This may be the most fascinating collection of letters of the American Civil War. This interesting, witty, and accomplished family had two American presidents in their lineage, and one of the correspondents was Lincoln's ambassador to England. With America's future in doubt, three men of the Adams family exchanged letters about everything from politics to generals to emancipation to gossip about the rich and powerful. Boston-born and Harvard-educated, their letters are brilliant. Charles Francis Adams, Sr. (son of President John Quincy Adams and grandson of John Adams) was Lincoln's minister to the Court of St. James. His son, Henry, was his secretary in London. Charles Francis Adams, Jr. hated being a lawyer and joined the Union Army as a private. He distinguished himself at the battles of Secessionville, South Mountain, Antietam, and the Gettysburg Campaign and he was eventually brevetted a brigadier general.