History of the United States, Volume 4

The Civil War tore America apart. This volume, written by a historian who lived through the war's aftermath, traces the conflict's most decisive chapter: from the opening campaigns in 1860 through the chaotic years of Reconstruction. Andrews focuses on the Mississippi Valley, where Ulysses S. Grant's bold capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in early 1862 shattered Confederate morale and handed the Union a crucial strategic victory. The narrative traces the grinding military campaigns, the political machinations of Lincoln's war cabinet, and the brutal cost of a nation at war with itself. Maps and illustrations from the original edition bring the battles to life, showing readers exactly where history turned. Written in the early twentieth century when witnesses to the war still lived, this history carries the weight of recent memory. For readers who want to understand how America came apart and barely held itself together, this is an essential account from an era that defined the nation.