The Congressman's Civil War

In the historical literature on the Civil War, the President, the generals, and the cabinet secretaries have won the war of words. Of the hundreds of men who served in the House of Representatives during this great struggle, only a handful typically appear in general discussions of the period. Yet without a deeper understanding of the contributions of the members of the Congress to the successful prosecution of the war, we cannot fully appreciate the desperate nature of that war and its significance in the building of the nation. This book explores important aspects of the Civil War from the perspective of Capitol Hill. It is an effort to survey some of the possibilities for understanding the congressmen, their relations with each other, and their interaction with President Lincoln.