History of the United States, Volume 4 by Elisha Benjamin Andrews

(3 User reviews)   2562
By Abil Kile Posted on Nov 15, 2025
In Category - History
Andrews, Elisha Benjamin, 1844-1917 Andrews, Elisha Benjamin, 1844-1917
English
Hey, if you think you know American history, this book will make you think again. I just finished Volume 4 of Elisha Benjamin Andrews's massive series, and it's not your grandpa's history lesson. This chunk covers the wild years from around the Civil War's end into the late 1800s—Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, all of it. Andrews was writing just a few decades after these events, so it feels immediate, like getting the news from someone who was there. The main tension? Watching a nation literally stitch itself back together while simultaneously exploding westward and industrializing at breakneck speed. It's the story of how the country we recognize today was forged in fire, greed, idealism, and conflict. Seriously eye-opening.
Share

Read "History of the United States, Volume 4 by Elisha Benjamin Andrews" Online

This book is available in the public domain. Start reading the digital edition below.

START READING FULL BOOK
Instant Access    Mobile Friendly

Book Preview

A short preview of the book’s content is shown below to give you an idea of its style and themes.

Central Portion of MacMonnies Fountain--Effect of Electric Light. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE EARLIEST DISCOVERY OF AMERICA TO THE PRESENT TIME BY E. BENJAMIN ANDREWS CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA FORMERLY PRESIDENT OF BROWN UNIVERSITY With 650 Illustrations and Maps VOLUME IV. NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1912 COPYRIGHT, 1894 AND 1903, BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS [Illustration: Scribner's logo.] CONTENTS PERIOD IV CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION (Continued) 1860--1868 CHAPTER V. THE STRUGGLE FOR THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY Three Great Lines of Campaign.—Confederate Posts in Kentucky.—Surrender of Fort Henry.—Siege of Fort Donelson.—Capture.—Kentucky Cleared of Armed Confederates.—Pope Captures Island No. 10.—Gunboat Fight.—Memphis Ours.—Battle of Pittsburg—Landing.—Defeat and Victory.—Farragut and Butler to New Orleans.—Battle.—Victory.—The Crescent City Won.—On to Vicksburg.—Iuka.—Corinth.—Grant's Masterly Strategy.—Sherman's Movements.—McClernand's.—Gunboats pass Vicksburg.—Capture of Jackson, Miss.—Battle of Champion's Hill.—Siege of Vicksburg.—Famine within.—The Surrender. CHAPTER VI. THE WAR IN THE CENTRE Bragg Invades Kentucky.—Buell Saves Louisville.—Battle of Perryville.—Of Stone River.—Losses.—Chickamauga.—Thomas the "Rock of Chickamauga."—Grant to the Front.—Bragg's Movements.—Chattanooga.—The "Battle above the Clouds."—Capture of Missionary Ridge.—Bragg's Army Broken Up.—Grant Lieutenant-General.—Plan of Campaign for 1864-65.—Sherman's Army.—Skirmishes.—Kenesaw Mountain.—Johnston at Bay.—Hood in Command.—Assumes the Offensive.—Sherman in Atlanta.—Losses.—Hood to Alabama and Tennessee.—The March to the Sea.—Living on the Country.—Sherman at Savannah.—Hardee Evacuates.—A Christmas Gift.—The Blow to the Confederacy.—Thomas Crushes Hood.—Sherman Marches North.—Charleston Falls.—Columbia.—Johnston Routed at Bentonville.—Sherman Master of the Carolinas.—Johnston Surrenders. CHAPTER VII. THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGNS OF 1862--63 McClellan to Fortress Monroe.—Yorktown.—Williamsburg.—Fair Oaks.—Lee in Command.—McDowell Retained at Fredericksburg.—Lee Assumes the Offensive.—Gaines's Mill.—The Seven Days' Retreat.—Malvern Hill.—Union Army at Harrison's Landing.—Discouragement.—McClellan Leaves the Peninsula.—Pope's Advance on Richmond.—Retreat.—Jackson in his Rear.—Second Battle of Bull Run.—Pope Defeated.—Chantilly.—McClellan again Commander.—Lee in Maryland.—South Mountain.—Antietam.—Lee Escapes.—McClellan Removed and Burnside in Command.—Fredericksburg.—The Battle.—Hooker General-in-Chief.—Chancellorsville.—Flank Movement by Jackson.—Battle of May 3d.—Lee in Pennsylvania.—Convergence to Gettysburg.—First Day's Battle.—Second Day.—Third.—Pickett's Charge.—Failure.—Lee Escapes.—Significance of this Battle. CHAPTER VIII. COLLAPSE OF THE CONFEDERACY Grant Comes East.—Battle of the Wilderness.—Flanking.—Spottsylvania.—The "Bloody Angle."—Butler "Bottled Up" at Bermuda.—Grant at the North Anna.—At Cold Harbor.—Change of Base to the James.—Siege of Petersburg.—The Mine.—Washington in Peril.—Operations in Shenandoah Valley.—"Sheridan's Ride."—Further Work at Petersburg.—Distress at the South.—Lee's Problem.—Battle at Five Forks.—Blue-coats in Petersburg.—Davis and his Government Leave Richmond.—Union Army Enters.—Grant Pursues Lee.—The Surrender.—Assassination of President Lincoln.—Johnston Grounds Arms.—Capture of Jefferson Davis. CHAPTER IX. THE WAR ON THE SEA Classification of Naval Deeds.—Our Navy when the War Began.—Enlargement.—Blockading.—Difficulty and Success.—Alternate Tediousness and Excitement.—Blockade-running Tactics.—Expeditions to Aid the Blockade.—To Port Royal.—To Roanoke Island.—Confederate Navy.—The Merrimac.—Sinks the Cumberland, Burns the Congress.—Monitor and Merrimac.—An Era in Naval Architecture and Warfare.—Operations before Charleston.—The Atlanta.—The Albemarle.—Blown Up by Cushing.—Farragut in Mobile Harbor.—Fort Fisher Taken.—Southern Cruisers upon the High Seas.—Destructive.—The Sumter.—The Alabama.—Her Career.—Fights the Kearsarge.—Sinks. CHAPTER X. FOREIGN RELATIONS. FINANCE. EMANCIPATION. Views of the War Abroad.—England's Hostility.—Causes.—The Trent Affair.—Seward's Reasoning.—Great Britain's Breach of Neutrality.—Louis Napoleon's Hypocrisy.—Invasion of Mexico.—Maximilian.—War Expenditure.—How Met.—Duties.—Internal Revenue.—Loans.—Bonds.—Treasury Notes.—Treasurer's Report, July 1, 1865.—Errors of War Financiering.—Confederate Finances.—High Prices at South.—Problem of the Slave in Union Lines.—"Contraband of War."—Rendition by United States Officers.—Arguments for Emancipation.—Congressional Legislation.—Abolition in District of Columbia.—Negro Soldiers.—Preliminary Proclamation.—Final Effects.—Mr. Lincoln's Difficulties.—Republican Opposition.—Abolitionist.—Democratic.—Copperhead.—Yet he is Re-elected. CHAPTER XI. RECONSTRUCTION Delicacy of the Task.—Reasons.—The Main Constitutional Question.—Different Views.—The Other Questions.—Answer.—Periods of Reconstruction.—During War.—President Lincoln.—Johnson.—His Policy.—Carried Out.—Congress Rips up his Work.—Why.—South's Attitude just after War.—Toward Negroes.—XIVth Amendment.—Rejected by Southern States.—Iron Law of 1867.—Carried through.—Antagonism between President Johnson and Congress.—Attempt to Impeach Johnson.—Fails. PERIOD V THE CEMENTED UNION 1868-1888 CHAPTER I. POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE LAST TWO DECADES Grant's First Election.—His Work During Reconstruction.—Its Difficulty.—Bayonet Rule in the South.—The Force Act.—Danger to State Independence.—"Liberal Republican" Movement.—The Greeley Campaign, 1872.—Grant again Elected.—Fresh Turmoil at the South.—Culminates in Louisiana.—Blood Shed.—The Kellogg Government Sustained in that State.—A Solid South.—The Election of 1876.—In Doubt.—The Returns.—The Electoral Commission of 1877.—Hayes Seated.—The Electoral Count Act, 1886.—Hayes's...

