Lincoln: The Silent Abolitionist Aroused
This book, one of the Concise Lincoln Library Series, analyzes Lincoln’s reliance on his interpretation the nation’s Founding Fathers’ intent to shape his opposition to slavery and its expansion. Energized by the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act, Abraham Lincoln, the silent abolitionist, jumped back into politics to force America to accept the principles of human equality and individual rights that he believed would provide common ground for diverse people to live together in harmony. Additionally, safeguarding the right of people to self-government was the key to preserving democracy, not only for the United States but as a model for the whole world.
Beginning in the late 1850s, Lincoln’s speeches were aimed at convincing the Civil War generation to appreciate what the foundation documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, meant and how they could be interpreted to secure liberty and equality for all. These two documents formed the sine qua non of Lincoln’s political thought. He never strayed from his interpretation of what the Founding Fathers desired, contending that they supported the eventual elimination of slavery, accepting it initially only as a necessary evil to unite the colonies.
To Lincoln then, human equality was to be the driving force of the Republican Party’s national public policy. By standing up for equality and individual rights of Black Americans, White Americans could be taught how to defend their own rights.
While over 16,000 books have been written about Abraham Lincoln, Lucas Morel has found a niche that exhaustively chronicles the shaping of Lincoln’s political views on slavery. Lincoln’s political growth has been covered in numerous other volumes, e.g. Michael Burlingame’s Abraham Lincoln: A Life and Kenneth Winkle’s The Young Eagle: The Rise of Abraham Lincoln, Morel limits his concise analysis to how Lincoln used the Declaration of Independence to refute his critics on the slavery question and establish an unbending path toward emancipation and full equality.
This book is well researched, makes ample use of primary sources, and is well written and academic in its presentation. My only criticism is the frequent repetition of material that needlessly elongates the text. For most Lincoln scholars, much of this material has already been read, leaving a recommendation for purchase to those scholars who wish to narrowly address Lincoln’s speeches on the slavery question.
Wayne L. Wolf is Professor Emeritus at South Suburban College, past President of the Lincoln-Davis Civil War Roundtable, and the author of numerous books and articles on the Civil War, including Two Years Before the Paddlewheel and The
Decisions at The Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House: The Eighteen Critical Decisions that Defined the Battles. By Dave Townsend. Maps, photos, illustrations, diagrams, bibliography, endnotes, appendices, 382 pp., 2020. The University of Tennessee Press, www.utpress.org. $34.95, paperback.
Decisions at The Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House, authored by retired engineer Dave Townsend, is the seventh in a series of books published by UT Press that analyze critical decisions made by Federal and Confederate commanders and the impact those decisions had on the course of the fighting. Previous books in the series cover four battles (Stones River, Second Manassas, Chickamauga, Chattanooga) and two campaigns (Atlanta and the 1862 invasion of Kentucky).
Townsend dissects decisions that defined the opening battles of the Overland Campaign. Some of the analysis relates to very large issues, Lincoln’s selection of Grant as general-in-chief being the biggest of them all, a decision that defined the campaign as a nonstop slugfest from May 1864 until Lee’s surrender nine months later. In other cases, the author drills down to relatively minor tactical matters, such as Fitzhugh Lee’s decision to defend the Brock Road north of Spotsylvania by mounting a fighting, step-by-step retreat.
For each of the 18 key decisions Townsend starts with a concise explanation of the options available, then expounds on the one chosen, and next proceeds with analyzing the decision’s impact. In some cases he also discusses alternate scenarios, what could have happened had another choice been made, but the discussion is confined appropriately and never delves into “what if” history.
In the preface, the author states that the book’s “fundamental premise is that the reader is somewhat familiar with what happened during the battles.” There is, consequently, somewhat less focus on what happened and more on why events happened. Still, considerable space is devoted to an account of the course of the two battles, a narration that will be helpful for readers not thoroughly familiar with all the details. For most readers, I believe, Townsend has struck the proper balance.
Townsend relies mainly on primary sources, weighing their reliability carefully and giving more credence to orders and correspondence contemporaneous with the battle. He points out that after action reports were often written after considerable time had lapsed and that the writers of memoirs can have faulty recollections and agendas other than historical accuracy.
Minor mistakes, and I spotted a few typos and noticed that Shelby Foote’s famous work is cited as having four volumes, not three, are not numerous or serious enough to distract or detract. More significant is the overall plan by which the book is organized.
The four main chapters comprise 166 pages containing the analysis of the commanders’ options and decisions. These chapters naturally contain the battle narrative referred to above.
