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

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

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By Abil Kile Posted on Nov 15, 2025

In Category - Romance

Authors: Andrews, Elisha Benjamin, 1844-1917 Published By : Andrews, Elisha Benjamin, 1844-1917

Book Language: English

Ever wonder what it was really like to watch a nation tear itself apart and then try to stitch itself back together? That's the raw, unflinching journey you get in this volume of Andrews' history. Forget the dry dates and treaties—this is about the human drama of the Civil War and Reconstruction. You'll meet the generals and politicians, sure, but you'll also feel the desperation of soldiers, the hope of the newly freed, and the bitter resistance that followed. It's not just a history lesson; it's the story of how America's greatest crisis shaped everything that came after. If you think you know this period, this book will make you see it with fresh eyes.

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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...

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So, you pick up a book with a title like 'History of the United States, Volume 4.' Sounds like a snooze, right? But Elisha Benjamin Andrews, writing just a few decades after the events, doesn't give you a boring list of facts. He gives you the story of a country at war with itself.

The Story

This volume covers the Civil War and Reconstruction. Andrews starts with the deep tensions that led to secession and follows the brutal conflict from Bull Run to Appomattox. He doesn't stop when the guns fall silent, though. The real heart of the book might be its detailed look at Reconstruction—the ambitious, messy, and ultimately thwarted effort to rebuild the South and secure rights for freed slaves. You see the political fights in Washington, the rise of groups like the Ku Klux Klan, and the economic struggles that defined the era.

Why You Should Read It

What makes this special is the perspective. Andrews was a Northerner and a Union veteran, so his view has a clear point of view. Reading him is like listening to a smart, passionate, and sometimes opinionated great-grandfather tell you what it was really like. He makes you feel the weight of decisions and the human cost of policy. It's history with a pulse, written before our modern interpretations smoothed out all the rough edges.

Final Verdict

This isn't a breezy beach read. It's for the person who wants to go beyond a Wikipedia summary and sit with the complexity of America's most defining era. Perfect for history buffs, Civil War enthusiasts, or anyone curious about how the promises and failures of the 1860s still echo today. Just be ready for some old-fashioned language and a perspective that's very much of its time.

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