Their Last Full Measure: The Final Days of the Civil War

by Joseph Wheelan

Dramatic developments unfolded during the first months of 1865 that brought America's bloody Civil War to a swift climax.

As the Confederacy crumbled under the Union army's relentless "hammering," Federal armies marched on the Rebels' remaining bastions in Alabama, the Carolinas, and Virginia. General William T. Sherman's battle-hardened army conducted a punitive campaign against the seat of the Rebellion, South Carolina, while General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant sought to break the months-long siege at Petersburg, defended by Robert E. Lee's starving Army of Northern Virginia. In Richmond, Confederate President Jefferson Davis struggled to hold together his unraveling nation while simultaneously sanctioning diplomatic overtures to bid for peace. Meanwhile, President Abraham Lincoln took steps to end slavery in the United States forever.

Their Last Full Measure relates these thrilling events, which followed one on the heels of another, from the battles ending the Petersburg siege and forcing Lee's surrender at Appomattox to the destruction of South Carolina's capital, the assassination of Lincoln, and the intensive manhunt for his killer. The fast-paced narrative braids the disparate events into a compelling account that includes powerful armies; leaders civil and military, flawed and splendid; and ordinary people, black and white, struggling to survive in the war's wreckage.

Genres: Civil War, History, American Civil War, Nonfiction, Military History, American History, Military Fiction

407 pages, Hardcover

First published March 24, 2015

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the interest of full disclosure, I started but did not finish this book. Also, I have a PhD in U.S. History and have taught college courses on the Civil War. On the positive side I found the book to be very readable and was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately though, the author provides the same pro-Confederate view of the war that has shaped popular and academic histories of the war almost since Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Wheelan depicts the Confederate soldiers as long-suffering but noble underdogs and the Union soldiers as callous brutes willing to use any means to win the war. The truth of the matter, of course, is that the North's strategy of "total war" was no better or worse than tactics the South would've employed had they had the same means. Furthermore, the aims of the two sides were fundamentally different: the South only had to wear down the North until it chose to accept dissolution of the Union while the North had to destroy the Confederacy's ability to wage war. And while white northerners' grudging support for emancipation was a long, slow process, white southerners unquestionably were fighting to preserve a brutal system of chattel slavery.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this book is a re-hash of several previous works, it was still a great read. The author tells the story of the final weeks of the conflict, with plenty of first hand accounts and a sparkling narrative throughout. He posits that the end result was still in doubt in spring 1865. While I wouldn't say this book is for everyone, it is a great stepping stone in the literature of the war.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-paced, well-researched history of the final campaigns of the Civil War. Wheelan emphasizes that, while these campaigns would be the last of the war, they still saw much of the war’s hardest fighting.

With Grant in command and with the likes of Sherman and Sheridan immediately under him, the Union was now committed to total war, and “hatred was practically all that remained for many former Confederates.” Wheelan’s account of the final campaigns in Virginia is vivid, and he also covers the lesser known theaters throughout the south, such as Texas.

Wheelan does a great job describing in what poor shape the Confederacy’s forces were at this point, and he vividly describes how food shortages made them more and more desperate. By this point, Confederate rations were typically about one-sixth of the union equivalent, and almost nine-tenths of its officers had been wounded, captured, or killed.

Wheelan’s style is engaging but the narrative is a little uneven, with the prose usually never bogging down until one gets to the battles, which are quite detailed and feel like a different author wrote them. The narrative is also heavy on anecdotes, and the experience of blacks during this time seems lacking. The epilogue is meandering and drags quite a bit, and has some debatable statements about the superiority of the Confederates’ leadership, and seems to conclude that the North won only due to superior manpower. There are also a few minor errors like mixing up Cemetery Ridge with Cemetery Hill, and an incorrect date for the Grand Review.

Still, a readable, powerful and absorbing volume.

[victor harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very readable, enjoyable history of the final days of the Civil War. As with other accounts, it speaks well of the main players such as Lee and Grant. Although many of the Confederate leaders and generals recognized that the war was lost in the waning months and the desertion rate was zooming, the stubbornness of Confederate President Jefferson Davis needlessly prolonged the conflict at the cost of many more casualties. Sadly, Davis had enough people that deferred to him or concurred with him, leading to a much messier post-war climate than perhaps was necessary.
Excellent pace to the reading, good command of the mix of military and diplomatic operations. Recommended for both those with a casual interest in the topic and Civil War enthusiasts.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book dealt only with the Civil War from January to May, 1865. It detailed the battles as the North got stronger and the South got weaker. Much of this was familiar except for how close the Southern army came to being completely destroyed before surrendering. I also learned that battles on land and sea went on for some time after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Sadly, the end of the war planted the seeds for Jim Crow and the Lost Cause mentality which still exists in the South today - more than 150 years after the Civil War ended.

[Bill S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable book with one small blip: in the chapter detailing the Lincoln assassination the author writes of Booth leaping from the president's box and getting his spur caught in the bunting decorating the box. Landing awkwardly Booth injures his leg possibly breaking his ankle. A few sentences later the author writes of Booth making his escape by "running from the stage". Quite a trick with a bad leg!

[David Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and great information I was unaware of. Enjoyable.

[Chaim Shapiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good overview of the last few months of the Civil War.

It is simplistic at points. Civil War buffs can also disagree with some of the assumptions he makes.

[Kevin]

to-read

[William Stroock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A splendid chronicle of the war's, the CSA's and Lincoln's final days. Wheelan writes and excellent follow up to his Bloody Spring, chronicling great battles of 1864. Assessable and easy to read.

[Sarah D Bunting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing new if you’ve read Swanson/watched the Ken Burns, but a good blend of primary sources and current prose/comment. Solid narrator as well.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joseph Whelan's "Their Last Full Measure" is the follow-on to his book "Bloody Spring". It describes the final Eastern Theater Civil War campaigns.

In "Their Last Full Measure" the end of the war is within sight and not in doubt. Thus the story does not have the power of Bloody Spring where one watches the Union Armies under Grant slowly and bloodily dismember the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in a long bitterly fought and bloody campaign of 1864.

However, reading of the final defeat of the Army of Northern Virginia and collapse of the Confederacy is somewhat like watching a train wreck happen. One cannot look away. Whelan does a marvelous job of showing the reader what happens and why.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Military and/or American history.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A time capsule of life for a Midwestern teenager in 1950. Cal Grant is high school senior, worried about sports and girls. He is dismayed that his father, a St. Paul streetcar conductor, won't come to see him play football even once. But, then he meets Gretchen, an outcast loner, and enters on a path that changes his destiny. Although I had to "warm up" to the book and characters, I was drawn into the spell woven by the language of the book. A great read.

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a bit disappointed in how short this was, but it wasn't a terrible book by any means. As a person who has a great interest in the American Civil War, I didn't really learn very much from this book and I don't believe there was a new perspective presented. It serves as a fine general history of the last roughly 100 days of the American Civil War. Good for someone who has a passing interest, but if you are a student of the Civil War, you will won't learn much from this account.

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers the year 1865, concentrating almost entirely on the East Coast and barely mentioning the fighting in the Western and Trans-Mississippi Theaters, such as Wilson's Raid and the Mobile Campaign. A large part is focused on the Virginia operations (for example, one hundred out of the 140 pages in the April chapter covered the Appomattox Campaign, while the Battle of Bentonville had less than ten pages).

[David Barney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. The details of the last months of the Civil War were great. Many details were new and added to the conclusion of the Civil War.

[Dave Scrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent narrative civil war history.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Briskly paced, informative.

[Lynn Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was bored! Ken Burns and the Shaara's have Civil Warred me out.