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REVIEWS
More Than a Contest Between Armies
Essays on the Civil War Era
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Edited by James Marten and A. Kristen Foster
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(Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2008. Pp. xii, 309. Notes, bibliography, index. $35.00.)
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| The American Civil War is a popular and enduring subject in publishing; and its approaching sesquicentennial will only make it more so. Books and articles regularly appear on seemingly every possible aspect of the war. Written for both academic and popular audiences, by scholars and amateurs, the quality and topics can vary greatly. Something like the stock of the sutlers' wagons that followed Civil War armies, the subject offers something for everyone. From a very focused work on a single battle, to a sweeping analysis taking in the whole war and its many facets, reader—much like that soldier perusing the sutlers' goods—can find something to interest them. More Than a Contest Between Armies: Essays on the Civil War Era, is much like the sutlers' offerings—there is something here for everyone. |
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Based on presentations given by many of the foremost Civil War scholars of the last forty years as part of the Frank L. Klement Lectures at Marquette University, editors James Marten and A. Kristen Foster have done a marvelous job of assembling twelve essays presenting different aspects of and perspectives on this tragic conflict. The editors' excellent preface places the anthology in context to the Klement series and its goal to present the broad field of Civil War study—from the battlefield to the home front; from the military and political leaders of the war to the battles waged to preserve the honor and glory of their causes in its aftermant. The editors quote Civil War historian Frank Klement himself for the title of the book. The Civil War was indeed "more than a contest between armies," and the essays presented make that clear. Some are military-related works, such as John Simon's comparison between Union commanders Ulysses S. Grant and Henry Halleck, and Lesley Gordon's look at bravery and cowardice in the 16th Connecticut Infantry Regiment. But the majority deal with the political and domestic aspects of the war. For example, what was Frederick Douglass's relationship with Abraham Lincoln and did he give the martyred president proper credit for what he did for African Americans? Who were Henry Tuckerman, Anna Dickinson, and Silas Weir Mitchell, and how did their writing influence public opinion and perspectives regarding the war? Was the home front experience necessarily all that different between Northern and Southern communities? While Abraham Lincoln and the federal government have been criticized for violating civil liberties in prosecuting the war, did Jefferson Davis and the Confederate government tread any more carefully in protecting and honoring such rights? How were the rights and treatment of "virtuous" women versus prostitutes dealt with in wartime? A who's who of Civil War historians, including Gary Gallagher, Ed Ayers, Catherine Clinton, David Blight, Mark Neely, and more, explore these and other topics. |
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A brief introduction to each essay provides information on the historian and subject and endnotes follow it. In between are informative, insightful, and thought provoking essays. For anyone interested in the Civil War, this is a must read. |
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James J. Holmberg is Curator of Special Collections at The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky. The Civil War is one of his areas of specialty, and he writes and lectures on it.
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