Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of the primary sources for understanding both the Northern war effort and the federal government at its highest levels. . . . Extremely important for all libraries. Essential."--
Choice "One of the most important journals to emerge from the Civil War Era… This book, many years in the making, is an important contribution to Civil War scholarship." --
Blue and Gray Magazine"It is hard to imagine any Lincoln administration, Civil War military, or Civil War naval studies without Welles' revelations as an inside man to the workings of a government fighting for its life, or his often pungent and sharp-edged personality clips. . . . this user-friendly volume will be the preferred source for one of the most astute observers and active participants of the Civil War."--
Naval History"The Gienapp edition of Welles's diary should occupy a prominent place in every Civil War reference collection."--
Journal of American History"Marks a milestone in the published primary literature. Meticulously faithful to the original document, it renders sections in both earlier editions entirely irrelevant."--
Civil War Times"This edition of the diary gives us a much clearer and more immediate picture of what Welles thought about events at the moment he was writing. We get a vivid look at how confusing and frightening the opening weeks of the Lincoln administration seemed to those experiencing them. . . . Of immense value to anyone writing on the war."--
NYMAS Review"The new edition will be the first choice for most researchers or readers interested in Welles's account of Lincoln's administration." --
Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association"This diary--especially in its original, fresh, unexpurgated form as presented here--is surely one of the most important building blocks for our understanding of the Civil War."--From the Foreword by James M. McPherson, author of
War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865 "The Welles diary is an indispensable primary source for scholars of the Lincoln administration and the Civil War in general. It also offers a fascinating glimpse into the daily workings of the federal government as it coped with the war's many challenges. A must have for any Civil War collection."--Brian Dirck, author of
Lincoln and the Constitution
