Cry Havoc!: The Crooked Road to Civil War, 1861

by Nelson D. Lankford

A "compact, engrossing narrative"* that vividly reimagines the events that led to the outbreak of the Civil War

What separates historian Nelson D. Lankford's engaging examination of the causes of the Civil War from other books on the subject is its willingness to consider the alternative possibilities to history. Cry Havoc! recounts in riveting detail the small quirks of timing, character, and place that influenced the huge trajectory of events during eight critical weeks from Lincoln's inauguration through the explosion at Fort Sumter and the embattled president's response to it. It addresses the what-ifs, the might-have-beens, and the individual personalities that played into circumstances-a chain of indecisions and miscalculations, influenced by swollen vanity and wishful thinking-that gave shape to the dreadful conflict to come.

Genres: History, Civil War, Nonfiction, American Civil War, 19th Century

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Ben Denison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book.

A lot of information I’d never heard before from the months just before and after Secession occurred. It focused mainly on the border states , Maryland / Virginia, but also others.

What if found fascinating was the fact the leanings of each community was often divided and/or the decision which side really centered on friends, and local leadership and community.

Easy today to say, “country before state, how could these Southerners not side with Washington?”. But back then, with poor communications, very little real travel or exposure to other places and/or ideas, meant these folks only knew the people around them and sided with their local community and if some outside force was going to come exert force over them, they were going to fight back.

Interesting recounting of Baltimore which seemed to lean more South, but was a critical entryway to DC from the north and navigating those political issues and logistical issues was dicey. Also a lot about the ports and US Navy and the sinking of ships to avoid losing to the opposition. And/or divided loyalties of the railroads, shipyards, mail, leadership structures, business’s … just incredibly interesting the quandary they all found themselves in taking sides. Wrong side in the area you reside? You might as well move and lose all. Or totally keep your mouth shut.

Incredible times. Thank the Lord right won out, even if it was my kinfolk that lost.

Kind of a little dry read, but great info/facts nonetheless.

[Mike Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is unlike any other Civil War history that I've ever read as it deals not with battles, but with the politics of secession and the often-overlooked events that led the North and South to full fledged civil war. With this micro-history approach, Lankford has composed an intricate, wonderfully written, day-by-day and sometimes hour-by-hour account of the crooked road to Civil War.

[Gerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book because it covered in better-than-usual detail the steps leading to the Late Unpleasantness once South Carolina seceeded. Most of the action seemed to center on Virginia as Unionists vainly tried to keep the Old Dominion in the Union. I also appreciated the details of what happened in Baltimore as Union troops tried to pass through. Interesting, too, was the similiarities between two diverse people: John Brown and Henry Wise (whose paths--sort of--cross in the epilogue, but save that for the end. There are some good character descriptions of many of the major players in this story, who don't receive much coverage in writings more interested in the military campaigns. Another good telling is in Bruce Catton's The Coming Fury.

[Katherine Addison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the first half of 1861. Lankford is interested in how the Civil War came to happen, and particularly interested in dismantling the idea that it was inevitable, or that it had to happen the way it did. It DIDN'T have to happen the way it did, and he digs into the decisions made by individuals (Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, of course, but also the mayor of Baltimore, the commander of the Gosport Navy Yard, William Seward and Gideon Welles, random telegraphers, captains of regiments of volunteers...) to think about other choices they could have made. As with the other book of Lankford's I've read, Richmond Burning: The Last Days of the Confederate Capital, he draws on a wide variety of sources and considers everything carefully and critically. And he does a good job of conveying how far from consensus reality the North and South had drifted (his prologue is Harper's Ferry 1859 and the widely differing interpretations of John Brown) and how different a single event, like Lincoln's call for volunteers after Fort Sumter, could look depending on where you were standing.

Four and a half stars, round up to five.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A minutely detailed reconstruction of events from Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, 1861 to late April 1861, with the intention of proving that there were many opportunities to put off the Civil War. It focuses on the "Mid-South", i.e. the border states. The detail was interesting and enlightening, but I did not find the argument persuasive.

[Rhonda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I somehow, painfully, managed to read 32% of this horrible book. Just a bunch of "if" this, then "that's"! Poorly written, in my opinion, and nothing more than the authors opinions of what "might" have happened.

[Penelope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous, well done, and informative.

[Porter Broyles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge history buff and particularly enjoy the period leading up to the Civil War. How did we end up in a war? Why? Could it have been averted?

I grabbed this book with vigor and excitement. But finished it fairly disappointed. The book left me wanting more. The writing was OK and the argument was meh.

If you are looking for a good book on the causes of the Civil War, then I highly recommend Disunion!: The Coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859 by Elizabeth Varon.

[Warren Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of detailed information concerning the lead- up to the Civil War and the reasons why some of the States went the way they did as far as North or South in their alegensence. Not to be read again except for reference or research.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book most illuminating on the quandry that "the border states" contended with in 1861, as Lincoln prepared to assume the US presidency.

As a "foreigner" I've read reasonably widely on the American Civil War itself, but had not (until this book) examined in any depth the competing political and personal loyalties that confronted the people of those states adjoining (the eventual) North. Until now, I had a notion that all Confederate states seceded reasonably simultaneously. "Cry Havoc" has corrected my misunderstanding, particularly in relation to Maryland's and Virginia's consternations.

Lankford has presented a very credible and creditable analysis of those trying early months of 1861. He has presented a comprehensible analysis of what happened, and what might have happened differently if the principal political players had done or said some things differently.

I recommend the book to those seeking more understanding of events leading up to the first shots of the war, and the subsequent four years of unprecedented violence.

[Chris Rippel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many history books speed through southern secession and Lincoln's call for volunteers to get to the supposedly more exciting attack on Fort Sumter and the early battles. This is the first book providing enough detail of the thoughts and mood and process of southern succession that, for the first time, I feel I understand the true role of the firing on Fort Sumter and Lincoln's call for volunteers in starting the Civil War. And why Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland did not succeed from the union. This level of detail could easily have lead to a boring book, but I think Lankford found a good balance between the amount of necessary detail and keeping the story moving forward.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A marvelous book that chronicles the tumultuous period between Lincoln's inauguration up to the end of May 1861. Lankford does a fine job of demonstrating how little events could have changed the course of the Civil War during those weeks, events largely forgotten now but extremely important at the time. He also gives a detailed account of events in Baltimore during April 1861, which included the infamous Pratt Street Riot. An excellent book.

[Acid Braden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really interesting book. While it looks at a very narrow period of the war, or rather right up to it, it does not lack for depth or interest. Anyone interested in how the war got started, and learning a lot about the time you might not have known, should read this book.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at the few days when the course of the US could have been changed and those in charge decided to jump off the cliff.