The American Civil War discussion

Hi all...
As a new member to this group, I hope people don't think me presumptuous in asking what, for some, might seem like an obvious question. In reading some of the posts, it looks like some members are military and academic historians. I'm wondering if others have an interest that is more personal?

I grew up in the Deep South (Alabama) and heard many opinions about the Civil War while growing up...all pro-South. Living now in New England (Boston) for the past 20 years, I never hear people reference the war unless I initiate the conversation. The interest in the North -- at least in my social and cultural circles -- seems virtually nil. When I return to the South for a visit and make some reference to the war, passions can still run quite high and conversations can last quite long.

I'm not an academic or professional historian, so I really don't have as deep a knowledge base as some of you might have (though I'm trying to catch up!). Growing up in the South the Civil War saturated the cultural climate of the racism that was so much a part of my experience. I can't tell you how many times I heard "State's Rights" as the rallying call in the political arena (remember George Wallace and Lester Maddox?). I also remember constantly hearing: "Save your Confederate money, the South will rise again!"

So, to make a long story short (which is hard for me sometimes!), I'm trying to understand something in our history that still seems very much alive today and how it is a part of 21st century America. There was a historian in the Ken Burn's documentary (Barbara Fields was her name, I think), who said something to the effect that the cultural impact of the actual war still lingers today and that as long as the issues of the war remain unresolved, we continue to fight it today (not militarily of course, but socially).

Oh well, so much for my ramblings.

Michael

Personally, I am fascinated by the Civil War. I'm fascinated by the family stories as well as the politics and the battles themselves. I am originally from New England and have old photos and letters of relatives from New England that fought in the Civil War.

I think that in some ways history becomes sort of a part of the collective unconscious. What I mean is, I think the Northeast in general, identifies more readily with the American Revolution than say someone from the South or the Pacific region does - because after all, that battles were fought here. Everywhere you walk there is a house George Washington slept in and fields and forests where battles were fought. You can hear the pounding hoofbeats of Paul Revere's horse as you wind your way through Massachusetts and hear Benedict Arnolds commands in Saratoga.

The further south and west you go there is a closer affinity for the Civil War. You walk the fields where battles were won and lost and see Robert E. Lee on his grand steed and sad eyes viewing his troops before going to battle.

I believe that the history of both of these wars are told a bit differently depending on what part of the country you come from because of that geographical relevance. Yes, there were some Civil War battles that occurred north of the Mason-Dixon line but it was largely a war fought in the south. It's as unlikely that children from Alabama would go to Valley Forge on a school field trip as it is that children from Boston would go to Chickamauga.

I believe we all have a geographic sense of place that is also emotional, and where you grew up and how you were taught shapes your relationship to place and in turn, history. And agreeing with Barbara Fields, perhaps this is why we fail to win our unresolved wars as a society - because our view of them is so very different.

What a great question - thanks!
Fellow rambler....
Cheryl

Yes, it is a good question. I am neither military nor an academic historian, just fascinated w/the time period and the poignancy of that conflict. And the more I read, the more fascinated I become. I grew up in Illinois - Land of Lincoln. I suspect there may be a little more interest in Illinois (a northern state) because of that Lincoln connection. The Lincoln sites were just an hour's drive from home and my family visited New Salem every year, along with Lincoln's home and law office in Springfield. We even took school field trips there. Plus my parents were both really into Lincoln, so I came by it honestly.

I'd imagine there is quite a different perspective depending on whether one grew up in the North or South. I even wonder about the different slant you probably received during your formative years in your American History classes. Did you study about the Civil War or about the War of Northern Aggression? I'd be interested in hearing more about that and about what you were taught about Lincoln in southern schools. Depends I guess on whether you grew up in the 50-60's or more recently, but you mentioned Wallace and Maddox which helps me gave your general age. :-)

I've lived in Missouri for 22 years (the only state that boasted TWO state capitals during that conflict!), and am presently fascinated with the Border Wars that took place here in Western MO. There was so much injustice meted out by both sides in that arena that I'm coming to better understand (not condone, just understand) the Southern perspective much better. I'm not talking about their stand on slavery mind you - I'll never understand that, but the war of retaliation that was so self-perpetuating on that front.

The South suffered so much more tho' in the end. That somehow touches me even if I can't agree with their position because they lost not only the war, but a whole way of life, never to be reclaimed, and their bitterness about that was passed on from generation to generation. Even my great-grandmother, who wasn't born until after the conflict, toward the end of the 19th century in fact, was a diehard Confederate and very out-spoken about it.

Thanks for the question, Michael, and the insightful comments you both had on the subject.

