No Turning Back: The Beginning of the End of the Civil War, March-June 1864

Don Lowry's four-book series on the last year of the Civil War takes a somewhat different tack in exploring that period. His analysis is strictly chronological. As he points out (Page 11): "Too often in my reading did I find that authors skipped back and forth in time--in order to avoid shifting geographically--until all sense was lost of how events on different fronts affected each other." Indeed, this is a special frustration of reading even at the battle level. At Gettysburg, for instance, many things were occurring at the same moment. But the standard work follows through each episode before turning to the next, and the sense of temporality disappears. So, if for no other reason, that decision by Lowry--to examine the last year in time--makes this a useful and worthwhile four book series. Even more so, says the author, since U. S. Grant wanted to have several different campaigns across the nation coordinated. A temporal approach helps to make greater sense of this effort at coordination in time by the Union forces. This volume--and the other three--do a nice job of coordinating in time. Here, we see the events of March through June, 1864 play out. In the East, Grant takes command and we see the campaign from the Wilderness to his stealing a march on Lee to arrive at Fredericksburg. We also see how General Jubal Early's being dispatched to the Shenandoah Valley lined up with the Grant versus Lee main conflict. Ben Butler's fumbling advance and P. G. T. Beauregard's stopping his movement. Actions in the West as well, including some of Nathan Bedford Forrest's moves. Reading these in chronological terms adds a nice overlay to our understanding of the war. The book is not well written. The author is a functional wrier, but his words do not sing as do those of some other authors. Nonetheless, a useful entry in the vast library of Civil War books.

This review applies to the complete 4-volume set by Lowry. It by far provides the best coverage of the final year of the War. It is organized chonologically, enabling the reader to connect all of the action taking place at any time, from the great campaigns of Grant and Sherman to lesser-known raids, battles, political events, and plots ( especially the plot to kidnap President Lincoln by Booth and associates ). This form of organization also demonstrates Grant's gift for grand strategy in coordinating the movements of all U.S. forces. The background and personalities of the commanders, both famous and more obscure, are given good coverage. This is also true of the many corps, divisions, brigades, and regiments. I was also pleased with the abundance of quotes and correspondence from various commanders, such as Sherman's heated and articulate exchange with Hood at Atlanta. A number of quotes are unavailable in any of the 300+ books in my Civil War library. Individual battles are presented in considerable detail, although the books suffer from a dearth of maps. The reader who focuses on details needs to keep an atlas on the side, although no atlas to my knowledge includes the lesser actions described by Lowry. Beyond the few petty objections, such as the large number of typos, these 4 volumes should occupy a prominent place in any Civil War collection.