1864 elections went on during the Civil War – even though Lincoln thought it would be a disaster for himself and the Republican Party
- Written by Calvin Schermerhorn, Professor of History, Arizona State University
Soldiers and African American workers standing near caskets and dead bodies covered with cloths during Grant's Overland Campaign. Matthew Brady/Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
The outlook was not promising in 1864 for President Abraham Lincoln’s reelection.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans had been killed, wounded or...