President Lincoln oversaw, argued with, and finally tamed his unruly team of lieutenants as the eastern army was stabilised by an unsung supporting cast of corps, division, and brigade generals. With characteristic style and insight, Stephen Sears brings these courageous, determined officers, who rose through the ranks and led from the front, to life and legend. A masterful synthesis... a narrative about amazing courage and astonishing gutlessness... It explains why Union movements worked and, more often, didn't work in clear-eyed explanatory prose that's vivid and direct. - Chicago Tribune A monumental group biography... reminds us that the outcome of the war was not a foregone conclusion. - The Wall Street Journal