Using diaries, letters and other contemporary sources, this text follows 20 individuals (Northerners and Southerners) from the outbreak of hostilities at Fort Sumter to the Confederate surrender at Appomattox four years later. The sources include chapter introductions and headnotes and give students a social sense of war. A photograph has been included, whenever available, of each individual listed in the cast of characters.
Irish-born and Irish-descended soldiers and sailors were involved in every major engagement of the American Civil War. Throughout the conflict, they shared their wartime experiences through songs and song lyrics, leaving behind a vast trove of ballads in songbooks, letters, newspaper publications, wartime diaries, and other accounts. Taken together, these songs and lyrics offer an underappreciated source of contemporary feelings and opinions about the war. Catherine V. Bateson’s Irish American Civil War Songs provides the first in-depth exploration of Irish Americans’ use of balladry to portray and comment on virtually every aspect of the war as witnessed by the Irish on the front line and home front. Bateson considers the lyrics, themes, and sentiments of wartime songs produced in America but often originating with those born across the Atlantic in Ireland and Britain. Her analysis gives new insight into views held by the Irish migrant diaspora about the conflict and the ways those of Irish descent identified with and fought to defend their adopted homeland. Bateson’s investigation of Irish American song lyrics within the context of broader wartime experiences enhances our understanding of the Irish contribution to the American Civil War. At the same time, it demonstrates how Irish songs shaped many American balladry traditions as they laid the foundation of the Civil War’s musical soundscape.
Long after the Civil War ended, one conflict raged on: the battle to define and shape the war's legacy. Across the Bloody Chasm deftly examines Civil War veterans' commemorative efforts and the concomitant -- and sometimes conflicting -- movement for reconciliation. Though former soldiers from both sides of the war celebrated the history and values of the newly reunited America, a deep divide remained between people in the North and South as to how the country's past should be remembered and the nation's ideals honored. Union soldiers could not forget that their southern counterparts had taken up arms against them, while Confederates maintained that the principles of states' rights and freedom from tyranny aligned with the beliefs and intentions of the founding fathers. Confederate soldiers also challenged northern claims of a moral victory, insisting that slavery had not been the cause of the war, and ferociously resisting the imposition of postwar racial policies. M. Keith Har-ris argues that although veterans remained committed to reconciliation, the sectional sensibilities that influenced the memory of the war left the North and South far from a meaningful accord. Harris's masterful analysis of veteran memory assesses the ideological commitments of a generation of former soldiers, weaving their stories into the larger narrative of the process of national reunification. Through regimental histories, speeches at veterans' gatherings, monument dedications, and war narratives, Harris uncovers how veterans from both sides kept the deadliest war in American history alive in memory at a time when the nation seemed determined to move beyond conflict.
The turbulent years of 1861-1865 were especially rough for the people of Randolph County, North Carolina. Sentiment to stay in the Union was high, and remained so throughout the war, yet hundreds of Randolph County boys marched off to fight, many never to return. "The Randolph Hornets," Company M, 22nd Regiment North Carolina Troops, earned a reputation for their grit and determination in battle. This history of the Randolph Hornets includes articles written by Sergeant John T. Turner in 1914 recalling his experiences, and information on the company battle flag, its capture and its eventual return. A complete roster of the company includes genealogical information and short biographies for several of the men. The final chapter covers the local reenactment group based on the company.
The military history of the Civil War has tended to focus on such issues as tactics, courage under fire, and which leader was capable of the bold stroke (Lee) and which one wasn?t (McClellan). Overlooked in these important issues is the matter of command itself: mastery of the resources required for successful military action. Inøthis work seven experts examine particular instances of command problems?such as supply, military discipline, and effective relations with subordinate commanders?and show how a general?s handling of the problem illustrates an important feature of Civil War leadership.
Lucien A. Voorhees and William Mackenzie Thompson left Flemington, New Jersey, in high spirits in September 1862 as enlisted men in the 15th New Jersey Regiment to join the fight for the Union. They expected to do their duty and return home victorious in short order. On the march South Voorhees and Thompson each began a correspondence with the local newspapers back home to describe their activities as soldiers in the Army of the Potomac. Within just weeks of their departure from home they came face to face with the realities of war at the Battle of Fredericksburg. These young men proved to be great writers as well as patriots. Their letters, short or long, convey their feelings and the events they witnessed in vivid and colorful language. They soon discovered that their service would demand great sacrifice. 'True Jersey Blues' presents Voorhees' and Thompson's vivid accounts of life on the march, fierce firefights, and everyday occupations convey a true sense of the Civil War as experienced by the men enlisted to fight. The letters from Voorhees and Thompson cover the period from the muster of the 15th Regiment at Flemington (August 1862) through the combat deaths of both writers at Spotsylvania (May 1864). The soldiers tell the story of two failed Federal assaults on Fredericksburg, a race to Gettysburg, the subsequent chase after the Army of Northern Virginia, court-martials, executions, a dress parade for President Lincoln, picket duty, 'contrabands' (escaped slaves) coming into the Union lines, and the activities contrived to keep themselves busy in winter camp. These men never lost their faith in the cause they were fighting for or their love of home. Their pens went silent at Spotsylvania in the spring of 1864 where they sacrificed their lives for the cause they believed in. Here, Voorhees and Thompson tell their story of the Civil War and their fight for victory.
Estabellished with Portraits of well known people of these countries, with biographies of our representative citizens, cuts of public buildings and a map of each county.
