saying he “hates responsibility; hates to give orders,” while Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles groused that he “suggests nothing, is good for nothing.”43 Such
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