The War for the Union, Vol. 1: The Improvised War, 1861-1862

It was a conflict that seemed to be destined to occur for years, but neither side was particularly ready for when it happened even though one side had been preaching for while to be independent and didn’t prepare. The War for the Union, Volume I: The Improvised War, 1861-1862 is the fifth book of Allan Nevin’s Ordeal of the Union series as the war that appeared inevitable after secession start but in a haphazard fashion that leaves both sides scrambling to raise, arm, and supply men while fighting one another.

Through 416 pages of text, Nevins details the lead up to and the fallout of the firing of Ft. Sumter that resulted in Lincoln’s call for volunteers which sent almost half of the border states into the Confederacy and how both show more sides figured out how to fight a war. As Nevins expertly relates while contemporary feeling—from both sides—demanded fighting, logistically it wasn’t so simple as arming men and getting them arms to fight with and supplies to live on were a challenge early on. The challenges, especially with political considerations for Lincoln, to getting raised troops to where they were needed and how state governments more than the underdeveloped U.S. government were essential early on. Nevins focuses on fighting when it needs to, but this volume is dedicated to revealing about how unorganized either side was to even fight and thus why 1861 is comparatively bloodless. The struggle to get arms and supplies leading to both sides contracting foreign contractors is enlightening and Nevins analysis on how both sides did was very informative. Besides the arming and logistics information, Nevins goes into the political maneuvering that was new to me especially in Missouri and how the Blair family cost the Federal war effort three-years of guerilla warfare due to their machinations when the state could have been firmly pacified by the end of the year. Nevins also goes into how each side, though mainly the Federals, squandered opportunities to get easy victories that would quiet public demand for action and improved strategic lines for defense of important areas even if the lines moved a few miles. Overall, this volume while “light” on fighting shows the forgotten importance of supplies and logistics when it comes to warfare in this period.

The War for the Union, Volume I: The Improvised War, 1861-1862 reveals how two political factions switched from talking to fighting and Allan Nevins reveals the complicated transition that took place to bring it about. show less