Every Drop of Blood The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln

Edward Achorn

eBook - 2020

This vividly rendered Civil War history presents "a lively guided tour of Washington during the 24 hours or so around Lincoln's swearing-in" (Adam Goodheart, Washington Post).By March 4, 1865, the Civil War had left intractable wounds on the nation. Tens of thousands crowded Washington's Capitol grounds that day to see Abraham Lincoln take the oath for a second term—and witness what was perhaps the greatest inaugural address in American history. Lincoln stunned the nation by arguing that both sides had been wrong, and that the war's unimaginable horrors might have been God's just verdict on the national sin of slavery.In Every Drop of Blood, Edward Achorn reveals the nation's capital on that momentous da...y—with its mud, sewage, and saloons, its prostitutes, spies, reporters, social-climbing spouses and power-hungry politicians. Swirling around the complex figure of Lincoln, a host of characters are brought to life, from grievously wounded Union... more