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The first appendix, a battlefield guide, is 127 pages. Much of this long appendix is devoted to additional battle narrative. The result is a disjointed and sometimes repetitive account.
The format is somewhat inconvenient and may cause confusion for the reader, but this is far from a fatal flaw. The narration, though split up, is written clearly. The maps—essential for the reader following these complex operations—are also well done.
Appendices II and III provide the Union and Confederate orders of battle. You can’t tell the players without a program, and in this campaign there were lots of players, big players making the decisions being analyzed and the lesser lights trying to carry them out.
Gould Hagler is a retired lobbyist living in Dunwoody, Ga. He is a past president of the Atlanta Civil War Round Table and the author of Georgia’s Confederate Monuments: In Honor of a Fallen Nation, published by Mercer University Press in 2014. Hagler speaks frequently on this topic and others related to different aspects of the Civil War and has
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Hellmira: The Union’s Most Infamous Civil War Prison Camp- Elmira, NY (Emerging Civil War Series). By Derek Maxfield. Appendices, Footnotes, 192 pp., 2020. Savas Beatie LLC. www.savasbeatie.com. $14.95. Softcover.
Reviewed by David Marshall
Hellmira: The Union’s Most Infamous Civil War Prison Camp- Elmira, NY, is a compelling study that fills gaps in Civil War prison camp historiography that has become very popular in recent years. In this thoughtful account and compelling analysis of the challenges those in charge of prisoner of war camps, Derek Maxfield does a nice job in explaining the difficulties camp administrators faced in several Northern and all Southern POW camps, and how they succeeded or failed to overcome them. “Hellmira” is a solid introduction to prisoner of war camp history; it is an outstanding addition to the Emerging Civil War Series.
“Hellmira” actually covers several Civil War prison camps but the volume’s focus deals with the prison camp at Elmira. The book expands its breadth by incorporating topics either ignored or lightly touched on in other Civil War histories.
Maxfield tells the story of the “Andersonville of the North” from the summer of 1864 to July 1865, doing a solid job of elucidating why it was important and also symbolic of the horrendous treatment of captured Confederate soldiers during the conflict.
Like many historians, Maxfield places blame, and a little credit, on the Elmira Prison Camp commanders, surgeons, staff officers, and other important Union authorities such as Edwin Stanton.
After setting the scene and spending time analyzing controversial decisions made by individuals such as Lt. Col. Seth Eastman, Benjamin Tracy, Lt. Col. Stephen Moore, Maj. Henry Colt, and Dr. Eugene Sangers, the bulk of the text describes issues that worsened throughout the camps existence. Maxfield blends Union and Confederate accounts with a solid depth and balance.
The main text of the book is approachable. Although the author only briefly discusses some topics such as the creation of long term POW camps during the conflict, withholding food due prisoners, the lack of shelters, limited clothing especially during the cold winters, the failed exchange of prisoners, the evolution of Camp Elmira, and the inhumane treatment of the prisoners, Maxfield presents the prisoners’ human experience. Maxfield has included a wealth of first-hand accounts and anecdotes by officers and common soldiers who experienced the challenges of war and prison camp. He uses quotes from participants judiciously. The anecdotes spur the reader’s interest and whet the appetites of prison camp enthusiasts. Maxfield makes an important point in his fascinating epilogue chapter on “The Melancholy Debate” that the humanitarian tragedies produced by the POW camps stained the meaning of the U.S. flag.
This outstanding title published by Savas Beatie, includes a very useful driving tour that includes ten important stops with their GPS coordinates as well as directions and an explanation of each tour stop. A tour guide and introductory book on any subject must be clear and precise in its directions, which this guide does well. The detail provided at each stop is well-written and not overwhelming. For casual visitors this guide should be a welcome companion during a visit to the Elmira Prison Camp.
An important addition contained in this balanced work is the seven appendices including “How Elmira Gave the World Mark Twain” as well as suggested reading, maps, and an abundance of helpful images. The text is well written, clear, informative, and easy to read. The result is both an excellent guide book and a history lesson at an attractive price.
Overall, Hellmira is a long-needed addition to the story of this prison camp, and it will make a fine addition to the reading list of any serious student looking at POW camps, including those already well-read or those just beginning their journey. Serious Civil War buffs will find the narrative has much to offer; novices should enjoy the introductory story and battlefield trampers will love the well-planned tour route.