CJ

Hello Michael,

My interset in the Civil War was buoyed by a variety of things. I live in Connecticut and have always had an interest in history, old houses, etc. My grandparents live in Maryland, about 20 minutes from both Antietam and Gettysburg. Due to their influence on me, my visits to the battlefields as a child, and seeing the movie "Gettysburg" when I was in 8th grade, along with some truly great history teachers in high school and college, my interest in history continued to grow. But I attribute my special interest in the Civil War to the fact that I was so lucky to have easy access to two very important Civil War battlefields early in my life. I have never been to the Deep South but have the understanding, as you mentioned that "the war is still going on" to some degree down there. And I would agree with other's comments that in the North there is less interest in the Civil War because we don't have the constant reminders of battlefields or as much of a direct impact. Regardless, I think there are plenty of people interested in the Civil War, they just have to be sought out and perhaps don't talk about it as readily as a Southern might.

In any case, it's very interesting to hear the perspective of someone whose lived in both places and I'm glad that you've found an interest in the Civil War!

hi all,

interesting comments...i can bear truth to them as well. i was born out west and the civil war wasn't one of the more popular historical subjects in either the media or even in school. california and colorado state histories were what i learned most in school with less emphasis on either the revolutionary or civil wars.

after moving to the shenandoah valley of virginia i got a lot more interested in the civil war because it was a lot more of a current subject and there are so many battlegrounds thereabouts. there also i started first hearing the history from a southern slant...a good bit different than what i had been taught in school. i had never before heard lincoln being criticized for anything let alone being an actual villain. i still greatly admire lincoln although i've learned a lot about him on both sides of the coin. i think his complexity has added to my appreciation of him.

now i'm down in north carolina and the southern sympathies run even stronger in this area. not as many battle sites out on the coast but the confederacy is still a strong favorite here. i also found out that my grandfathers ancesters are from n.c. and took part in the war on the southern side.

i have to wonder if maybe the strong lingering resentment against the union has been effected by the fact that the war didn't end well at all for the south. not only did they lose the war but the war itself ravaged the south. and reconstruction was a terrible time for the south as well. also factor in that the very tennants of the south that they went to war about, state rights and sovereignty, slavery, etc. were pretty much destroyed as well which would have had lasting effects on the southern culture. both sides lost many people but except for some exceptions the southern civilians paid the biggest price of the war. all things considered i guess it's not that surprising that the south might still have some strong feelings about the war and it's aftermath.

CJ wrote: "Did you study about the Civil War or about the War of Northern Aggression? I'd be interested in hearing more about that and about what you were taught about Lincoln in southern schools."

Well, I remember a variety of names for the War, but it seems the most common one was War Between the States. There was almost endless talk about States Rights, especially during the Civil Rights movement in the South, and I think this idea colored the way the Civil War was taught in American History during middle and high school. I'm reading a lot about the Civil War now, and it's absolutely amazing how similar the political language of the 1850s was with the 1960s.

As far as Lincoln in concerned, I never remember hearing anything positive about him. He was the one responsible for our current race difficulties, as in: "If he hadn't freed the N-----s, we wouldn't be in this mess now."

I'm currently reading "Confederates in the Attic", and I must say it's really difficult reading for me, emotionally difficult, that is. I'm really ashamed I grew up in that atmosphere, and know for a certainty that I'll never want to return to the South -- except for visits.

Michael

hi all,

having grown up in colorado, there was probably more of a northern slant to civil war history as taught in school. i have to guess this is because the north had more control over the media as time went along after the war and this created the official rendition of history passed to later generations. still, i live in the south and can appreciate both sides of the story and i believe there was serious bad done on both sides. and that both sides had valid reasons for feeling the need to fight. i admit my sympathies fall more on the northern side but wish the outcome had been better. i truly believe Lincoln was the model to follow in how he intended to mend the country following the war.

i love reading about the Civil War because i'm a ghoul.

i won't attempt any lofty excuses for my fascination. it started with the Lincoln assassination and then spread into 19th century psychiatric and medical practices from there.

and what better epoch to get a really good look at those things than in the violent years of the war and its aftermath?

: D

I also enjoy reading about the Civil War, and live in eastern Connecticut.

I have been interested in reading about United States history, but most particularly Presidential history, for quite some time. What fascinates me the most I suppose is how society in general gets itself into enormously challenging problems, and what our leaders at the time do to manage their way out of them. The examination of Abraham Lincoln's decisions, and how he made those decisions, exemplifies one of the most challenging and successful Presidential administrations in our nation's history. The Civil War is a fascinating story... a true story. And not only does Lincoln shine, but there are countless others as well who play their part. Some people shine, and others obviously do not... and the story behind all of these people is fascinating one. The American Civil War will be studied and restudied for a long time to come by people in all corners of the world, I'm sure.

