Terrible Swift Sword (Vol. 2): The dismissal of George McClellan and the rise of Ulysses S. Grant

This is the story of Lincoln's famous army of the Potomac during the early years of the Civil War, when it was under the command of General George B. McClellan.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning historian's acclaimed Civil War history of the complex man and controversial. Union commander whose battlefield brilliance ensured the downfall of the Confederacy Preeminent Civil War historian Bruce Catton narrows his focus on commander Ulysses S. Grant, whose bold tactics and relentless dedication to the Union ultimately ensured a Northern victory in the nation's bloodiest conflict. While a succession of Union generals -...

Covers such battles and campaigns as Chattanooga, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg Crater, and Appomattox.

This final volume of The Army of the Potomac trilogy relates the final year of the Civil War. When it was first published in 1953, the author was awarded both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for excellence in nonfiction.

Volume 1: "The coming fury" describes the people and politics, social and economic forces which came together to drive the nation apart, from a political convention in Charleston in 1860 through the first, stunning impact of the Battle of Bull Run. Volume 2: "Terrible swift sword" traces the personalities and actions leading to the Emancipation Proclamation and the removal of General McClellan from command of the North's principal army. Volume 3:...

An analysis of the Civil War focuses on Generals McClellan, Burnside, Hooker, Meade, and Grant, and discusses the final defeat of General Robert E. Lee.