David Marshall is a high school American history teacher in the Miami-Dade School district for the past thirty-four years. A lifelong Civil War enthusiast, David is president of the Miami Civil War Round Table Book Club. In addition to numerous reviews in Civil War News and other publications, he has given presentations
Andersonville: An American Tragedy. By William Baird. Illustrated, bibliography, William Baird Publishing, 2020, 188 pp., softcover. $11.99.
Reviewed by Wayne L. Wolf
In this self-published work of the tragedy on Andersonville, William Baird has crafted a story of the prisoners, guards, doctors, and clergy who ministered to the thousands of Union soldiers imprisoned on land farmed by Benjamin Dykes. Over 13,000 Union troops died at Ft. Sumter (Andersonville) in little over a year beginning in February 1864. What caused this massive loss of life was analyzed and five overriding factors were deemed responsible.
The first of these factors was the performance of Gen. John H. Winder. Overall commander of Confederate prisons, Winder’s inability to get the needed supplies of food, lumber, and medicine to the improperly housed prisoners left Andersonville prisoners to starve, live in vermin infested “shebangs,” and die from lack of medicine or proper hospital shelter.
Secondly, the murky Confederate chain of command not only hampered General Winder but made the work of post commander Henry Wirz and medical doctors, impossibly hard to procure materials. Added to these two causes was the local populace’s opposition to the impressment of food supplies they themselves needed for survival, the increasing manpower needs of the Army of Northern Virginia that left only untrained local militia to guard the prison, and the deteriorating condition of Southern railroads that hindered the supply chain to the prison.
Accompanying the logistical challenges noted above, the author weaves in the personal stories of men connected with the prison. For example, Dorence Atwater, who kept a secret dead list of prisoners at the fort, John McElroy who published his personal story as a prisoner in 1879, Fr. Peter Whelan, the Catholic priest who sacrificed his own health to minister to the religious needs of the prisoners, and Captain Henry Wirz, who became the only Confederate executed for war crimes, give faces to the tragic number of dead and dying men of Andersonville.
Additional events of courage and generosity add a sense of self-sacrifice to the men of Ft. Sumter. For example, Fr. Whelan took out a personal loan to provide 16,000 loaves of bread to prisoners; the discovery of an unpolluted spring gave fresh water that saved lives; Capt. Wirz’s parole of prisoners who traveled to Washington to beg President Lincoln to resume prisoner exchanges (he never met with them), and the tireless work of Clara Barton to get word of prisoner’s fate to their waiting families, all shine as people helping people in a time of great need.
Two historical errors appear in this novel. Camp Chase was located in Ohio not Chicago; Jefferson Davis died in 1889 not 1869. Additionally, an editor might have eliminated a number of grammatical, punctuation, type setting, and spelling errors. Nevertheless, this book is recommended for the novice historian who wants a quick overview of Andersonville prison. More comprehensive analyses can be found in Ovid Futch’s History of Andersonville Prison Revised Edition or William Marvel’s Andersonville: The Last Depot.
Wayne L. Wolf is Past President of the Lincoln-Davis Civil War Roundtable and the author of numerous books and articles on the Civil War including The Last Confederate Scout and Two
Illumination of Vital, Yet Often Overlooked, Civil War History Along the Rio Grande Valley
The Civil War on the Rio Grande, 1846–1876. Bacha- Garza, Roseann, Christopher L. Miller, and Russell K. Skowronek, eds. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2019. 326 pages, photos, maps, bibliography, index, preface, and endnotes by chapter, with foreword by Gary Gallagher. Paperback, $37.50.
Reviewed by William J. Bozic Jr.
If asked when the war started, many Civil War buffs would say with the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861, and if asked when the war ended, some Civil War buffs might answer Appomattox Courthouse with the surrender of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, others might say Bennett Place where Joseph E. Johnson’s remnants of the Army of Tennessee surrendered. Some might even propose Citronelle, Ala., or Galveston, Texas. Of course there is room for many other answers depending on how we determine the start or end of the conflict, so with this in mind The Civil War on the Rio Grande 1846 to 1876 supplies food for thought.
The book is a collection of 11 essays dealing with various aspects of the war, and, in particular, how to redefine the chronology and location based on an interpretation that the first US troops entered the area in 1846 and the war really didn’t end until military Reconstruction stopped in 1876. The Rio Grande Valley is described as a coastal plain from Laredo to the Gulf of Mexico. It is postulated in the book that “The intersections of races, cultures, economic forces, historical dynamics, and individual destinies that made up the unique world of the Rio Grande Valley are the same as those that made the contemporary United States and the increasingly interconnected and messy world in which we live in now.”
