The Civil War's final year altered the nation at every step, even as it changed the conduct of warfare forever. Making a fresh appraisal of our defining conflict, the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Empire of the Summer Moon suggests that William Tecumseh Sherman was a poor general but the most visionary leader of the war, while Ulysses Grant's greatest achievement occurred after the fighting stopped. Along with an inspiring look at how Black soldiers adapted to being soldiers in the Union Army, S.C. Gwynne also offers fresh profiles of Clara Barton, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Ben Butler, and John Singleton Mosby.

"Deeply researched and yet written like the best kind of fiction…. Gwynne has to be one of the very best writers working today."—Sebastian Junger