Synopses & Reviews
On the night of his reelection on November 8, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln called on the nation to andldquo;re-unite in a common effort, to save our common country.andrdquo; By April 9 of the following year, the Union had achieved this goal with the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. In this lively volume, John C. Waugh chronicles in detail Lincolnandrsquo;s role in the final five months of the war, revealing how Lincoln and Grant worked together to bring the war to an end.and#160;
Beginning with Lincolnandrsquo;s reelection, Waugh highlights the key military and political events of those tumultuous months. He recounts the dramatic final military campaigns and battles of the war, including William T. Shermanandrsquo;s march through Georgia to the sea; the Confederate armyandrsquo;s attempt to take Nashville and its loss at the battle of Franklin; and the Union victory at Fort Fisher that closed off the Confederacyandrsquo;s last open port. Other events also receive attention, including Shermanandrsquo;s march through the Carolinas and the burning of Columbia; Grantandrsquo;s defeat of the Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Five Forks, and Lincolnandrsquo;s presence at the seat of war during that campaign; the Confederate retreat from Petersburg and Richmond; and Leeandrsquo;s surrender at Appomattox.
Weaving the stories together chronologically, Waugh also presents the key political events of the time, particularly Lincolnandrsquo;s final annual message to Congress, passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, the Second Inaugural, Lincolnandrsquo;s visit to Richmond the day after it fell, and Lincolnandrsquo;s final days and speeches in Washington after the Confederate surrender. An epilogue recounts the farewell march of all the Union armies through Washington, D.C., in May 1865. Throughout, Waugh enlivens his narrative with illuminating quotes from a wide variety of Civil War participants and personalities, including New Yorker George Templeton Strong, southerner Mary Boykin Chesnut, Lincolnandrsquo;s secretary John Hay, writer Noah Brooks, and many others.
Review
andldquo;In a vivid recounting of the critical five months between Lincolnandrsquo;s reelection in November of 1864 and Leeandrsquo;s surrender at Appomattox in April of 1865, John C. Waugh combines a thoughtful analysis of political activities with a vibrant, fast-paced narrative of the military campaigns to illuminate the almost breathtaking denouement of the Civil War.andrdquo;andmdash;Craig L. Symonds, author of Lincoln and his Admirals
andldquo;Bravo to master storyteller John Waugh for this fast-paced and enthralling account of the Civil Warandrsquo;s decisive final weeks!and#160;A lifetime of research and writing on this endlessly compelling topic is evident in his presentations of the crucial players and decisive battles.and#160;His smoothly conversational narrative, and talent for seasoning it with personality studies, eye-catching quotations, and even weather reports, sent me from cover to cover in just one intensely focused sitting.andrdquo;andmdash;Richard A. Baker, coauthor of The American Senate: An Insiderandrsquo;s History
andldquo;In the hand of a master historian and storyteller, even a timeless tale can be enlivened and made to sing. The ending is of course unchanged, but with beautiful prose resting on a firm foundation of essential research and his unimpeachable expertise, Waugh educates and entertains.andrdquo;andmdash;Lynda Crist, editor of The Papers of Jefferson Davis, Rice University
Synopsis
On the night of his reelection on November 8, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln called on the nation to "re-unite in a common effort, to save our common country." By April 9 of the following year, the Union had achieved this goal with the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. In this lively volume, John C. Waugh chronicles in detail Lincoln's role in the final five months of the war, revealing how Lincoln and Grant worked together to bring the war to an end.
Beginning with Lincoln's reelection, Waugh highlights the key military and political events of those tumultuous months. He recounts the dramatic final military campaigns and battles of the war, including William T. Sherman's march through Georgia to the sea; the Confederate army's attempt to take Nashville and its loss at the battle of Franklin; and the Union victory at Fort Fisher that closed off the Confederacy's last open port. Other events also receive attention, including Sherman's march through the Carolinas and the burning of Columbia; Grant's defeat of the Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Five Forks, and Lincoln's presence at the seat of war during that campaign; the Confederate retreat from Petersburg and Richmond; and Lee's surrender at Appomattox.
Weaving the stories together chronologically, Waugh also presents the key political events of the time, particularly Lincoln's final annual message to Congress, passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, the Second Inaugural, Lincoln's visit to Richmond the day after it fell, and Lincoln's final days and speeches in Washington after the Confederate surrender. An epilogue recounts the farewell march of all the Union armies through Washington, D.C., in May 1865. Throughout, Waugh enlivens his narrative with illuminating quotes from a wide variety of Civil War participants and personalities, including New Yorker George Templeton Strong, southerner Mary Boykin Chesnut, Lincoln's secretary John Hay, writer Noah Brooks, and many others.
Synopsis
The book covers the dramatic final five months of the war and Lincolnandrsquo;s role in it. It highlights his final message to Congress in December 1864, passage of the 13th Amendment, his Second Inaugural, his16 days at the front before Appomattox, his unprecedented visit to Richmond after it fell, and the end of the war.
About the Author
John C. Waugh, a reporter at the Christian Science Monitor for many years, is the coeditor of How Historians Work, and the author of eleven other books on the Civil War era, including The Class of 1846, Reelecting Lincoln, and Lincoln and McClellan.