I'm John Batcher, visiting with Professor Richard Carwardine, the new book

is Righteous Strife.

The Battle of the Pultants in the Civil War, the makeup of the war is changing as the battles go on.

There is, in the spring of 64, a resolution by Grant to turn south, not to back off chasing Lee.

That leads to enormous casualties all through the battles called the wilderness,

to the siege of Vicksburg and Richmond.

The battles dominate the story of the Civil War,

but the professor has identified what was happening in between the

battles, the comments, and the resolution of both the north and the south. Exhausted would be the

word, but there had to be an end to this, and they stayed with it even though there was talk

of making peace or talking peace. At one point,

Lincoln, who did not believe the Confederacy was going to relent, did send Horace

Greeley to Nagra Falls to talk to Confederate commissioners for peace. It came to nothing.

It was not going to come to anything. Jefferson Davis and the

Southern Command were not looking to back off in any fashion whatsoever. And Lee was very effective

in the field, even through retreat to Richmond. At the same time, all of this is being watched

by Lincoln and his cabinet and the voters of the North

because they're going to go through the election in November of 64. And in August of 64,

Abraham Lincoln writes a very famous note to himself. He was convinced that he would not win.

Professor, at this point, what we have is a low point for the

Union and the South is hanging on. Were the abolitionists at this point, the radicals,

were they getting ready for defeated the polls? Did they believe it was going to happen as well as Lincoln?

...