This is a limited preview. Download the book to read the full content.

The Story

This isn't a novel with a single plot, but the story it tells is gripping. Volume 4 picks up with the Union victory and dives straight into the messy, painful, and hopeful era of Reconstruction. Andrews walks you through the political battles in Washington, the struggle to define freedom for four million newly emancipated people, and the violent backlash that followed. Then, the narrative shifts to the nation's explosive growth—the railroads connecting the coasts, the rise of massive industries and the tycoons who controlled them, and the final, often brutal, push to settle the West. It's the biography of a country undergoing a total transformation.

Why You Should Read It

What makes this special is the perspective. Andrews was a contemporary historian. He's not looking back from our century with all our hindsight; he's analyzing events that were still fresh and shaping his own world. You get his take on the corruption of the Grant administration, the rise of Jim Crow laws, and the raw capitalism of the Gilded Age. His writing has a point of view, which makes it far more engaging than a dry textbook. You feel like you're getting the inside scoop from a very smart, slightly opinionated professor.

Final Verdict

Perfect for history buffs who want to go beyond simple timelines and understand the mood and debates of the post-Civil War period. It's also great for anyone curious about the roots of modern America's economic power and social divisions. Fair warning: the language and some viewpoints are of its time (the late 1800s), so read it with that context. But if you want to feel the pulse of a nation rebuilding and redefining itself, this volume is a fascinating and essential piece of the puzzle.



📚 Public Domain Content

You are viewing a work that belongs to the global public domain. You are welcome to share this with anyone.

David Brown
1 year ago

Simply put, the content flows smoothly from one chapter to the next. Highly recommended.

Andrew Wilson
1 year ago

Thanks for the recommendation.

Aiden Torres
1 year ago

Amazing book.

4
4 out of 5 (3 User reviews )

Add a Review

Your Rating *
There are no comments for this eBook.
You must log in to post a comment.
Log in


Related eBooks