This is the 2nd book in a fascinating series by the most trusted Civil War author in the history of our country. I have been reading books mostly about individual battles and campaigns for the past 20 years. This series has been a great because it ties everything together like the pieces of a giant puzzle. I miss out on some of the details of the battles and the kind of smaller unit details that I enjoy but I am gaining a more complete understanding of the grand strategy and political ramifications of the war.

Book two takes us from the coastal campaigns through the Peninsular Campaign to Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation. First of all, Catton helps the reader to realize how slow the progress of the war was during this time. Ironically, if the two slowpokes, McClellan and Halleck (who shelved Grant after Shilo) would have proceeded full speed ahead the Civil War could have been settled in 1862 and the slavery issue would most likely, not have been resolved. The Union was fairly successful in their blockade with the exception of the area around Cape Fear/Wilmington, NC. Wherever the Union led successful sea born invasions such as New Orleans, trade, vital to the Southern war effort, commenced there. When the President brought this up Halleck reminded the President that we needed canvas for tents to house 300,000 additional recruits. So, in effect, the Federal government bought the cotton to make canvas from the southern merchants who probably used this money to support the war effort.

Progress for the Union was going so slowly that Lincoln devised a plan to actually have the US Government pay for the Emancipation of border state slaves of 400$/each. Why not? The Federal Government was bankrolling the war at the rate of $2MM/day with little to show for it. In 83 days, Lincoln could emancipate the slaves in all the border states, he argued. Meanwhile Union General such as McClellan, Pope, and Banks make Robert E. Lee and Jackson look like Fredrick the Great and Napolean. Finally, the Union fights the Army of Northern Virgina to a drawl at Antietam.
Now, Lincoln finally has something akin to a major victory and can therefore release the Emancipation Proclamation to the public. Seward had advised him to pigeon-hole it until there was a victory, otherwise it would make the Federal government look desperate. Meanwhile, Lincoln is brainstorming potential colonies to send the freedmen.

The reader gets the feeling that McClellan could have launched a coup d'état at any time, up until the moment he was relieved. Thank God he saw this as beneath his dignity or the war might still be going on today.

The war became bloodier and bloodier with each battle, making First Bull Run look like a picnic in comparison. Finally, Lincoln's proclamation changed the character of the war. The war had evolved. It was no longer just a war to save the Union. It had a great cause. A cause that would keep the world powers from being able to recognize the Confederacy over the want of cotton.

On to book three: Never Call Retreat.

The second volume in Bruce Catton's famous and definitive Civil War history, this book covers 1862, focusing on the Federal advances in the West (that were not capitalized on by Henry Halleck), the amazing naval engagements along the southeastern coast and up and down the Mississippi River, and especially McClellan's frustrating to observe Peninsula Campaign. It ends with McClellan finally (belatedly, if you ask me) being relieved of command. McClellan was such an unbelievable ass, it's no wonder a member of Lincoln's cabinet remarked that he should be shot. It is absolutely painful to read about this deluded, egotistical man-child's mishandling of the Army of the Potomac, a feeling I've had with every history of this particular army that I've read. Why he gets away with it for so long is finally explained satisfactorily by Catton, that he was a conservative Democrat who had been able to politicize his army from his staff on down through the troops by their extended, nearly year long encampment around Washington while he was building, equipping, and drilling the Army of the Potomac. It became a huge personality cult of his; and his reluctance to put it into vigorous action was seen by his troops as loving protection of them. Anyway, his delusional grandiosity, his flagrantly insubordinate verbal and written trashing of President Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton, along with his ingrained habit of always insisting that the Confederates he opposed had three times as many men as he did when he always outnumbered them two to one, and his refusal to budge unless he was resupplied and reinforced with more soldiers than the union had available...well, it maded me want to throttle the son of a bitch myself.
But I digress. Although Catton does not go into vivid description of the battles to the degree of other historians like Edwin C. Bearss (Perryville gets barely a mention), he excells at political and sociological analysis that clarifies the circumstances and events involved while lucidly emphasizing the profound importance of the whole Civil War on all of America at the time, and particularly, for the times to come. In this book, with its excellent writing and exciting narrative, we see exactly how a limited war fought for a limited end is transformed into a fullblown war of revolution. That America would go into the future, not back to the past; and that Mr. Lincoln would never give up. As T.J. Barnett, an Interior Department clerk of the time wrote, "from the expiration of the days of grace the character of the war will be changed. It will be one of subjugation determination. The South is to be destroyed & replaced by new proprietors and ideas." This is a far cry from the first year of the war, when the aim was to put down rebellious leaders in southern states and restore the ante-bellum status quo. I have thoroughly enjoyed this Civil War History's first two volumes, both of which are real page turners, since Bruce Catton is not only an excellent historian, but also a wonderfully engaging and evocative writer. And now on to volume three.

Definitely have read this before but completely forgot about it.