I have grown up in the South and have always been suspicious of all of the pro-South rhetoric I've heard. Being from the South (though I don't consider myself Southern because I would like to avoid many of the things that come with it) I heard a lot of things about the Civil War that I questioned and so I've always been interested in making an effort to learn for myself why people are so fiercely loyal to the confederacy, even after almost 150 years.

Having never lived in the Northeast, I cannot comment on how people react to the Civil War in that region. I can say that I think it would be very odd, and very refreshing too, to be in a place where nobody cares about the Civil War. Not a day goes by in the South that I don't see somebody wearing a confederate flag t-shirt or with a confederate flag sticker on their car. I read Confederates in the Attic as well and I found it frightening, since I know a lot of people like that. So, to make a very long story short, I read about the Civil War because I am fascinated by it. I want to learn what it is that has people so obsessed nearly 150 years later. Why do people in the South hate the North so much? It seems silly to me but I know there is something behind it.

Hello everyone,

Interesting comments! Michael, I've read Confederates in the Attic, and I thought it was a completely fascinating read (hailing from Pennsylvania, myself) and it offered insight into the lingering resentments of the South.

I became interested in the Civil War mainly because of my dad. He's a history lover, so growing up, we were constantly going to battlefields and museum--I've been all up and down the East coast over the years. I have a great-great-great grandfather who fought for the Union, so I always thought it was fascinating to imagine him fighting his way through the war. I joined this group mainly because despite the fact that I've been surrounded by Civil War knowledge for so long, I feel as though I don't know nearly as much as I could. I find the politics, war tactics and civilian stories fascinating. My dad has a whole list of books that he's ready to feed to me, but I also joined this group for reading suggestions.

So, there's my ramble...hope I didn't talk your ears off!

Jess wrote: "I joined this group mainly because despite the fact that I've been surrounded by Civil War knowledge for so long, I feel as though I don't know nearly as much as I could...."

Hi Jess,
Thanks for your post. I also joined the group for similar reasons, but with a slightly different "slant." Having grown up in the Deep South, I was surrounded by Civil War knowledge, but from a different perspective. Now that I'm in New England, I'm discovering a side of history I was never exposed to -- and feel so fascinated with what I'm learning. Look forward to hearing more from you (and everyone) and what you're reading.

Michael

Well, I also grew up in the Deep South, where my family has lived for a very long time. It's only natural that the folks who lost would be more obsessed with the war itself than the winners, nothing unusual about that, except that for the rest of the US, losing remains an unknown experience, except vicariously, from a distance.

On top of that, of course, the South continued to live with the aftermath of the war itself up through the 60's, since the Reconstruction period ended too abruptly to resolve much of anything definitively. Many saw the Civil Rights legislation as foreign rule imposed by the North once again and upheld by military occupation. The Confederate battle flag was added on to Mississippi, Georgia and South Carlolina state flags during this period as a symbol of Southern defiance deliberately invoking the war. We had a subdivision in my home town that went up in the 60's where every street was named after one Civil War battle or another, along with a Confederate Drive. however, after studying the names, I came to the conclusion that this was probably done by some Yankee with a rare sense of humor as every name was a Confederate loss, including Shiloh and Vicksburg.

The Civil War was so deliberately connected by the Southern political establishment to segregation and Jim Crow laws, that I stayed away from really studying it for a long time, as everyone I knew who had any interest in it, appeared to be motivated by racism, which I found abhorrent. Then while I was living overseas, in Asia, Ken Burn's The Civil War came out and I got all caught up emotionally and intellectually in the presentation and the conflict. And I've been doing a considerable amount of reading on the subject ever since. Plus, I go out to the various battlefields from time to time. I think most folks have gotten away from the 60's motivations, although there will always be an element of that.

Never had much interest in being a reinactor though. I've met a few over the years, and I'm not that sure that the level of obsession required to participate is entirely healthy. Not too long ago, some Southern reinactor actually loaded his weapon and shot down someone on the Northern side.

I met one fellow years ago while running a photography shot where we dressed people up in costumes and took sepia tone prints. One very peculiar man came up to the booth and asked to see the Confederate uniforms and he seemed so strange that I was hesitant to actually let him touch it so I told him that since these weren't color shots, he'd know more about how the uniform would look by actually looking at the prints. And when he did, he started criticising various details. So, I told him that he was absolutely correct, it was not an authentic Civil War uniform, but if he had one of his own, I'd be happy to take a picture of him in it. So, he ran home and came back with his wife. He had a butternut infantry outfit and she had a nurse's outfit, but the apron she wore had a large powderburn through it. So, when I asked about it, his wife said, well he wanted to make it look more authentic, so he shot me. He proceeded to assure me know that he hadn't actually loaded a bullet in it, just a powder charge. hmm. So, I've tended to avoid such folks since, although I have attended a few reinactments.

