Thank you Little, Brown and Company for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Mr. Book just finished Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents, by Nigel Hamilton.
The book had a lot of good background information on Davis that I don’t remember ever seeing before. That wasn’t really the case with Lincoln, but was fine because I already had a much stronger prior knowledge base—which I assume will be the case with many readers.
Among the highlights of the book was the discussion of a plot by Secretary of State Seward to try to overthrow Lincoln, or at least sideline him while Seward took over power to control the administration. Seward initially refused to fortify Fort Sumpter, but, also an act of treason, was sharing his plans with confederate agents. Then, after Lincoln and the cabinet decided to resupply the fort, Seward attempted to come up with a plan where those efforts would fail, he would then step in and be seen as the hero who saved the day and averted a civil war. Seward even had the audacity to make a suggestion that “he stand down as president, formally or informally, in favor of the secretary of state; it was after all, more of a threat of a coup d’etat than an ultimatum.” The next year, Secretary of the Treasury Chase said he was told that Seward discussed the idea of a Cromwell-like coup in which Lincoln would be overthrown.
Speaking of Sumter, I can’t read the account of Major Anderson’s actions at Sumter without concluding that the man in charge there for the union wasn’t also engaged in treason. Meanwhile, General Beauregard “was equally disbelieving. Why was the U.S. Navy merely watching the battle as observers, not combatants?”
Another very interesting highlight of the book is the southern reaction to Lincoln issuing the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. The confederate congress passed legislation calling for the death penalty for any union soldier who was captured. The law vested the power to enforce it in Davis’s hands. But, he knew how bad the consequences would have been, so he never did enforce it.
One of the great things about history books is the little tidbits of great factual tidbits that are found within them. One example from the book is I never knew that the media had erroneously reported Jefferson Davis’s death in early September 1861.
This was an excellent look at how Lincoln and Davis operated during their respective presidencies in the period leading up to the Emancipation Proclamation. The author has left open the possibility of a second volume, covering the remaining portion of the war and the aftermath. I am hoping that will be the case. After all, he did write three volumes on FDR as commander in chief (each one that I gave an A to) and two volumes on Bill Clinton.
Based on the combination of how enjoyable this book was to read, as well as how much I learned from it, it definitely deserves an A+, which results in its induction into the Hall of Fame. I will also be purchasing the audiobook when it comes out, along with the book and ebook versions on November 5. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A+ equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews
Mr. Book originally finished reading this on June 27, 2024.
