Description
Product Description
A brilliantly conceived and vividly drawn story―Washington, D.C. on the eve of Abraham Lincoln’s historic second inaugural address as the lens through which to understand all the complexities of the Civil War
By March 4, 1865, the Civil War had slaughtered more than 700,000 Americans and left intractable wounds on the nation. After a morning of rain-drenched fury, tens of thousands crowded Washington’s Capitol grounds that day to see Abraham Lincoln take the oath for a second term. As the sun emerged, Lincoln rose to give perhaps the greatest inaugural address in American history, stunning the nation by arguing, in a brief 701 words, that both sides had been wrong, and that the war’s unimaginable horrors―every drop of blood spilled―might well have been God’s just verdict on the national sin of slavery.
Edward Achorn reveals the nation’s capital on that momentous day―with its mud, sewage, and saloons, its prostitutes, spies, reporters, social-climbing spouses and power-hungry politicians―as a microcosm of all the opposing forces that had driven the country apart. A host of characters, unknown and famous, had converged on Washington―from grievously wounded Union colonel Selden Connor in a Washington hospital and the embarrassingly drunk new vice president, Andrew Johnson, to poet-journalist Walt Whitman; from soldiers’ advocate Clara Barton and African American leader and Lincoln critic-turned-admirer Frederick Douglass (who called the speech “a sacred effort”) to conflicted actor John Wilkes Booth―all swirling around the complex figure of Lincoln.
In indelible scenes, Achorn vividly captures the frenzy in the nation’s capital at this crucial moment in America’s history and the tension-filled hope and despair afflicting the country as a whole, soon to be heightened by Lincoln's assassination. His story offers new understanding of our great national crisis and echoes down the decades to resonate in our own time.
Review
Praise for Every Drop of Blood:
An Amazon Best Book of the Month (History)
“Richly detailed . . . In elegant, episodic detail, Mr. Achorn captures both the immediate experiences of those who attended the inaugural and the recent memories that colored everything they saw and felt, heard and said.”―Adam Rowe, Wall Street Journal
“A lively guided tour of Washington during the 24 hours or so around Lincoln’s swearing-in . . . Achorn has a journalist’s gift for finding just the right quotation. He deftly fishes memorable descriptions―often less-than-flatting ones―out of 19th-century newspapers and diaries, especially as he introduces the most distinguished residents of the nation’s capital.”―Adam Goodheart, Washington Post
“A fascinating account of an address which entered the national consciousness . . . Achorn has done Lincoln justice, distilling the essence of the speech in a reflection Lincoln would have understood.”―John S. Gardner, Guardian
“An exemplary account of this critical moment in Lincoln’s presidency . . . [Achorn’s] book captures not only the true essence of this dramatic and traumatic time period in American history, but also the metamorphosis of a presidential inauguration that should be read and cherished by all Americans . . . Achorn’s innate ability to weave memorable stories and personalities together in Every Drop of Blood creates an intimate tale for readers. More impressively, it leads to a new chapter in this great president’s life that will stand the test of time.”―Washington Times
“A masterful narrative of the day, weaving together a cast of characters and events in a compelling work that reads like hands-on reportage from a writer who was on the scene. Achorn magnifies his writing with fresh research, including personal recollections by eyewitnesses and newspaper accounts of the day . . . Achorn’s work is as epic as the topic deserves. His research is remarkable, telling the wider story through minute details and moments of deep meaning . . . A welcome addition