Very interesting stories, George. I love hearing the perspectives of native southerns, being from New England.

Nice stories, George! I was surprised when I read Confederates in the Attic because I had no idea that people took re-enactments so seriously. If I remember correctly, there were even times when reenactors would get upset with their fellow reenactors for eating fast food on breaks, instead of eating what the soldiers would have eaten back then. I understand that for many the anxiety over authentication is just due to respect, but I agree--I think some people take it over the top!

I read that book too, and I agree. I am interested in the Civil War for a few reasons; I am a history buff, and I think that studying the history of our country is extremely important; the Civil War, its' battles, its' generals, etc. all have an interesting story to tell.

I am mostly interested in the Civil War because I'm interested in military history and the Civil War feels like one of the best mixes between an war dominated by men and war dominated by machines & technology.

Much like Jess, I had a father who was interested in history. We went to many battlefields and museums. It turned out that I had a great-grandfather who had escaped from Libby Prison and went through the remainede of his life minus an arm. My father always German immigrant met a Richmond Irish lass who cooked for her brothers. My theory is maybe she helped him in the escape. I suppose it is the romantic in me.

My father had all of Bruce Catton's books, including the great The Civil War book by American Heritage.

My father was from Maryland and remembered his family having many Southern histories of the war and always wondered what happened to them. Until that point, I don't think that I had realized that there were two separate histories of the war.

Growing up in Illinois, as CJ has already noted, and as historian Michael Beshcloss has noted, I don't think a school kid can reach their majority without at least one trip to New Salem and Springfield. The year we went (I think we only went once) was 1960 and it was in the midst of the Nixon-Kennedy campaing. It just so happened that the day we were in Springfield, so was Nixon. When we went to the Lincoln Memorial at the cemetery, it's kind of a catacomb thing, and we were inside. We also had the benefit of hearing yet another one of our crooked governors making a deal at the Lincoln Memorial. I think that was Rep. Gov. Strafford.

A couple of years ago here in Chicago, there was a big thing when they wanted to make some sort of memorial at the site of the old prison Camp Douglas for the Confederate dead. By the uproar, you would think that the war was about to break out all over again. Camp Douglas was another one of those vicious prision cmaps that of course didn't exist in the North.

I grew up in Evanston, Illinois - where almost every street is named for someone from the Civil War. I think east-west streets were named for Southerners and north-south streets for Northerners. I grew up on Lee Street. The town was founded by John Evans (of Colorado fame) either during or just after the Civil War.

Very interesting comments and a good question.

Ah, yes, Jan. New Salem. The family visited it every summer growing up. I loved it too, despite feeling totally wilted by the heat and humidity by the time we reached the end of that road - with only one way back. We were really dragging by the time we made it to the parking lot!

And the cemetery. Think I mentioned my Dad's whistling for Abe at the tomb, but did you hear about Lincoln's grave being robbed? Sad too how Lincoln was so melancholy about little Willie's death he had him exhumed (twice as I recall) just so he could look at him once more.

It's been years now since I've seen New Salem. Might be nice to pay it a visit - for old time's sake.

CJ

PS: If you ever have an opportunity to hear the 97th Regimental String Band - DON'T miss it! They are hilarious! They are an equal opportunity group (meaning they don't favor North OR South) and sing all the old Civil War era songs (and some Irish tunes) while relating the history of each in a very entertaining manner. They are out of Florida but travel. Always did Gettysburg on the 4th and came to Jefferson Barracks her in St. Louis once a year. They're great fun!

(And, no, we're not related! They're just that good!)

CJ

I have heard about Lincolns' tomb being robbed.

CJ

That group sounds interesting, I'll have to keep an ear out for them.

I've never been to a reenactment. My sister-in-law has gone a few times. The difference between being in Illinois and being in Maryland.

Hey-
like michael i grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago-morton grove- and lived in evanston when i first got married- the streets- sheridan, sherman are obvious northern generals- never noticed the east-west being southern generals- altho sheridan hq'd the department of the west in chi after the civil war- hence sheridan rd, ft sheridan, etc. Lincoln's tomb, which i visited when i was 8, still haunts me- although it was only robbed once- the perps got caught and the grave was then moved up the hillside to its present location- also visited Ft. Fisher in wilmington NC recently- short but excellent presentation was given - so i picked up a copy of the definitive history of "The wilmington campaign" written by a history professor at UNCW(where my daughter teaches communications)this man grew up in wilmington and has written a very good history of this pivotal campaign, when wilmington fell in early 1865- Lee's fate was sealed

Bubble-gum came to Ireland in 1967, or at least to our town. I was six. To be honest, we didn't much like the gum, but we bought it in droves because it was American, and if you were any good you could blow bubbles with it and horrify any passing grown-ups who, for some reason, assumed the world was coming to an end if they saw anything that might indicate Ireland was on the same planet as the rest of the world. That was why Irish kids bought bubble-gum.

