This eBook has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. This Pulitzer Prize winning book remains one of the best histories on the topic of American Civil War to this day. For the purpose of writing this comprehensive work, the author used the most authoritative documents and sources including Personal Traits of Lincoln, Life and Letters of General Meade, Diary of Gideon Welles, The Reminiscences of Carl Schurz and Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies.