Worst year of the US history

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Of those on the list: 1862 for the reasons Truman and others aid.

Not on the list, but late 1776 and winter 1780-1781.

These were desperate periods where the Revolution could have been lost. In the former, just prior to the battle of Trenton, Washington had been severely reduced in men and had lost NYC and most of NJ to the enemy and there was nothing to stop the British from taking Philly. While Philly did fall the next year, the Americans defeated the British at Saratoga.

In the winter of 1780-1781, things were desperate for the Army, The country was basically bankrupt with the economy in ruins and the South was occupied. While the French were sending help, it was not nearly enough to continue indefinitely and they had just come off the treason of Benedict Arnold. 1781 was really a do or die time for the American Revolution with the victories at Cowpens and then finally Yorktown ending the Southern phase of the War and convincing the British to give up on the 13 colonies and focus on defeating the French, Spanish and Dutch.