A prelude that defines the mindset of the authors is followed by an outstanding narrative of the early Rio Grande settlement written by Christopher L. Miller. This is an absolute must read because it sets the stage for everything else in the book, and also helps the reader understand the modern Rio Grande Valley because many of the same families who initially settled the region are still the powerbrokers. Author Douglas Murphy’s second chapter deals with the connection between the Mexican War and the Civil War, plus goes a long way toward explaining the reasoning behind book’s title.
Chapter 3, by M.M. McAllen, is concerned with life along the lower Rio Grande Valley during the Civil War, adding insights into topics not usually covered. Roseann Bacha-Garza handles race and ethnicity along the antebellum Rio Grande along with the emancipation of slaves and mixed race colonies in Chapter 4. Irving W. Levinson covers the separate wars and shared destiny of Mexico and the United States in Chapter 5.
Readers should keep in mind that Mexico was engaged in its own civil war between conservatives supported by the French vs. liberals favored by the Lincoln administration. While evading the naval blockade strangling the Confederacy, the Confederates often allied themselves with the more conservative French supported government of Emperor Maximilian to obtain much-needed military supplies and sell valuable cotton to anxious buyers from around the world. This chapter delves into complex economic, military, political, and social issues, and will probably be a great history lesson for those unfamiliar with the impact of, and on, Mexico.
In Chapter 6, Jerry Thompson discusses the conflict between troops led by Confederate José de los Santos Benavides and his nemesis Juan Cortina. It’s an oversimplification to say this was a family feud that lasted generations, but not far off, so the chapter is extremely interesting to read and enlightening. In Chapter 7 Karen and Tom Fort examine the impact of cotton, the lifeblood for the region and the reason for existence of the Mexican town of Baghdad. In chapters 8 and 10 Stephen McBride covers the US Colored Troops, largely from Kentucky, who occupied the valley from 1865 to 1867. That chapter is followed by the African-American military experience along the Rio Grande by James Lieker. There are some nice photos of existing buildings created by these African-American troops with compelling new information well worth getting the book.
Rolando Garza, a veteran National Park Service battlefield archaeologist, does a superb job of providing archaeological insights into the site of the Civil War’s last battle (Palmito Ranch May 12-12, 1865). Russell Skowronek puts the icing on the cake for this book with his chapter on the Rio Grande area as a forgotten front of paramount importance. Having all this material available in a quick reference makes the book a must for those interested in this overlooked facet of the war.
For those who find this region especially interesting, a more detailed narrative history can be found in Michael L. Collins, A Crooked River: Rustlers, Rangers, and Regulars on the Lower Rio Grande, 1861–1877 (2018). For those who want to read a great military history devoted to the battles at Palmito Ranch, Ginn and McWhorter’s Palmito Ranch: From Civil War Battlefield to National Historic Landmark (2018) is more highly recommended because it will provide specifics related to the military tactics and the regional strategy from a combat arms perspective.
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Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. By Edward Achorn. Appendix, Notes, Bibliography, and Index, 414 pp., 2020. Atlantic Monthly Press, groveatlantic.com. Cloth. $28.
By March 4, 1865, the four years of conflict were coming to an end leaving over seven hundred thousand American soldiers dead, the Union preserved, and the United States changed forever with the end of slavery. Tens of thousands packed the capitol grounds to witness Abraham Lincoln take the oath of office for his second term as President. Edward Achorn tells a moving story about Washington’s divided power groups, the intrigues after the second inaugural address, and the difficulties Abraham Lincoln had in ending the war and healing the country.
There have many books written on the life of Abraham Lincoln, his presidency, and involvement in the Civil War but few provide so much detail and new information concerning his Second Inaugural speech. This outstanding narrative reads like a fast-paced novel but provides vivid descriptions of what went on before March 4, 1865, events surrounding that day, the period following, and the effects his message and assassination had on the country. This story is told from the perspective of not only Abraham Lincoln but many soldiers such as Union General’s Ulysses S. Grant and William Sherman, statesman and Supreme Court Justice Salmon Chase, politicians such new Vice President Andrew Johnson, Clara Barton, poet Walt Whitman, Frederick Douglass, family members such as Mary Lincoln, and assassin John Wilkes Booth. Edward Achorn examines Washington’s important individuals who played key roles ending the Civil War and influencing the direction of the U.S. following the great conflict and historic speech.
