Part 1, Chapter 2 The Abolitionist, Section 3 Summary

Lincoln was President and had goals for the outcome of this war. Unfortunately, many of the military men did not follow his agenda. The 20^th Massachusetts held a conglomeration of beliefs, and they were eventually considered a lost cause to abolitionists.

There was a faction in the 20^th Massachusetts that disliked the abolitionists and thought the war was their fault and a mistake. Their leader was Henry "Little" Abbott. He would become very important to Holmes.

After being sent home to recuperate from his neck wound, Holmes was to rejoin the 20^th Massachusetts. Abbott was returning at the same time. The two men spent the next week of travel time, getting to know one another. Abbott thought of Holmes as "a student rather than a man of action."

Shortly after his return, Holmes wrote to...