Lincoln's Darkest Year: The War in 1862

by William Marvel

Book Overview

A revealing look at Lincoln s actions in 1862and a nation in the midst of war Lincoln s Darkest Year offers a gripping narrative of 1862, a pivotal year in our country s Civil War. Marvel continues... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618858695
• ISBN13: 9780618858699
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Revealing read

A very interesting and easy to read book which brings up several points a lot of authors omit about many of this era's main characters and how they acted as they played their part in the civil war. Questions about people like Grant, McClellan, Sherman, Buel, and others and their actions are addressed, even Lincoln is not overlooked. The book like it;s title implies deals with the year 1862 and the war no one thought would last as long as it did. Many of the main characters of the war were green and untried at this time and as the war began to effect them and the nation in which they served it is interesting to see how the author reveals how they handled themselves at this phase of the war. I reccomend this book as well as it's two companion books as a good source of information about the civil war period in this nation's growth and the players involved. q

The Story Continues

Marvel continues his original take on the Civil War. Like the preceding volume in Marvel's projected 4-volume history of the war (Mr. Lincoln Goes to War), this is a thought-provoking and entertaining book, in this case carrying the tale through 1862. If you want the same-old story, then don't read this book. But if you want to approach familiar events from a fresh perspective, I highly recommend Marvel's latest effort.

Marvel's Civil War Perspective

If nothing else William Marvel is always entertaining. As with most of his works the facts have a way of getting bent to the thrust of Marvel's point whether they are accurate or not. This is a tale of political mayhem coping with crisis. A young and imperfect American System trying to win a critical war in spite of itself. Marvel seems to glory in forcing the reader to see the soft underbelly of patriotism and national pride to see the bloody mess that lubricates the road to victory. The national army is depicted as led by amateurs and manned by the forsaken of society. As important as winning may be partisan politics, spoilage and ideological differences hamstring the war effort. Now, there is in fact a lot of truth to this. I don't mind that William Marvel lays all of this out for us to ponder. But he's doing so in a journalistic fashion that loses the reader in the trees without any hope of ever seeing the forest. Case in point. Marvel spends an unusual amount of time talking about manpower mobilization for the war effort, and how poorly it was coordinated. The average reader doesn't know the long painful history of the issue, and the fractional policy that inhibited control over the process. By law, the federal government could ask for units, but there was no replacement system to man those units. By August of 1861 this problem was broached by the War Department. The situation was a driving force for national conscription policy which was badly begun in 1863. I think Marvel miscasts the problem for the sake of drama. While there is a great deal of political strife over the conduct of the war and its political goals, the body of legislation produced by the Congress constantly moves towards correcting laws that inhibit prosecution of the war. Moderates and radicals counterplot to try and influence the shaping of things. Military failure fuels radical solutions. But all agree on the cause of preserving a sovereign Union as a fundamental objective. I love William Marvel. I've bought all his books. But over the years I've come to see him as a maverick who'll offer a wild ride that can't be relied on as a primary interpreter. Great reading. Handle with care.

Challenging and thought provoking!

1862 is one of the most interesting years in American history and a critical year in the Civil War. In that year, the war changes from a great adventure that will end soon to a bloody war with no end in sight. In that year, the war's objective changes from restoring the union of states to a fundamental change in society. Americans, North and South, undergo a series of radical changes in response to current events and to long-term differences. William Marvel brings this complex and difficult year to life. He gives us a not always comfortable look at how Lincoln changes the war's direction and how the North reacted to that change. The South is not a major player in this book. Their commitment to victory and willingness to sacrifice came earlier than the North. They are cast in a reactionary role throughout the book. This does not detract from the story. The principle players are Lincoln, the Abolitionists, the Democrats and the people. This is not a comfortable read. Lincoln is not at his best. He is learning the duties of President and Commander in Chief. While his determination to reunite the nation is unshakable, how reunification will take place is questionable. Surrounded by pressure groups, Lincoln is pulled in many directions. The Radical Republicans, in control of Congress, have determined to purge the army of "enemies". Men having the proper values and view of America's future will replace those purged. The Democrats are split between supporting the war and doubting that winning is possible or desirable. The Radicals and Abolitionists wish to end slavery. The War Democrats wish to reunite the nation and the Peace Democrats want the war to end. The major portion of the book is devoted to the politics of this battle. The critical off-year elections and the administrations reactions to public comment is the main story. Debate and dissent become crimes. The Radicals and the Administration assume more power and compel the states to support the war. This is not a standard Civil War history of 1862. It is a very complex political story of a government doing what is required to win. Military history is not ignored. While not the major story, battlefield event drive much of the politics. Shiloh is the first major bloodletting of the war. We forget this with all the big battles yet to be fought. For the people, Shiloh is a shock. No battle had ever come close to the number of casualties incurred. The Seven Days, Second Bull Run and Antietam in the coming months empty the armies. Requirement and conscription create another political crisis. Military and political intermix forming one seamless story. I said this is not a comfortable read, 1862 is a very hard year. A multitude of bad decisions, missed opportunities and miscalculations, result in causalities and may have prolonged the war. Lincoln makes a number of very bad military decisions during this time. Stanton and Halleck bear some of the responsibility but