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.