But not me. For me the fascination was that as well as the gum, you got a free bubble-gum card. Imagine, America was so prosperous that they just gave away free stuff that they could charge real money for. And the cards in this particular bubble-gum set were grandly titled "Centennial History of the American Civil War". I knew about this war - it was when the Cowboys stopped fighting the Indians and fought among themselves - to free the slaves, my older sister said. I imagined cowboys with slaves, it didn't quite fit. Maybe they ran along behind the horses, or helped to round up the steers by running around and yelling, sheep-dog style.

When I saw the cards everything was clear - serried ranks of blue and grey, some wearing actual cowboy hats! I hadn't a lot of pocket money, none actually, but m friends usually discarded the cards and so I'd get theirs, or mooch around outside the sweet shop to pick them up. Soon I had a growing little collection. I'd flip through them to see the pictures, and read the titles on the back, but the text was too hard to read and the placenames difficult to pronounce.

On my seventh birthday my brother promised me a surprise. That night he brought out a pinhole slide projector he'd made out of a shoebox, a 150 watt lightbulb, and some spare electrical flex and a socket he found in the toolshed. Inserting my cards through a slit in the side of the box, my darkened bedroom lit up with almost life-sized images of the war, and my brother narrated the history to me, slide by slide. I'm sure the history was slightly inaccurate, or even wildly inaccurate, since he couldn't read the back of the card once it was in the shoebox. I neither knew nor cared, I was in 7 year old heaven. Even my parents, fondly looking in on us, decided to ignore the somewhat worrying smell or smouldering cardboard and the imminent threat of electrocution. It was that good.

So I blame him.

That's a great story, Conor.

All I ever got with bubble gum was baseball cards. And possibly bad dental reports.

That's a great story Conor, thanks for taking the time to tell us all about it. I loved it :)

Conor,

Great story. Do you still have some of those cards. I kept most of my baseball cards. It is funny how those types of things evolve as the market demands. In the late 60's and certainly in the 70's, the cards were the draw and not the gum, as it was an added feature, just the opposite of what you are describing.

I too have a passion for the Civil War as it was the lynch-pin of American history and our way of life and government today. The Union had to win the war to keep government by the people intact. And, by this I mean "central" government. A government of a group of "united" states, instead of group of states deciding what was the appropriate way of governing only their state. United vs. divided.

Check out my book if you get a chance. It tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg from the point of the people who lived through it. I chose this angle because it really hadn't been done effectively before, but more so because people make history. People like you and me and Aussie Rick. People are what matters.

It is called Invaders in Our Town: The Battle of Gettysburg Through the Eyes of Some Who Lived It. It is listed with Goodreads, is on Amazon, and on my website: www.invadersinourtown.com

I hope you enjoy the website. It has a really good description of what you will read about in the book.

Thanks James, I'll look at your website and book. Sounds most interesting. I remember watching Shenandoah as a kid but not liking the way the Yankees were portrayed. They were the "good guys" after all. Funny how things are so black and white to a child (no pun intended!).

Well, Conor, those people did live in Virginia.

It is a cool story. Like a lot of folks in US, I had ancestors who fought--a least one on each side. But, what really drew my interest was when I learned about the internal struggles in Texas during the ACW between three groups

1. Confederates
2. Union-supporters
3. the "just let me alone, I am trying to keep myself and my family alive with our scalps." crowd

Much more internal dissension in Texas than I was aware of. Don't know if any other states that seceded had anything like the "Great Hanging in Gainesville," where 40 men were hanged for Unionist "activity."

It was a war that impacted everyone. There was no escaping it. Neutrality was not possible. Growing up in Missouri, a border state, I always wondered which side my ancestors had favored, and if they had ever owned slaves. Now I know, because I found a collection of their letters at the Missouri Historical Society. The letters portray the war in delicious detail. The constant fear, the murderous animosity, the sheer nastiness of the time, even on the home front. In fact, there really was no home front. The war pervaded everything. My ancestors in Missouri were in caffeine withdrawal. They couldn't get coffee because the Mississippi River was blocked at Vicksburg.

