Gotham at War - (American Crisis Series: Books on the Civil War Era) by Edward K Spann (Paperback)

About the Book

Gotham at War is an accessible, entertaining account of America's biggest and most powerful urban center during the Civil War. New York City mobilized an enthusiastic but poorly trained military force during the first month of the war that helped protect Washington, D.C., from Confederate capture. Its strong financial support for the national government may well have saved the Union. New York served as a center for manpower, military supplies, and shipbuilding. And medically, New York became a center for efforts to provide for sick and wounded soldiers.

Yet, despite being a major Northern city, New York also had strong sympathy for the South. Parts of the city were strongly racist, hostile to the abolition of slavery and to any real freedom for black Americans. The hostility of many New Yorkers to the military draft culminated in one of the greatest of all urban upheavals, the draft riots of July 1863.

Edward K. Spann brings his experience as an urban historian to provide insights on both the varied ways in which the war affected the city and the ways in which the city's people and industry influenced the divided nation. This is the first book to assess the city's contributions to the Civil War.

Gotham at War examines the different sides of the city as some fought to sustain the Union while others opposed the war effort and sided with the South. This unique book will entertain all readers interested in the Civil War and New York City.

About the Author
Edward K. Spann is professor emeritus of history at Indiana State University. He is a specialist in nineteenth-century history and urban history. Spann has authored a number of books, including The New Metropolis: New York City 1840-1857 and Ideals and Politics: New York Intellectuals and Liberal Democracy, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Book Synopsis

Gotham at War is an accessible, entertaining account of America's biggest and most powerful urban center during the Civil War. New York City mobilized an enthusiastic but poorly trained military force during the first month of the war that helped protect Washington, D.C., from Confederate capture. Its strong financial support for the national government may well have saved the Union. New York served as a center for manpower, military supplies, and shipbuilding. And medically, New York became a center for efforts to provide for sick and wounded soldiers. Yet, despite being a major Northern city, New York also had strong sympathy for the South. Parts of the city were strongly racist, hostile to the abolition of slavery and to any real freedom for black Americans. The hostility of many New Yorkers to the military draft culminated in one of the greatest of all urban upheavals, the draft riots of July 1863. Edward K. Spann brings his experience as an urban historian to provide insights on both the varied ways in which the war affected the city and the ways in which the city's people and industry influenced the divided nation. This is the first book to assess the city's contributions to the Civil War. Gotham at War examines the different sides of the city as some fought to sustain the Union while others opposed the war effort and sided with the South. This unique book will entertain all readers interested in the Civil War and New York City.About the Author
Edward K. Spann is professor emeritus of history at Indiana State University. He is a specialist in nineteenth-century history and urban history. Spann has authored a number of books, including The New Metropolis: New York City 1840-1857 and Ideals and Politics: New York Intellectuals and Liberal Democracy, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Review Quotes

"A readable account of the enormously important role that the nation's largest city played as an economic engine, a source of military manpower, the mediai center of the North, a boiling pot of ethnic and racial tensions, and a major headache as well as asset for the Lincoln administration." --James M. McPherson, author of Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam

"Edward K. Spann artfully shows both how the war transformed New York and how events in the nation's preeminent city influenced the course of the epic national struggle. His narrative reveals the tensions inherent in a northern city where political, economic, and racial factors bespoke lingering attachments to the South." --Roger Biles, East Carolina University

"An extremely readable overview of NYC's contributions to and experiences during the US Civil War." --Choice Reviews

"Brimming with memorable tales of sacrifice, greed, ingenuity, and political mischief, Gotham at War is our most rounded and readable account of New York's critical role in the defeat of the Confederacy. Every page is a revelation." --Edwin G. Burrows, co-author of Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

About the Author

Edward K. Spann is emeritus professor of history and distinguished professor in arts and sciences at Indiana State University.