This review first appeared on my blog: http://jewelknits.blogspot.com/2010/1...

All of us know at least a skeleton of the story of Abraham Lincoln, but how many of us know the story of Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president?

This book tells you more about both men and their lives starting from right before the Union's capture of Richmond, VA (the Confederate capital), through Jefferson Davis' capture in the forest, to Davis' death at a ripe old age.

Meticulously researched, this history of the two men, while not novelized, certainly is more than a dry recitation of fact. I found many tidbits in here fascinating. Did you know that Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis bore a remarkable physical similarity to each other? Did you also know that both Davis and Lincoln lost two young sons each - once before their respective Presidencies and once during their Presidencies?

Prior to Lincoln's assassination, and right after the capture of Richmond, from which Davis had to flee, Lincoln was heard to say that he wanted Davis to escape "unbeknown" to him.

With full details of the evacuation (many were unable to evacuate, including the invalid wife of Robert E. Lee, the Confederate General) and capture of Richmond gave this reader a previously unknown insight into the psychology of both the Confederacy AND the Union during these heated times. This part of the narrative is interspersed with transcripts of correspondence from and to Lincoln, Davis, Robert E. Lee, and others.

Did you know that Richmond was actually burned by it's own citizens in their attempt to burn supplies to keep them out of the Union's hands?

Some more comparisons between Lincoln and Davis:

Lincoln was poorly raised, barely literate (he was taught to read by his stepmother), and had a father who cared naught for education, but only for the labor that his burdensome children could provide for him.

Davis was a well-bred, highly educated, and well-loved statesman prior to being forced to step down due to his state's desire to secede from the Union.

I found this book fascinating as well as informative, giving me insight into Lincoln's life that I hadn't had before, and information on Davis that I was caught by surprise with. We all know history is never kind to the loser, but in this book, the greatness of both of these men is illustrated without bias.

I really liked it, and would definitely recommend it for any reader who is curious to know more about this era, where it's unusual to find information about "the other side".

QUOTES:

Southern reaction to the capture of Richmond:

"I looked over at the President's house, and saw the porch crowded with Union soldiers and politicians, the street in front filled with curious gaping Negroes who have appeared in swarms like seventeen year locusts." The sight of ex-slaves roving freely abut disgusted here. "A young woman has just passed waring a costume composed of United States flags. The streets fairly swarm with blue uniforms and negroes decked in the spoils of jewelry shops . . . It is no longer our Richmond . . . one of the girls tells me she finds great comfort in singing 'Dixie' with her head buried in a feather pillow."

Northern reaction to the capture of Richmond:

The news spread through the capital, reported the Star, by word of mouth: "The first announcement of the fact made by Secretary of War Stanton in the War Department building caused a general stampede of the employees of that establishment into the street, where their pent-up enthusiasm had a chance for vent in cheers that would assuredly have lifted off the roof from that building had they been delivered with such vim inside . . . The news caught up and spread by a thousand mouths caused almost a general suspension of business, and the various newspaper offices especially were besieged with excited crowds."


Lincoln's experiences had mad him resigned and forgiving, not callous and bitter. He rarely held a grudge. He was a skeptic who believed that, with the possible exceptions of his heroes George Washington and Henry Clay, there were no perfect men ..... Lincoln employed and trusted men despite their high opinions of themselves.

Reagan had seen Davis's scrupulous principles in action two years earlier in 1863, when an officer brought word to Davis that his beloved plantation, Brierfield, situation on the Mississippi River near Vicksburg, would fall into the hands of Grant's forces within a few days. Losing Brierfield would be a financial catastrophe. ... Although he hated to lose his valuables, he bristled at the suggestion (that Confederate forces be used to rescue his slaves and move his possessions). "The President of the Confederacy cannot employ men to take care of his property."

(I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher to facilitate my review)