Historian Bruce Catton has written extensively about the Civil War. This volume, published in 1963, is the second of three books on the centennial anniversary of the Civil War. It looks into the continuing build up of the war picking up after the first battle of Bull Run to the dismissal of General George McClellan after the battle of Antietam. The first of the three volumes “The Coming Fury” looks at some of the history which lead to the start of the war and ends with the first major battle at Bull Run. The third volume “Never Call Retreat” looks at the major Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, and culminating with the surrender by Robert E. Lee at Appomattox.