Since September 2001, the U.S. military has been engaged in a persistent state of war, which has tested the strength and durability of the nation's civil-military relations. Through rotations of senior commanders on the ground and a turnover of presidential administrations, this relationship has proven crucial to success on the battlefield and to achieving bipartisanship in domestic politics. Dismissals of some commanders and affirmations of others well reflect how national military policy is set and how that strategy is implemented. Furthermore, this unique relationship reveals the role our military plays in carrying out the goals and objectives of respective presidential administrations. This book analyzes the nature of this civil-military partnership by comparing the relationship of President George W. Bush and General David H. Petraeus with that of President Abraham Lincoln and Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Such a comparison will demonstrate and affirm the important role our military plays in executing policy established by the President of the United States.