This is an interview with author S. C. Gwynne about his recent book Hymns of the Republic.

Gwynne begins his narrative of the final year of the Civil War with the arrival of General Ulysses S. Grant to Washington, D.C. in March 1864 after his promotion to command of all Union armies and finishes with Clara Barton raising the flag over the new cemetery at Andersonville and the liberation of the slaves. These bookends demonstrate the broad scope of Gwynne’s telling of 1864-1865. Hymns of the Republic brings the readers through the military campaigns of 1864 and 1865 and weaves them together with the political events of that year, the impact of slavery on the war and the increasing role of USCT on the battlefields, and some of the impact of the fighting off the field. The strength of this book is Gwynne’s ability to craft a compelling narrative and engage the reader by building the stories of people and events.