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LINCOLNS GREATEST JOURNEY
Sixteen Days that Changed a Presidency March 24 - April 8, 1865
NOAH ANDRE TRUDEAU
March 1865: The United States was at a crossroads and, truth be told, Abraham Lincoln was a sick man. I am very unwell, he confided to a close acquaintance. A vast and terrible civil war was winding down, leaving momentous questions for a war-weary president to address. A timely invitation from General U. S. Grant provided the impetus for an escape to City Point, Virginia, a journey from which Abraham Lincoln drew much more than he ever expected. Lincolns Greatest Journey: Sixteen Days that Changed a Presidency, March 24April 8, 1865, by Noah Andre Trudeau offers the first comprehensive account of this momentous time.
Lincoln traveled to City Point, Virginia, in late March 1865 to escape the constant interruptions in the nations capital that were carrying off a portion of his vitality, and to make his personal amends for having presided over the most destructive war in American history in order to save the nation. Lincoln returned to Washington sixteen days later with a renewed sense of purpose, urgency, and direction that would fundamentally shape his second term agenda.
Previous coverage of this unprecedented triphis longest break from the White House since he had taken officehas been sketchy at best, and often based on seriously flawed sources. Lincolns Greatest Journey represents the most extensively researched and detailed story of these decisive sixteen days at City Point in a narrative laden with many heretofore unpublished accounts. The richly shaped prose, a hallmark of Trudeaus pen, rewrites much of the heretofore misunderstood story of what really happened to Lincoln during this time.
A fresh, more complete picture of Lincoln emerges. This is Lincoln at a time of great personal and national change, the story of how he made peace with the past and became firmly future-focused, all set against a dramatically new narrative of what really happened during those last weeks of his life. It infuses the well-worn Lincoln narrative with fresh sources to fundamentally change an often-told story in ways large and small. Rather than treat Lincoln as a dead man walking when he returns to Washington, Trudeau paints him as he surely wasa changed man profoundly influenced by all that he experienced at City Point.
Lincolns Greatest Journey represents an important addition to the Lincoln saga. The conventional wisdom that theres nothing new to be learned about Lincoln is due for a major reset.
About the Author: Noah Andre Trudeau is a history graduate of the State University of New York at Albany and prolific author. His first book, Bloody Roads South, won the Civil War Round Table of New Yorks prestigious Fletcher Pratt Award, and enjoyed a cameo appearance in the hit web television series House of Cards. His fourth book, Like Men of War, a combat history of black troops in the Civil War, won the Jerry Coffey Memorial Book Prize.
September 1, 2016 l Abraham Lincoln / Civil War
Hardcover, jacket, 6 x 9, 360 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1611213-26-3 (print) / 978-1-61121-327-0 (ebook). $32.95
PUBLISHER: Savas Beatie, LLC, 989 Governor Drive, Suite 102 El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
MARKETING DIRECTOR: Sarah Keeney, Phone: 916-941-6896 / Fax: 916-941-6895 / E-mail:
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Praise for Award-winning and Best-selling Author Noah Andre Trudeau
Lincolns Greatest Journey: Sixteen Days that Changed the Presidency, March 25 - April 8, 1865
Trudeaus is a finely-grained study with a rich cast of characters. He weaves together threads of military, political, social, and personal history to create a fascinating chronicle of sixteen uniqueand until now largely unexamineddays of Lincolns presidency.
Larry Tagg, author of The Battles that Made Abraham Lincoln
Lincolns Greatest Journey presents the gripping story of President Abraham Lincolns daring and important visit, first to City Point, Virginia, and then on to the Confederate capital in Richmond. After an introductory chapter, Trudeau spends 16 chapters covering 16 days of the Civil Wars endgame. The rich detail in this wonderful read, grounded upon many new sources, delicately presents the horror of war, the chaos of war, and the politics of ending a long and bloody civil war. The best of Abraham Lincoln comes through in this insightful new book.
David Hirsch and Dan Van Haften, authors of Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason
Trudeau demonstrates great insight by allowing the reader to view this short, but critical, period in Abraham Lincolns presidency. In this sixteen-day stretch, Lincoln visits City Point to participate in the last days of the Civil War. It is not only relief from the politics and stress of Washington, but a chance for the President to see and meet with his General in Chief, other officers, and especially the troops. It changed the President in a way that was reflected in his evolving policy on how to deal with the Confederates after imminent surrender. His Reconstruction policy was also evolving during this time, and his thoughts on extending some of rights of citizenship to the U.S. Colored troops and their families had become more than an embryo. This is a most worthy addition to the 16,000 volumes written about Lincoln since 1865.
Frank J. Williams, founding Chair of The Lincoln Forum and Chair of The Ulysses S. Grant Association and Presidential Library
Noah Andre Trudeaus Lincolns Greatest Journey is a groundbreaking work that changes our perceptions of this little-known and largely unexplored critical time during the last days of the Lincoln administration. Drawing on a myriad of primary sources and beautifully written in the authors well-known style, Trudeau firmly demonstrates that the final days of the Civil War brought about a transformation in Lincoln and re-energized Americas greatest president for the challenges ahead in reconstructing the Union. Unfortunately, his assassination changed the course of American history. This important new work is highly recommended for anyone interested in the end of the Civil War, Lincoln, or Reconstruction.
Eric J. Wittenberg, author of many Civil War titles including The Devils to Pay! John Buford at Gettysburg. A History and Walking Tour, the recipient of the 2014 Gettysburg Civil War Round Table book award
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Bloody Roads South:
The Wilderness to Cold Harbor, May-June 1864
Winner of the Fletcher Pratt Award
A powerful and eloquent narrative. Grant vs. Lee in the Wilderness, at Spotsylvania, and at Cold Harbor has never been told better.
Stephen W. Sears, award-winning Civil War historian