The Civil War is a boon for genealogists because it created lots of detailed records that still exist, including letters to and from home, pension records, military rosters, and provost marshal files. It was the first major American war documented by photographs. For these reasons it is much more real to us than earlier wars that have faded into the fogs of history. And yes, of course, the issues it raised are still very much with us.

Personally I love US history from the French and Indian war up until today. As to why I love studying the civil war which is my favorite era of US history with the revolutionary/constitution debate era a very very close second and WWII a distant third. For me it's the people some of my favorite Americans were deeply involved in the war from Lee to Lincoln to Grant to Sherman the lives of these men are remarkable from Lee the failed Washington of his era to Lincoln the mega Andrew Jackson of his (nullification crisis) also the stories of Grant and Lincoln demonstrate the possibility of the American dream Lincoln went from a log cabin to the White House and grant went from a former army man peddling firewood on the street corner to becoming the greatest Union general of the war. I also love to read about the campaigns especially the eastern campaigns when an outnumbered under supplied army won time and time again due to the awe inspiring leadership of Robert E Lee and also I admire the men on both side they went though more than most especially during the wilderness campaign and the Petersburg siege. But if you were to ask me to be Brief I will say this I study the civil war, and other wars, is to learn of their courage, marching into battle knowing you might not return, the courage of picket's charge and the charge of the union troops at the crater is humbling.

My fascination with civil conflict started when I was a child. Perhaps I was born with it, but my parents also encouraged it. For many years, starting when I was so young that this is one of my first memories, my parents took me to the Gettysburg National Battlefield Park. I remember the very long drive it was in those days from Washington, DC. We always stopped at an orchard along the way to pick apples and buy honey. I remember sitting in the auditorium in the main Gettysburg exhibit hall watching the lighted map presentation of the battle. I really did not understand what I was seeing, but the opposing colored lights were riveting as they pushed each other back and forth across the three dimensional map. Ridiculously primitive by today’s standards, it was the height of special effects when I was a kid. My Mom and Dad always bought me a Union kepi to wear, the hat of the common Federal soldier.

I also remember the old photographs of the dead on the battlefield. One in particular of a dead Confederate sharpshooter in the Devil’s Den, a small fortress of boulders that commanded an excellent view of where the Union lines were dug in, has always haunted me. The photo shows a young soldier slumped into a corner of the stones, his rifle leaning against the boulder next to him. I am sure it was the first dead person I had ever seen.

The picture is mounted in the Devil’s Den, and it seemed so odd to me, only about five years old, to be standing in that same place where the dead soldier had been. The picture was almost one hundred years old, but the rocks looked exactly the same. He had been there, right where I was. The place was the same, except he was gone and now I was there. I was there precisely because he, along with all of his comrades and his enemies, had fought there. His death had somehow changed my life, which was why I was in that little rural corner of Pennsylvania, but I did not understand how or why. There had been a war and people had killed each other over things I could not then comprehend, but what they had done changed something about me. I intuitively felt this, and knew it was important, that it had to have been important, because this very young man had died there 100 years ago.

Who had he been? What had brought him there? Why had he died? Why was he still there, in the Devil’s Den, at least in the photograph? Somehow, in some way, I knew he would always be there. The defining moment of his life was that one image of his death. The irony is that, as I found out much later, he had actually died somewhere else. The photographer had placed him in the Devil’s Den because it made a better picture. I suppose it did.

Today, my personal Civil War library includes about 400 books, and I have written two novels about the war. So you could say Gettysburg stuck with me.

Civil conflicts tear open and lay bare the soul of any nation. When brother fights brother, values are put in stark perspective by how the ferocity of our differences shatter our common bonds. In many ways, the United States was lucky. We created a mythology about the Civil War and what it meant that healed us as a nation, though a price was paid, mostly by the former slaves and their descendants. About a decade after the war, the North and the South finally reached an accommodation. Both sides would be allowed to maintain the nobility of the struggle, and the dignity of the surrender at Appomattox would form the core of the mythology of what happened between the two sides. In exchange, the South would accept reunification under the unspoken agreement that the North would end its half-hearted attempts to impose racial equality, permitting the South to maintain white superiority by violently repressing its African-American population in a form of semi-slavery. It was really the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s that wrote the final chapter of the Civil War, a hard fought battle by some of the most courageous men and women, black and white, that this nation has ever known. They faced enormous odds, and many died, but it is a credit to our nation that they finally prevailed. I do not mean to say perfection was achieved. It was not. The vestiges of racism live on, and vigilance is still required. But that is always true in any democracy anywhere I have ever been.

Which means that the Civil War really lasted a little over 110 years. From my experience of civil conflict around the world, that is about par for the course. Civil conflict is always the most enduring.

