Demon of Unrest Book Review

Erik Larson is one of my favorite authors so, when I saw this book on Amazon, I pre-ordered it. I was curious about a “demon” who could provoke the American Civil War.

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Dennis H. Mahan, a West Point professor, wrote in a November 1860 letter to a friend “. . . I fear this demon of unrest which has been the utmost disturber of the land for years . . .” I won’t give away the identity of the demon, but it’s clearly not a compliment. From this quote, Larson begins to illustrate the many reasons for the fear Mahan felt.  His masterful weaving together of letters, diary entries, speeches, etc. makes this book read like a novel. The demon he identifies was clearly spoiling for a war between the states.

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The first part of the book described the mood of the country leading up to the election of Abraham Lincoln. Reading Larson’s account made me wish my education about the Civil War had included the perspectives of key political figures. The included thoughts of the not-so-famous helped me sense the super-charged atmosphere then, the anxiety building in America.

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The rest of the book presents the history of secession votes, the pivotal events, the communication breakdowns which led to the attack on Fort Sumter and the eventual civil war. Larson’s breadth of research gives depth to the book and kept me reading to the end.  I especially enjoyed “looking over the shoulders” of the characters, reading their thoughts, forming my own opinions of them.

William Seward’s words and actions are prominent in the book.  I’d never read anything which so revealed his arrogance. He saw himself as the real president, the better president, or the should-have-been president. Yet, Lincoln kept him in his cabinet.

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I found Maj. Robert Anderson, the commander of Fort Sumter, to be one of the more likeable figures in this history.  He was smart, dedicated, loyal and steadfast.  He struck me as a man caught in the middle of wanting to do his duty, yet not wanting to start a war.  

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I didn’t care for Mary Chestnut, the wife of Commander James Chestnut. She was vain, arrogant, self-important. If she characterized the chivalry, I would’ve hated Charleston.

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I’d never heard of Edmund Ruffin, the wealthy planter and Virginia legislator. He despised the people of the northern states and worked constantly in southern state legislatures to urge secession. My opinion of him: an angry war-monger.

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Larson wrote about “the chivalry” – wealthy South Carolina planters bound to a code of conduct to rival any Pharisee. They were proud of themselves and deeply offended by northern people who disapproved of their values, their way of life and the institution of slavery.

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Demon of Unrest is not a dry re-telling of events leading to the attack on Fort Sumter. It’s a record of the personal recollections of people who observed and endured them.

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I highly recommend this book.

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