In Midnight on the Potomac: The Last Year of the Civil War, the Lincoln Assassination, and the Rebirth of America, author Scott Ellsworth provides a dramatic retelling of the events of 1864 and early 1865. With page-turning narrative energy, Ellsworth brings the final stretch of the Civil War to life. This period includes the rise of Ulysses S. Grant’s fame as head of the Union army, Sherman’s march through Georgia, and the eventual assasination of Abraham Lincoln.
This period of time was arguably one of the most pivotal in our country’s history. The Civil War was wearing down morale in the North and mounting casualties made Lincoln’s reelection odds in 1864 seem slim. However, Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September 1864 provided a turning point that, combined with strong support among voting Union soldiers, helped Lincoln win a hard-fought election that Fall.
In addition to major leaders and headliners of the time, the author includes overlooked voices such as runaway slaves, a female war correspondent named Lois Adams, and other lesser-known participants who provide added context and insight to the events of this timeframe. Ellsworth also provides added insight into the shifting methods of how war was conducted by the South, changing from mostly conventional field battle into more rogue and guerrilla tactics in an attempt to prolong the war. Those rogue tactics gradually wrap in a headlining actor of the day, who becomes a part of the plot to take down Lincoln.
Midnight on the Potomac is a very solid and exciting historical book that highlights the relatively precarious state of the Union effort in 1864 and how a few key events changed the course of the war and American history. It’s a captivating read that will keep you glued to its pages.
MY RATING: 4.5