Touched with Fire

As a young child I was drawn to the conflict for reasons I could not explain or understand at such a young age. Other wars in our history had always interested me but none quite as the civil war. I grew up north of Boston. My family on my mothers side has been traced back to settlement of this country. We had ancestors on both sides of the war. When I was 12 years old my family drove out to Gettysburg. At the time I knew a handful of things about the war and I knew that Gettysburg was one of the big important turning points.It was in the town itself that I felt an energy from the story that had unfolded there.As I grew older I forgot about my connection with the town. I am now 33 and have moved out of Massachusetts. For the past four years I have been living in Maryland just next door to the eastern theater. I have taken weekend trips to many battlefields some even twice. I make it a point to hike the entire park ground. These places have all left incredible impressions on me. With my renewed interest in the civil war fueled by my proximity to historic parks I have begun consuming volumes of books. The politics of the war before and after is amazing. Income tax, instituted to compensate for a 1.9 million dollar a day deficit, and somehow that policy never changed. I believe there was more to the cause of the war. The more I read the better understanding I have. Even though I was born a northerner I have a hard time siding with Union. To me the north stood for big business and more federal government and being a libertarian it is hard to look past that.

Mathias, you are certainly more well-read than I on the conflict. I understand your libertarian instincts on who to side with. But lest it get lost in the avalanche of writing on the run up to the actual violent break out, I would just suggest you read "the Confederate and Neo-confederate Reader" by James W. Loewen and Edward H. Sebesta and "Apostles of Disunion" by Charles B. Dew if you haven't yet. I think the real, ultimate, core cause of the war is crystal clear and that pretty much makes up my mind on the issue.

Mathias wrote: "As a young child I was drawn to the conflict for reasons I could not explain or understand at such a young age. Other wars in our history had always interested me but none quite as the civil war. I..."

Mathias: I am confused by your statement "Income tax, instituted to compensate for a 1.9 million dollar a day deficit, and somehow that policy never changed." The Civil War federal income tax was repealed in 1872 as unconstitutional. The current income tax was initiated following the approval of the 16th amendment to the Constitution in 1913. The Confederacy also adopted an income tax, on a graduated scale, in 1863.

Loads and loads of great stories are to be found in the Civil War's framework, depicting both heroic and despicable behavior, of terribly tragic and hopeful events. Why an interest in reading about any war? War is a crucible, which periodically gets heated up to a critical level of intensity, that is the catalyst which produces the equivalent of "chemical" change in the societies and cultures involved in fighting and surviving it. It's like looking at ourselves, and our best and worst traits, under a very intense microscope, that will eventually burn the material, if left focused on the subject for too long. Add in the element of this being a purely American war (apologies to the large # of immigrant soldiers), and that so many modern legislative, judicial and political functions emerged from it's cauldron, it's an almost overwhelming temptation for any student of American history, government, sociology and culture.

As a child, who grew up on the periphery of the Old South, in southern Texas, I was probably initially drawn to learn more about it because so many of my elder family members, or those of my friends, professed a very deep and passionate mistrust of the "Blue Bellies" and "Yankees". And I probably felt the need to understand exactly why, in full detail. But after maturing a bit, and getting the first few books under my belt, this quickly changed for the reasons I stated above. I'm interested in reading in just about any war, especially where objective accounts from both sides can be found, and where there is a rich diversity of materials and many sub-topics to be found. I now read and deep dive into these sub-topics as I discover them. It leads to so many interesting stories, as well as more complete and fuller understandings.

Great post Greg and very true, thanks for taking the time to explain your interest in military history.

Harry wrote: "Mathias, you are certainly more well-read than I on the conflict. I understand your libertarian instincts on who to side with. But lest it get lost in the avalanche of writing on the run up to th..."

I have not yet read that, but I will make a note and look to pick it up in the near future. Thank you for the recommendation.

I am drawn to the civil war not only because of my growing up in the south but because it's in my blood. My great, great grandfather fought in the civil war. The 52nd N.C. Company G. I love studying the civil war and even did reenactments with the 4th G.A. Sharpshooters. I have a deep respect for the war and the men who fought in the war. Although I have a southern point of view I never knock anyone's view of the war. You can never learn enough so I am always open to peoples views of the civil war.

Good to see you here Jospeh and a great introduction to why you enjoy reading about the Civil War.

thank you, nice to meet you as well.

