Illustrated, photographs, maps, bibliography, appendices, index, 430 pp., 2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, www.hmhbooks.com, $35.

The prolific William Marvel has written an in-depth study of the Civil War’s third year (April 1863 to April 1864). This book, therefore, examines perhaps the most critical time of the war.

Marvel utilizes extensive documentation to present his case that not all was well with the North’s support of the war. That year was a time of deep dissatisfaction among the people of the North.

There many Union military defeats and few victories. On the home front, Lincoln was burdened by the rising opposition of the peace movement, Clement Vallandigham’s anti-war activities, draft riots and a sinking dollar.

The few Union victories (Vicksburg, Gettysburg and Chattanooga) were somewhat offset by Confederate victories at Chancellorsville and Chickamauga. The dismal performance of the Army of the Potomac during the Mine Run Campaign in late 1863 restored the South’s confidence in eventual victory.

The early months of 1864 presented little in the way of success for the North as Confederate victories in North Carolina, the failed Kilpatrick/Dahlgren raid, the failed Red River Campaign, and the capture of Fort Pillow continued the string of Confederate success.

Marvel uses letters between husband and wives, as well as newspaper accounts, to demonstrate opposition to the draft and the war. Wives began to have a significant impact on their husbands.

Marvel cites an Iowa soldier asking his wife, mother of their six children, what she thought he should do about reenlisting. The soldier reminded his wife that his regiment had already lost 300 men.

Financial matters weighed heavily on soldiers’ minds as they struggled with how to support their families at home. Marvel provides the example of a Vermonter who gave his wife permission to shoot their dog to avoid the new town dog tax. Marvel provides hundreds of similar examples of how the war impacted the common soldier.

The Great Task Remaining exhaustively covers the home front and the battlefield during this crucial period of the war. This book is a detailed, entertaining and informative study well worth the price and deserves a place in the library of serious students of the Civil War.

Reviewer: Larry J. Clowers 

Gettysburg resident Larry Clowers is a professional historical interpreter who appears nationally as Ulysses S. Grant.  A long-time Civil War enthusiast, he is writing a detailed dual biography of Ulysses and Julia Grant.