Q: How did specific battles affect President Lincoln's political decisions?

A: The Battle of Fort Sumter convinced Lincoln that, due to the opposition in the South to many of his policies, his plan to personally visit every Southern citizen for an evening of coffee, bacon sandwiches, and honest debate about the future of the nation should be scrapped and replaced with a long and bloody war.

After the Union's devastating defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run, Lincoln canceled Executive Order 214C-1.2, which had required all Union soldiers to stand, wave, shout "Heads up, bullets coming!" and count to ten before firing.

When news of the Battle of Awesome-Sauce reached the capital, Lincoln removed Eugene Carson, a skulking forty-three-year-old man-child and distant cousin of Lincoln's wife, from his position as Director of Civil War Battles and Ice Cream Parties. Carson was later tried, and convicted, of Very Silly Treason.

The Battle of Wilson's Creek, another decisive victory for the rebellion, forced Lincoln to reconsider his entire war strategy. Early the next morning, he sent Col. Thomas Mapother on a secret mission to Japan. Mapother would secure a small, deadly squad of samurai warriors to join the Union effort. Lincoln believed the sudden emergence of samurai warriors on a Civil War battlefield would lead to swift victory for the Union, and also provide a breathtaking visual for those in attendance.

Two months later, Lincoln received a letter from Mapother containing only the words "Oh my God Sake!" The Colonel sent no further correspondence.

Despite his disappointment in Matpother's failure, Lincoln forever clung to the idea of a small group of samurai warriors winning the war for the Union. As the war wound down, Lincoln worked around the clock, turning his notes into a four-hour stage play which he called The Last Cavalry. The play became his obsession. He was sure this play, more than saving the nation, more than passing the Thirteenth Amendment and ending slavery, would be his legacy. On the evening of April 14th, 1865, Lincoln attended a production of Our American Cousin with a copy of The Last Cavalry in his coat pocket. He hoped to corner noted Washington, D.C. theatre producer Arthur Wilde after the show and use all his charm, guile, and the considerable powers of the presidency, to convince Wilde to produce the play. An ad-lib by actor John Wilkes Booth resulted in cancellation of the meeting.