Every Drop of Blood’s epilogue; The Stuff to Carry Them Through, provides an excellent understanding of what happened following the Second Inauguration. Many radical Republicans such as Ohio senator Benjamin Wade and Michigan senator Zachary Chandler were very hostile toward Lincoln’s plan of reconstruction and, in many ways, the author shows how several were not unhappy with his assassination. One argument Achorn makes is that the Sixteenth President’s righteousness toward the defeated South did not necessarily protect former slaves from Southern discrimination nor the dominating control of reconstruction by radical Republicans. Additionally, Edward Achorn provides an important comparison of two contrasting men, Frederick Douglass and John Wilkes Booth, that offers an important analysis of their actions, thoughts, and meaning about what transpired on March 4 and April 14. Douglass stated to Lincoln that he liked his speech on the other hand; Booth was preparing to kill him. This excellent historian shows that many people regard Booth as a coward and his actions did a terrible disservice to U.S. reconciliation and civil rights for blacks.
The words and message of President Abraham Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Speech offering reconciliation with the South were not initially admired nor supported by all Democrats, Republicans, Northerners and Southerners. In time it would be viewed as one of the most important speeches in American history and critical to the country moving forward as one nation. This speech and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address are today on two walls of the Lincoln Memorial where future generations can read and allow these words to resonate for generations. Achorn provides the historical context and importance of Lincoln’s final sentence in his 2nd Inaugural speech, “with malice toward none; with charity for all…,” in 1865 as well as since and today.
This book’s organizational clarity and descriptive description, coupled with the author’s interpretive insights, enable the reader to grasp both details and the larger picture of The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. Achorn makes a substantial contribution to scholars and students with this important monograph on the last important words of our 16th President by providing fresh insight that helps readers understand the motivation, strategies, tensions, controversies, and triumphs that characterized the life of Lincoln and Atlantic Press provided readers with 41 helpful images as well as an extensive bibliography, notes, and index. Achorn has delivered a readable study that breaks new ground, is lively, contains interesting engaging prose, ably illuminates the topic, and makes the subject accessible to anyone. This reviewer highly recommends this new study.
David Marshall is a high school American history teacher in the Miami-Dade School district for the past thirty-three years. A lifelong Civil War enthusiast, David is president of the Miami Civil War Round Table Book Club. In addition to numerous reviews in
Gunboats, Muskets, and Torpedoes Coastal North Carolina 1861–1865. By Michael G. Laramie. Photographs, maps, notes, Glossary, index, 347 pp., Westholme Publishing, Yardley, PA.
Reviewed by Lawrence E. Babits
This new book is a beginner’s overview of the Civil War on North Carolina’s coast. In 21 chapters that are basically snapshots of the two initial campaigns and the continuing efforts by both sides to take, or keep, control of the sounds and coastal waters. It follows in the footsteps of John Barrett’s The Civil War in North Carolina (1963) but limits its scope to the coast where it goes into more detail but does not compare in either accuracy or detail with R. Thomas Campbell’s Storm over Carolina The Confederate Navy’s Struggles for Eastern North Carolina (2005) or William R. Trotter’s Ironclads and Columbiads (1989).
The general impression is that this effort is directed at readers starting from a basic, rudimentary knowledge of what happened as Confederates mismanaged and lost key positions and then tried to both protect their interior rail lines and take back what they had lost. The text reads well and is easily understood; even in the midst of the flow, his including specific participant accounts does not distract the reader. The author’s own maps are far better than the difficult to read copies of historical maps. The epilogue is a very useful summary of what happened and why; it could stand alone as a journal article.
There are a number of inconsistencies and errors that will irritate people with a bit more than basic knowledge. The most glaring is his constant, except for one example, use of the word pound to describe cannon. He cannot really believe a siege and garrison cannon weighed only 32 pounds; the weight of its solid shot, hence 32-pounder. His misuse of cheval de frise when slashing or abatis is meant goes along with “mini” balls, bursting solid shot, and “twenty-round cartridge boxes,” suggesting he gets the overview but not the details. This reviewer understands what the author meant but found the terminology jarring and indicative of a lack of knowledgeable editorial oversight.
Many secondary sources are outdated but there are some surprising current materials including fairly recent archaeological studies not generally found in more popular historical writing. All in all, Laramie has put together a good starting point for anyone wanting to look deeper at the War beyond the Armies of Tennessee and Northern Virginia.
Larry Babits has been reenacting since 1960. He served in the U.S. Army’s B Company, 21st Infantry (Gimlets) during 1963–1966. Babits earned degrees at Maryland and Brown leading to a career teaching archaeology and military history at Washington and Lee, Armstrong State, and East Carolina. A retired rugby player, Larry is now working on the sequel to his studies of the 1781 battles of Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse although he admits to taking breaks from corona self isolation to practice black powder marksmanship, getting
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