“Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year” - A Review

1862 was a year of tumultuous events for America - the turmoil of war amidst the grim outlook clouding Congressional plans and the dream of a president for long-term efforts with far-reaching postwar consequences. These plans included the strengthening of a national Army and Navy, the funding and building of a transcontinental railroad, the adoption of monetary and fiscal policies, the institution of a military draft and the authorization of African-American enlistment in this new fighting force. All amidst the darkening discordance of a savage Civil War gone awry for the Union forces; a war yet to end...a war needed to be won for the sake of the nation's future. 1862 dealt Lincoln's Union Army one blow after another with unprecedented slaughter on the now-hallowed battlegrounds of places like Shiloh, Fredericksburg and Antietam, with little to show for any of it besides death and destruction teetering on Union failure. 

”Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America's Most Perilous Year” is historian David Von Drehle's deftly outstanding account of the tragic and solemn 12 months Abraham Lincoln endured in 1862 — a man confronting the worst tragedy this nation had ever seen and learning to endure horrific adversity with the loss of one son and the near-loss of a second. The leader of a nation learning to master the art of war so he could advance his Union to ultimate victory amidst Congressional insurrection, an unruly Cabinet of former political foes hell-bent against following Lincoln's inexperienced lead, weak military leadership in the likes of self-serving Major-General George McClellan, and the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation. All of which went into effect following the devastation of the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland in September.

By the end of 1862, nearly two-and-a-half years of violent bloodshed was to continue for Lincoln and the Army of the Potomac, with grand battles both won and lost. But the events of that year ultimately saw the beginnings of military and political means coming together to not only win the war, but also bring the dream of America that once thrived during the pre-war years to fruition. Von Drehle's book most effectively accounts one of the most important years in our young nation's history — a nation that nearly had no future. 

The story of 1862 is one every American should know and draw inspiration from.