In the course of 1865 the war grows ever more deadly, the home front is stripped to fill the armies, and the economy is crippled by debt and inflation, while the stubborn survival of the Confederacy seriously undermines support for Lincoln's war. In the end, it seems that Lincoln's early critics, who played such a pivotal role in the beginning of the series, are proven correct. Victory did require massive bloodshed and complete conquest of the South....

Analyzes major battles of the third year of the Civil War--including Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg--as recounted by first-hand witnesses, surveying their views on whether the war's goals justified its costs.