In City of Sedition by John Strausbaugh the main character is the city of New York and the main setting is the Civil War. One of the things that drew me to this book was wanting to know more about the 1863 draft riots in the city and what led up to them. While that topic is covered very well this book goes a long way to provided a much richer and fuller history of the city and its role in not only the years leading up to the war, but its role during the conflict and in the country in general at the time.

Everything you would expect in a story about New York is there. Crooked politicians, war profiteering, immigrant struggles and possible out right treason at times. What makes this story so unique though is that by focusing on one city you get a new perspective on that city and what it contributed to the war effort. In the opening chapters the relationship between New York and the Southern states is laid plain, and the difficulty that was had balancing the commercial side of its identity with the growing abolitionist movement in the North in the Ante Bellum era. The commercial ties are the most dynamic as at one point after the South seceded there was actual talk of New York City itself leaving the Union in order to form a “neutral” entity. Pretty cool stuff.

It’s the little stories like that set this book a part and effective show how no other city in the country gave so much to the war effort, but also stood do strongly against it. The cast of characters is as wide and diverse as the city itself. Horace Greely, to Boss Tweed, Herman Mellville to Walt Whitman, Dan Sickles to Benjamin Butler all play wide and very roles in the drama. Never one does the book seemed bogged down, which in something so full of detail and heft would be easy to do.

This book is highly recommended and it doesn’t matter if you are a Civil War person or just find the history of New York City fascinating. there is plenty in this book to make it worthwhile and the author does a great job in guiding you through the alleys, churches and slums of the city. As always you can click on the cover image above to go right to the book on Amazon.