The Civil War Soldier and the Press examines how the press powerfully shaped the nation’s understanding and memory of the common soldier, setting the stage for today’s continuing debates about the Civil War and its legacy. The history of the Civil War is typically one of military strategies, famous generals, and bloody battles, but to Americans of the era, the most important story of the war was the fate of the soldier. In this edited collection, new research in journalism history and archival images provide an interdisciplinary study of citizenship, representation, race and ethnicity, gender, disability, death, and national identity. Together, these chapters follow the story of Civil War soldiers, from enlistment through battle and beyond, as they were represented in hometown and national newspapers of the time. In discussing the same pages that were read by soldiers’ families, friends, and loved ones during America’s greatest conflict, the book provides a window into the experience of historical readers as they grappled with the meaning and cost of patriotism and shared sacrifice. Both scholarly and approachable, this book is an enriching resource for undergraduate and graduate courses in Civil War history, American history, journalism, and mass communication history.

Offering comprehensive coverage for those examining Civil War propaganda, this volume provides a broad analysis of efforts by both Union and Confederate sides to influence public opinion of America's deadliest conflict. This illuminating reference work contains excerpts from roughly 100 individual pieces of propaganda generated during the American Civil War in the North and the South, as well as contextual analysis to assist readers in understanding its utility, importance, and effect. It includes written arguments, staged photographs, and political cartoons, all of which were used to advance one side's objectives while undermining the enemy's. This helps readers to understand the underlying arguments of each side as well as the willingness of each to distort the truth for political, military, or economic advantage. This book is organized chronologically, allowing readers to understand how propaganda developed and expanded throughout the war. It includes a chapter dedicated to each of the war years (1861–1865), an antebellum chapter, and a postwar chapter. Each document comprised in the volume includes an analysis of the significance and effectiveness of the piece and guides readers to examine it with a critical eye. The original source documents remain in their original verbiage, including common spelling errors and other interesting aspects of 19th-century communication.

The importance of the Civil War and Reconstruction in the history of the United States cannot be overstated. Many historians regard the Civil War as the defining event in American history. At stake was not only freedom for 3.5 million slaves but also survival of the relatively new American experiment in self-government. A very real possibility existed that the union could have been severed, but a collection of determined leaders and soldiers proved their willingness to fight for the survival of what Abraham Lincoln called "the last best hope on earth." The second edition of this highly readable, one-volume Historical Dictionary of the Civil War and Reconstruction looks to place the war in its historical context. The more than 800 entries, encompassing the years 1844-1877, cover the significant events, persons, politics, and economic and social themes of the Civil War and Reconstruction. An extensive chronology, introductory essay, and comprehensive bibliography supplement the cross-referenced dictionary entries to guide the reader through the military and non-military actions of one of the most pivotal events in American history. The dictionary concludes with a selection of primary documents. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Civil War and Reconstruction.

A Companion to the U.S. Civil War presents a comprehensive historiographical collection of essays covering all major military, political, social, and economic aspects of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Represents the most comprehensive coverage available relating to all aspects of the U.S. Civil War Features contributions from dozens of experts in Civil War scholarship Covers major campaigns and battles, and military and political figures, as well as non-military aspects of the conflict such as gender, emancipation, literature, ethnicity, slavery, and memory

This two-volume encyclopedia offers a unique insight into the Civil War from a state and local perspective, showing how the American experience of the conflict varied significantly based on location. Intended for general-interest readers and high school and college students, American Civil War: A State-by-State Encyclopedia serves as a unique ready reference that documents the important contributions of each individual state to the American Civil War and underscores the similarities and differences between the states, both in the North and the South. Each state chapter leads off with an overview essay about that state's involvement in the war and then presents entries on prominent population centers, manufacturing facilities, and military posts within each state; important battles or other notable events that occurred within that state during the war; and key individuals from each state, both civilian and military. The A–Z entries within each state chapter enable readers to understand how the specific contributions and political climate of states resulted in the very different situations each state found itself in throughout the war. The set also provides a detailed chronology that will help students place important events in proper order.

This new volume deals with two momentous and interrelated events in American history —the American Civil War and Reconstruction—and offers students a collection of essential documentary sources for these periods. Provides students with over 60 documents on the American Civil War and Reconstruction Includes presidential addresses, official reports, songs, poems, and a variety of eyewitness testimony concerning significant events ranging from 1833-1879 Contains an informative introduction focused on the kinds of materials available and how historians use them Each chapter ends with questions designed to help students engage with the material and to highlight key issues of historical debate

Horses and mules served during the Civil War in greater number and suffered more casualties than the men of the Union and Confederate armies combined. Using firsthand accounts, this history addresses the many uses of equines during the war, the methods by which they were obtained, their costs, their suffering on the battlefields and roads, their consumption by soldiers, and such topics as racing and mounted music. The book is supplemented by accounts of the "Lightning Mule Brigade," the "Charge of the Mule Brigade," five appendices and 37 illustrations. More than 700 Civil War equines are identified and described with incidental information and identification of their masters.

The carefully selected and edited readings in this book are chronologically arranged so that students can trace the progression of events and understand the thoughts of those living during the critical Civil War and Reconstruction periods. Both the Civil War and Reconstruction were pivotal moments in American history that have shaped race relations, perceptions of national power, and the relations between the national government and the states. Powerful political figures, who were often guided by lofty motives, found themselves caught up in circumstances that were largely beyond their direct control. Issues often proved far more complex than anticipated, and many initial "solutions" that were set in motion more than 130 years ago continue to affect current U.S. politics. This book provides American history students and teachers with a handy reference that examines all important aspects of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. The author models how an expert scholar interacts with primary sources, thereby providing guidance that shows readers how to pick apart and critically evaluate firsthand the key documents chronicling these major events in American history. The deftly edited readings in this book are presented in chronological order so that students can trace the progression of events and thinking of various individuals during the critical Civil War and Reconstruction periods. Annotations explain key terms and highlight key portions of laws, presidential speeches and orders, Supreme Court decisions, and other sources from the period.

The border states during the Civil War have long been ignored or misunderstood in general histories. This book corrects that oversight, explaining how many border state residents used wartime realities to redefine their politics and culture as "Southern." By studying the characteristics of those positioned along this fault line during the Civil War, the centrality of the war issue of slavery, which border residents long eschewed as being divisive, became apparent. This book explains how the process of Southernization occurred during and after the Civil War—a phenomenon largely unexplained by historians. Beyond the broader, more traditional narrative of the clash of arms, within these border slave states raged an inner civil war that shaped the military and political outcomes of the war as well as these states' cultural landscapes. Author Christopher Phillips describes how the Civil War experience in the border states served to form new loyalties and communities of identity that both deeply divided these states and distorted the meaning of the war for postwar generations.

The 6th Michigan Volunteer Infantry first deployed to Baltimore, where the soldiers' exemplary demeanor charmed a mainly secessionist population. Their subsequent service along the Mississippi River was a perfect storm of epidemic disease, logistical failures, guerrilla warfare, profiteering, martinet West Pointers and scheming field officers, along with the doldrums of camp life punctuated by bloody battles. The Michiganders responded with alcoholism, insubordination and depredations. Yet they saved the Union right at Baton Rouge and executed suicidal charges at Port Hudson. This first modern history of the controversial regiment concludes with a statistical analysis, a roster and a brief summary of its service following conversion to heavy artillery.