It is remarkable to note that Bruce Catton wrote several parallel histories of the American Civil War.  Growing up as a kid I was most familiar with his one volume illustrated histories, of which there was a smaller volume and a larger one, full of gorgeous artwork and maps.  Having never been familiar with the full range of his work, though, it is intriguing to note that he wrote a centennial three-volume set of the Civil War that is full of text (of which this volume is the middle part, I am reading them out of order), as well as a four-volume set on the Army of the Potomac, and a two-volume set on Grant's career in the Civil War.  In addition to these he has other volumes that deal with individual battles, for example.  Even if the various accounts are broadly unified by Catton's immensely expressive prose and humane interest in the well-being of others, including slaves and freed blacks, it is striking to see just how often Catton returned to the Civil War through different faces of the same prism.  And that is something worth reading if you have a passionate interest in the Civil War, as I do.

This particular book is a massive one at nearly 500 pages of unadorned text, divided into seven chapters and numerous smaller sections that show the war in the Eastern and Western (and only very rarely the Trans-Mississippi) fronts.  The book begins in the period immediately after Bull Run where the North regrouped around Washington DC and built its green recruits into an army and sought to press the War in the west (1).  After that there is a discussion of the logistical work that was required to build a war effort and the initial lack of success the Union faced in 1861 (2).  The third chapter looks at the military paradox and the way that the Confederacy's move into Kentucky pushed that state over to the Union and prepared the way for the Union's moves in both the east and west (3).  The fourth chapter discusses the aftermath of Grant and Thomas' successful attacks in Shiloh and New Orleans (4).  After that Catton discusses the turning point of the war in Lee's taking over the Army of Northern Virginia and McClellan's inability to end the war soon enough to avoid it moving into revolutionary directions (5).  Then Catton talks about the more unlimited means of war, from trading with the enemy on the one hand to preparing to strike against slavery on the other (6).  The book then closes with a discussion of the attacks of Bragg and Lee that ended in stalemate and retreat at Perryville and Antietam (7).

As a narrative historian, Catton does a great job here in pointing out the way that politics and military affairs so often intersected in the Civil War, showing how generals on both sides in all theaters of the war struggled with logistical and political realities while trying to win decisive victories.  Catton is well-equipped to note the paradox that the South's successful beginnings forced such a determined effort on the part of the North to win victory that the victory could not help but be immensely crushing to the political power and culture of the South.  A less lengthy and ferocious war would have had less decisive results, especially as ended up the case with regards to slavery.  And this book, by moving to the period just after Antietam with the publishing of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, points to the time when the Civil War moved into a much darker phase, which had been impossible to prevent because too much blood had been shed to settle for anything less than a more complete and more fundamental victory.  This book is written with a high degree of melancholy but also with a great deal of skill.

Excellent retelling of the middle portion of the war. Not as strong as the third volume but still very impressive.

This is a reread as I read this when I was in high school. The author does so much research that it is amazing. I felt like I was in the middle of the entire Civil War.

Very well written. Highly recommended.

The war, to everyone’s surprise, started to drag and seemed no end. Look backward, General MacClellan has done a very bad job. He is more a selfish politician than a good soldier. It is sad that it took Lincoln so long to dismiss him. History can’t restart.

On the slavery topic, Lincoln is walking on a very thin line to manage it toward his plan. It is a very good maneuver. I read that some other people (criticize for the sake of criticizing the Bad US) said Lincoln initially also didn’t want to free the slavers. But if he did that too early, not only the problem can’t be solved under his government, but also the union can’t win the south.

His choice of the general is a disappointment at the beginning of the war. But his handling of the slavery issue is superb.

4.5

Like the first volume of the Centennial commemorative trilogy by Bruce Catton, this volume two is extensively researched and written in a manor that is easy to comprehend. It covers the period from late 1861 to late 1862. It is detailed politically, militarily and civilly. It opened windows into many aspects of the Civil War that showed more insight of the activities of the war than I can talk about. A great educational experience. Highly recommended.

Bruce once again acts as an exceptional tour guide, beautifully illustrating the complex motives and personalities driving/driven by the war. Terrible Swift Sword has a bit more rambling and repetitive points than it's predecessor. Also, while the ending was rushed, it did act as an effective cliffhanger for volume 3.

Bruce Catton continues to amaze!

Mr. Catton spends most of this volume (the second of a trilogy) bringing to light the events between First Bull Run and Antietam. Again, he focuses less on the minutia of the details of specific battles and spends his time relating how the various events and battles formed the opinions and actions of the players, major and minor.

When focusing on battles, Mr. Catton is very good at showing the big picture so that you know why Forts Donelson and Henry were such significant Union victories and how events in the Western theatre (and his knowledge of McClellan's shortcomings) affected Lee's decision to move into Maryland in 1862.

I repeat... if you haven't read Mr. Catton's works, you've really missed out.