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Hymns of the Republic : the story of the final year of the American Civil War / S. C. Gwynne.

by Gwynne, S. C. (Samuel C.), 1953- author.

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New York : Scribner, 2019.

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.

9781501116223 (hardcover) :

xii, 395 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm

First Scribner hardcover edition.

The end begins -- With malice toward all -- The armies of spring -- A wilderness of pain -- Shovels and other weapons of war -- One additional horror -- A battlefield angel -- A circus of ineptitude -- The persuasive logic of gunpowder -- An elaborate slaughter -- The man who lost everything -- The mind of Ulysses S. Grant -- The war against Lincoln -- Politics of the not-quite-real -- Valley of fire -- Backroads to fame -- The moralist from hell -- Uncle Billy's book of moments -- Death ahead of them, death behind them -- Richmond is burning -- This bitter glory -- The unbearable weight of history -- Hell itself.

"The fourth and final year of the Civil War offers one of that era's most compelling narratives, defining the nation and one of history's great turning points. Now, S.C. Gwynne's Hymns of the Republic addresses the time Ulysses S. Grant arrives to take command of all Union armies in March 1864 to the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox a year later. Gwynne breathes new life into the epic battle between Lee and Grant; the advent of 180,000 black soldiers in the Union army; William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea; the rise of Clara Barton; the election of 1864 (which Lincoln nearly lost); the wild and violent guerrilla war in Missouri; and the dramatic final events of the war, including the surrender at Appomattox and the murder of Abraham Lincoln. Hymns of the Republic offers angles and insights on the war that will surprise many readers. Robert E. Lee, known as a great general and southern hero, is presented here as a man dealing with frustration, failure, and loss. Ulysses S. Grant is known for his prowess as a field commander, but in the final year of the war he largely fails at that. His most amazing accomplishments actually began the moment he stopped fighting. William Tecumseh Sherman, Gwynne argues, was a lousy general, but probably the single most brilliant man in the war. We also meet a different Clara Barton, one of the greatest and most compelling characters, who redefined the idea of medical care in wartime. And proper attention is paid to the role played by large numbers of black union soldiers--most of them former slaves. They changed the war and forced the South to come up with a plan to use its own black soldiers. Popular history at its best, from Pulitzer Prize finalist S.C. Gwynne, Hymns of the Republic reveals the creation that arose from destruction in this thrilling read." -- Publisher's description

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