In this episode, Scott Ellsworth talks about Midnight on the Potomac: The Last Year of the Civil War, the Lincoln Assassination, and the Rebirth of America. We revisit one of the most dramatic and transformative periods in American history and consider its resonances in the present.
Why, 160 years later, does studying the Civil War still yield new insights? How does Ellsworth’s framing challenge and change what we thought we knew about Lincoln’s presidency and his death. We discuss the tension and fear gripping Washington as Confederate forces threatened the capital in 1864 and Lincoln’s re-election that fall seemed unlikely, and we follow Booth’s path to the balcony at Ford’s Theatre.
See also: “What Really Happened on Sherman’s March?” (with Bennett Parten), July 9, 2025
