‘1861' Review: No Compromise on Compromise

Wall Street Journal

10 hours ago

There is always a certain peril in a prequel—especially a long-delayed one. Think James Fenimore Cooper, who published 'The Deerslayer' 15 years after 'The Last of the Mohicans' (1826), only to have Mark Twain call attention to its '114 offenses against literary art' in but 'two-thirds of a page.'
In Jay Winik's case, 24 years have passed since the publication of his history of the Civil War's final days, 'April 1865: The Month That Saved America.' Now comes his gripping account of how that conflict began, '1861: The Lost Peace.' Surely even Twain would admit that Mr. Winik has lost none of his narrative verve, ear for dialogue, eye for the unexpected detail and willingness to stir some controversy. And what could be more timely in 2025 than a book about American anger overflowing?
Mr. Winik's venture follows closely in the wake of Erik Larson's 2024 blockbuster, 'The Demon of Unrest,' which covered much of the same territory but largely focused on a cast of obscure characters and reimagined a familiar story. And Civil War readers may recall Adam Goodheart's 2011 book, also titled '1861,' which similarly looked into the overlooked.
Mr. Winik concentrates elsewhere, namely on the most prominent characters involved in the run-up to secession and rebellion, and subjects them to fresh and sometimes lacerating scrutiny. Charles Sumner, a senator from Massachusetts, for example, who was viewed by many as a living martyr to abolitionism after enduring a near-fatal beating at his desk in the Old Senate Chamber in 1856, comes across in Mr. Winik's account as so unyielding and acerbic that he almost justifies the assault.