“A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War” is the subtitle of Erik Larson’s latest book, “The Demon of Unrest.” Larson is one of my favorite non-fiction authors, and the impeccable research that went into “The Devil in the White City,” “Dead Wake,” “Isaac’s Storm” and the rest of his oeuvre so eminently enjoyable and informative is clearly apparent in this newest work.

All most of us learned in history class about Fort Sumter was that it was the flashpoint of the War Between the States. Larson goes into deep and fascinating details as to the socio-economic dynamics that led to the War, and focuses on the minutiae of what went on in the run-up to the attack, with perspectives from both sides. The attack itself is discussed in precise, almost minute-by-minute detail. And the writing is almost poetic. For example: “To the onlookers on Charleston’s Battery, the scene had a strange beauty: black smoke, white pillows of cloud, dazzling blue sea and sky, and over the water an indigo shadow cast by pulsing orbs of smoke backlit by the sun.”

The battle itself was full of sound and fury, but amazingly light on bloodshed, Larson determined. That no one had been killed in the bombardment itself was remarkable given that the Confederate batteries had fired 3,341shells and balls, and Fort Sumter about a thousand.” There were only a few minor injuries on each side until the sole fatality of the conflict. The Union forces were allowed to fire a face-saving hundred round salute from their cannons, but on the 48th round one cannon blew up, killing the gunner. The surrender itself turns out to have been quite formal and gentlemanly.  That would not be true of most of the conflict that followed.

Great history, great research, great read.

10 COMMENTS

  1. The Union 2nd in command was Abner Doubleday of baseball fame. He later became a general of fairly indifferent talents but had a good day at Gettysburg on the first day. He took over I Corps after Reynolds was killed shortly after arriving and held off a superior Confederate force for most of the day. He was blamed for the eventual collapse which actually started in XI Corps, as at Chancellorsville several months before. Meade chose to believe O. O. Howard who unfairly blamed Doubleday.

  2. “To the onlookers on Charleston’s Battery, the scene had a strange beauty: black smoke, white pillows of cloud, dazzling blue sea and sky, and over the water an indigo shadow cast by pulsing orbs of smoke backlit by the sun.”

    “Black Smoke”? This must be poetic license. Where would “Black Smoke” come from? Did the fort or the town catch fire and burn?

    It could not have come from firing off all those thousands of rounds of cannon shells. Good old Black Powder was the propellent used during the civil war. When black powder is fired off, it produces brilliant WHITE smoke. So, if the smoke was coming from all that cannon fire, then it should have been:

    “…the scene had a strange beauty: white smoke, white pillows of cloud, dazzling blue sea and sky, and over the water an indigo shadow cast by pulsing orbs of smoke backlit by the sun.”

    Sorry for the nitpick! 🙂

    However, I seem cursed with a mind that will spot even minor incorrect details, concerning firearms (or cannon), and chaffs when these details are wrong. It makes watching movies produced in Hollywood a challenge. It often disrupts the “suspension of disbelief” necessary to lose oneself in a story.

    • I have the same issue when I watch shows with cops. I drive my wife crazy with my “corrections” and comments. “No cop I’ve ever seen wear their badges on the RIGHT side of their uniform!”

  4. A very timely must-read book regarding contentious unrest vs. peace. From what I have read, President Lincoln saw American State secession from the Union as an inherent invitation to England to move back in and take over, not only presenting a serious threat to control of the railroads, but leading people to drink more tea and less coffee. We hear so many unsubstantiated accusations uttered lately by anti-Constitutional, Trump-phobic, contentious, latter-day Bolsheviks about imaginary “threats to democracy.” I hope that enough Americans, and potential citizens as well, realize how chaotic “peaceful unrest” can get. Any peoplesupporting a clash of civilizations really need to realize that they will reap what they sow, with spreading, throughly unpleasant consequences. Look at the 680,000-odd souls’ (IIRC) death toll of the War Between the States. It all started with “just” one fatality from an overloaded cannon. I recommend searching out the restored historical dissertation of the Christian, wise, expert, highly experienced, veteran winter soldier “Maineprepper” on YouTube regarding a sensible approach to civil affairs in times of crisis. So succinct, yet valuable. May the Maineprepper legacy long endure.

    • Best I can tell, the 680k is just military fatalities. Add in civilians and you may get close to a million. It is hard to sort out what was caused by the war and what would have happened anyway. And then there were those who died sometime later after they were out of the military. Most famous was Joshua Chamberlin who was hit by a large nail fired by an out of ammo Confederate, He was triaged out but one of the surgeons noticed he was still alive some hours later and started treatment. He survive to command the surrender ceremony at Appomattox and be a college president and Governor of Maine. When he died in 1914!, the cause of death was listed as the wound. Many thousands were maimed and led a circumscribed lives. The economic cost was immense. The last survivors benefit was not paid until 2020.

      • Esteemed Richard, thank you for the amazing details. The State of Maine has had a larger role in our nation’s history than perhaps given credit for. I had an Irish-American great great grandfather named Gillespie out of Tyrone who served in the 17th Maine (Volunteer?) Infantry Regiment. The 17th and a lot of Irish ethnics figured prominently in a long list of battles, severely unforgettable, from Fredericksburg to Cold Harbor. My father’s mother told me of hearing many stories of her grandfather’s campaigns. Chamberlains, Joshua being one, can be found prominently in narratives from the Civil War, as well as the Mexican. Hold on to your seat and read Cormac McCarthy’s fairly historical novel “Blood Meridian,” derived somewhat from Chamberlain narratives. You are so right to mention the civilian casualties of the Civil War. I have heard so many times from eyewitnesses of how the civilians in war zones have suffered the most thoroughly. We should also remember that “radical” is fundamentally a term describing extreme leftists.

  5. Thanks for the tip. On my “to buy” list. It’s always good to find accurate, unbiased renditions of history.

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