But for Lincoln’s death, there might have been some postwar investigations of the profiteers who supplied the Union Army with lousy war materiel. Soldiers in the field complained about leaky boots, spoiled meat, and biscuits that, when unpacked from their barrels, were crawling with maggots.
Again, but for his death, the biggest scandal of Lincoln’s career might have been the Sultana disaster.
Lincoln’s role in the explosion and sinking of the Sultana: the ship was dangerously overcrowded because Lt. Col. Reuben Hatch, quartermaster at Vicksburg, was taking kickbacks to cram as many Union soldiers as possible aboard it. Hatch already had a record of corruption when he was appointed quartermaster at Vicksburg—by none other than Lincoln. Some historians believe that Lincoln did so as a favor to Ozias Hatch, an old friend and political ally from Illinois and Reuben’s father.
But because the Sultana disaster happened so soon after Lincoln’s assassination, Congress had other priorities and little stomach for an investigation which might sully the memory of the martyred president. Besides, even if Reuben Hatch had been found responsible, he had already left the Army as quickly as possible after the disaster. So there was no possibility of his being court-martialed, and civilian courts had no jurisdiction.
<span>Many felt that military service signaled African Americans’ freedom from slavery and citizenship status.</span>
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