When I was a small boy, 5 and 6, my grandfather Mohlenbrock used to read stories to me from his brother's college history text. The text was organized around presidential administrations and ended in the middle of Benjamin Harrison's term, but it was vividly written, particularly the accounts of the wars. The book could hold my attention. Usually, my grandfather read either the chapter dealing with the War of 1812 or the one dealing with the Mexican War, because as he explained they were the shortest. Once or twice he read me about the American Revolution, but that was a long war and as he explained to me he had to be "in good voice" to read it. I never could convince him to read the Civil War chapters (there were two). He always said his voice would give out. In retrospect, I think the fact that his father had had a difficult war helped explain some of my grandfather's reluctance. His Dad, William Mohlenbrock, was a recent immigrant from one of the western states of Germany. He volunteered in 1861 and served as a member of the 9th Illinois Mounted Infantry. My grandfather once showed me a huge Navy colt revolver his father had carried during the war. In an extra bedroom he kept a large framed and colored lithograph showing the battles in which his Dad’s regiment had participated. His Dad’s company had been on the extreme left of the Union line (apparently a part of Stuart’s Brigade) at Shiloh and, driven into the river, surrendered. William was able to escape and make his way back to his unit. During the course of the war, he rose from private to 2d lieutenant. He was mustered out and returned home after the fall of Atlanta. My Dad’s grandfather was from Virginia and served in the Stonewall Brigade, but my grandfather Raines died before I was born so I did not soak up any family stories on that side when I was a child.

When I reached high school, I knew a very little about the American Civil War but I had a great curiosity because my earlier experiences. I read everything by Douglas Southall Freeman and Bruce Catton that I could lay my hands on.

I eventually became an official historian specializing on the U.S. Army in the twentieth century. I have continued to read Civil War history because it is impossible to understand the U.S. Army without an understanding of that conflict.

Edgar awesome intro!

Edgar wrote: "When I was a small boy, 5 and 6, my grandfather Mohlenbrock used to read stories to me from his brother's college history text. The text was organized around presidential administrations and ended..."

Good story, Edgar.

I have always been facscinated with history for as long as i canremember. My introduction to the Civil War was Bruce Catton's big hard cover book on the Civil War. It had maps of the major battles, shwowing the land,the buildings and the troops. I studied those maps for hours. My interest deepened as I got older, but it took off after a trip to Gettysburg with my dad in 1997. To quote Joshua Chamberlain from an 1889 speech "And reverent men and women from afar...that know us not...shall come to this deathless field, to ponder and dream,and lo! The shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap them in its bosom,and the power of the vision pass into their souls."How right he was. Something on that visit grabbed me and I go to that battlefield at least twice a year, once to build historic fences during the annual volunteer work day. What I find fascinating about the Civil War now is you can visit a battlefield, stand on the same spot the great generals stood on, look at the ground and debate their decisions. I visit different spots on the Gettysburg battlefield each visit and always see something from a different perspective. The civil war was the necessary war to eradicate an evil (slavery) the founding fathers had to compromise over to ensure the nation would have a constitution. It's battlefields are a tribute to a generation that fought to secure a young nation's promise.

Kerry, Very well expressed.

Kerry, I recall that big Civil War book and I think that's what got my interest started.

Having grown up in the Deep South from a tobacco farming family that's lived there for a few hundred years, it's pretty hard to simply ignore the Civil War or its aftermath. My grandfather was born during Reconstruction, although he died well before I was born, and I myself was the product of a mixed marriage as my father married a Yankee after WWII. I was the first generation born off the farm and I grew up in the 50s and 60s, watching the Civil Rights campaign and the violence directed against the demonstrators, although in the end of course it was Jim Crow that was dragged off the public stage. So I grew up listening to stories of the glorious South and its valient fighting men and the continued resistance to Yankee oppression in the sacred defense of States' Rights. Most of the most vocal knew little or nothing about actual history but they knew what they didn't like and they were quite fond of their Confederate flags, which weren't in fact the actual flag of the Confederacy. Folks put up a nice subdivision near my high school in the mid-Sixties, with all the streets named after famous Civil War battles, like Shiloh and Vicksburg. No one seemed to realize that they were all Confederate defeats, so I often wondered if the owners were actually Yankees with a rare sense of humor.

In any case, while I had a better than average knowledge of the Civil War I pretty much kept away from it and certainly didn't read much in the way of histories. then years later while overseas, I was able to watch Ken Burns Civil War series and was just overwhelmed emotionally by it all and things haven't been the same since as I now spend a great deal of time and energy reading the various books that come out and I do indeed visit the various battlefields when I'm in the area, etc.

Good job Kerry and George, nice to meet you both. I think you both and everyone on here will agree. The civil war is very complex and there so many areas of study that people are drawn to it for many reasons. The battles that were fought, the men who led and the soldiers who fought. Just in the fact that it was an truly American war and had such a profound impact on different areas in the north and south. Again nice to see you both on here