Attached is a brief paragraph from General Grant's memoir recalling the "the first private interview with President Lincoln, on the occasion in the early spring of 1864 when he was given command of all the Federal armies."
"In my first interview with Mr. Lincoln alone he stated to me that he had never professed to be a military man or to know how campaigns should be conducted and never wanted to interfere in them: but procrastination on the part of commanders...forced him into issuing his series of 'Military Orders'..."
Historian Henry Steele Commager ranked Lincoln at number 11 insofar as his impact on the cultural mindset of the United States...
From Amazon: Grant Takes Command: 1863 - 1865