The flag from Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861.

Meddling Ex-Presidents during the Civil War

The Leonard Lopate Show | Aug 12, 2014

When Abraham Lincoln became president in 1861, five former presidents were still alive. Chris DeRose tells how this ex-Presidents’ Club maneuvered, plotted, advised, and aided during the Civil War. DeRose’s book The Presidents’ War: Six American Presidents and The Civil War That Divided Them explores the stories of the ex-presidents who remained active, influential, and occasionally treacherous as the Union sought to save itself. 

 

Presidents' War by Chris DeRose
Presidents' War by Chris DeRose

 

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