Red Dawn on the Potomac: An Illustrated History of the Civil War

In 1858 William Seward, soon to be Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln, foresaw what he described as an irrepressible conflict. The events of the decade leading up to the outbreak of war justified that gloomy assessment. Sectional interests pitted one side against the other, but above all the area of contention was the newly opening West. Would the new states joining the Union be slave states or free?

The election of Lincoln, the Republican candidate, ensured secession. But when the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, no one could have imagined the horrendous price that the war would exact. Four years later vast stretches of the southern United States lay in ruins, and as many as 750,000 soldiers and countless civilians had been killed.

Marcus Junkelmann, an internationally renowned military historian, shares his enduring fascination with this upheaval in American history. To provide context and depth to his analysis he has provided the reader with over 200 photographs, paintings, drawings and illustrations, all derived from the period; many will be unfamiliar to even the most seasoned Civil War enthusiast, but all cast a unique light on the unfolding events.

Junkelmann excels at describing the tide of war and its lasting effects. Of especial interest is his evenhanded treatment of the causes of the war: the moral dimension of the African-American captivity and the economic interests that clothed themselves in fine-sounding ideals. The serious student of the Civil War will find the author willing to take on much conventional wisdom in the service of provoking renewed analysis of important questions. For those just beginning their exploration of this continually engrossing topic, Red Dawn on the Potomac will serve as an excellent point of departure. The chronology and bibliography at the back of the book are particularly helpful.