The War For The Union: War Becomes Revolution, 1862-1863

The War for the Union

by Allan Nevins

"WE SHALL," said Abraham Lincoln, "nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth." This was in December, 1862 when he was pleading for compensated emancipation of the slaves, an ideal that was close to his heart. But he might have been speaking of each and every one of the momentous events of the second year of the Civil War. At the time of first publication The Saturday Review hailed Nevins "splendid book" as "an undeniable masterwork."

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

537 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Allan Nevins was an American historian and journalist, renowned for his extensive work on the history of the Civil War and his biographies of such figures as President Grover Cleveland, Hamilton Fish, Henry Ford, and John D. Rockefeller.

Reviews

[Brian Miracle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continues Nevins account of the Civil War, covering the time from January, 1862 to just prior to the Battle of Gettysburg in June, 1863. Covers the military campaigns (McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville in the East, and the Shiloh Campaign and the Vicksburg Campaign in the West), as well as the diplomatic aspects of the war and the vast mobilization of the war effort.

[James Bechtel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

BW

[Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

By this sixth volume of the "Ordeal of the Union" series, Allan Nevins has brought us to the heart of the Civil War. This book covers many big battles, including Fort Donelson and Shiloh in the west, and the Peninsula Campaign, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville in the east. This was all familiar territory, and for me other writers have explored the nature of these campaigns in more depth. But Nevins delves into some areas that I've never seen elsewhere. He is great on the economic situation of both North and South, and their diplomatic relations with Britain and France. He lays out the problems with the Union's system of recruiting reinforcements after the initial excitement of war had passed. And most importantly, he builds up the context of the Emancipation Proclamation much better than anyone I've ever read.

Even though I think it is very well written and informative, I would rate this volume as one of the weakest in the series so far. But it's like Beatles albums: even the worst ones are better than almost anything else out there.

[Larry E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good analysis of events during this time.