Reveille in Washington, 1860–1865

Summary

Leech portrays Washington as a vivid, chaotic city during the Civil War years, crowded with soldiers, politicians, spies, and the wounded. She follows Lincoln, his cabinet, generals, and ordinary residents through the daily life of a capital under threat, blending political drama with social detail. The narrative reads like fiction while resting on careful research, and it became a model for popular yet rigorous history.