Bloody Times: The Funeral of Abraham Lincoln and the Manhunt for Jefferson Davis [Hardcover]

I recently devoured Bloody Times: The Funeral of Abraham Lincoln and the Manhunt for Jefferson Davis by James L. Swanson. It was one of those books I couldn't put down and read in just one day.

The book is a special adaptation for young readers of Swanson's adult book, Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse. (which I definitely want to get my hands on) The book covers in fascinating detail, the events that took place as the Civil War drew to a close, with the focus on two men in particular--Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. Swanson, who is an avid follower of the life and times of Lincoln, recounts the assassination of Lincoln, and his amazing funeral procession--one no young adult has anything to compare to today (perhaps, the closest being the funeral of Michael Jackson?). At the same time he does that, Swanson also weaves together nicely, how Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America, fleed Richmond, and continued to believe the Confederate States could still fight. As the nation was convinced Davis was involved in the conspiracy that led to Lincoln's murder, Davis traveled further South, setting off a manhunt for the Confederate president.

I loved how the stories of both men were weaved together, giving one the sense of what was going on during a time without the mass media we have today. You don't hear much about Jefferson Davis these days, which is why it was fascinating to read about him. As Swanson says, "He lost, and history tends to reward winners, not losers. But there must be more to it than that." With historic photos scattered throughout, any young history buff will surely devour the factual information that's aplenty in this riveting read.

Author James Swanson has provided young people with a wonderful follow-up to his previous book entitled Chasing Lincoln's Killer. Bloody Times is the young peoples' version of Bloody Crimes which picks up where Chasing Lincoln's Killer left off. People are aware of John Wilkes Booth's assassination of President Lincoln and the subsequent chase that ensued. Swanson now takes young readers to the care taken to preserve Lincoln's corpse for the return round-about 18 day train ride to Springfield, Illinois for burial. This is also the story of the hunt for Confederate President Jefferson Davis who Union officials were erroneously convinced was behind Lincoln's assassination.

The book's strength is in using a condensed version of his adult version entitled Bloody Crimes with an appropriate vocabulary suitable for younger readers. It would be very beneficial if more authors wrote versions of their books suitable for middle school age students. Swanson's two books entitled Chasing Lincoln's Killer and Bloody Times are excellent ideas for making history interesting reading for younger readers.

On April 2, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis fled his capital of Richmond, Virginia, determined to keep the armies in the field, and the fighting going. This is the story of Davis's flight, as he watched his armies disintegrate and his hopes for continued conflict ebb away.

But while Davis fled, Union President Abraham Lincoln began his own journey. Having been shot at Ford's Theatre, Lincoln's body was carried across the North, and huge crowds gathered to pay their last respect, and mourn for their leader, and indirectly for all of the men that fell in the recent struggle.

Overall, I found this to be a great book. The author tells the stories of both journeys in an interesting manner, and the way he juxtaposes them really serves to highlight the two men and what they meant then and to posterity, up to this very day. It's a great read. In particular, I liked the story of Lincoln's visit to Richmond, and his reception by the freed slaves; I had never heard about it before, and found it quite touching.

Yep, I really liked this book, and highly recommend it!