As 1862 dawned, the American republic was at deaths door. The federal government appeared overwhelmed, the U.S. Treasury was broke, and the Unions top general was gravely ill. The Confederacy with its booming economy, expert military leadership, and commanding position on the battlefield had a clear view to victory. To a remarkable extent, the survival of the country depended on the judgment, cunning, and resilience of the unschooled frontier lawyer who had recently been elected president. Twelve months later, the Civil War had become a cataclysm but the tide had turned. The Union generals who would win the war had at last emerged, and the Confederate army had suffered the key losses that would lead to its doom. The blueprint for modern America an expanding colossus of industrial and financial might had been indelibly inked.
