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The War That Made America: Essays Inspired by the Scholarship of Gary W. Gallagher
This collection of original essays reveals the richness and dynamism of contemporary scholarship on the Civil War era. Inspired by the lines of inquiry that animated the writings of the influential historian Gary W. Gallagher, this volume includes nine essays by leading scholars in the field who explore a broad range of themes and participants in the nation's greatest conflict, from Indigenous communities navigating the dangerous shoals of the secession winter to Confederate guerrillas caught in the legal snares of the Union's hard war to African Americans pursuing landownership in the postwar years. Essayists also explore how people contested and shaped the memory of the conflict, from outright silences and evasions to the use of formal historical writing. Other contributors use comparative and transnational history to rethink key aspects of the conflict. The result is a thorough examination of Gallagher's scholarly legacy and an assessment of the present and future of the Civil War history field.
Contributors are William A. Blair, Peter S. Carmichael, Andre M. Fleche, Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh, Caroline E. Janney, Peter C. Leubke, Cynthia Nicoletti, Aaron Sheehan-Dean, and Kathryn J. Shively.
Contributors are William A. Blair, Peter S. Carmichael, Andre M. Fleche, Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh, Caroline E. Janney, Peter C. Leubke, Cynthia Nicoletti, Aaron Sheehan-Dean, and Kathryn J. Shively.
280 pages, Hardcover
Published March 19, 2024
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 15, 2025
Engaging and groundbreaking scholarship on the Civil War. Highlights for me were Dr. Janney's essay on the use of military commission trials to combat guerrillas and the third section on constructing the narrative of the Civil War.
The War That Made America is a celebration of scholarship that acknowledges past work,
presents meaningful scholarship, and looks towards a brilliant future. Edited by Aaron SheehanDean, Peter Carmichael, and Caroline Janney, this volume was dedicated to their mentor, Gary
Gallagher, and the themes of his prolific career. In addition to writing, editing, and teaching,
Gallagher mentored thirty students, nine of whom are contributors to this volume.
The first section explores nationalism, which Gallagher applied very seriously to the
Civil War. William Blair examines Confederate diplomacy with the Five Nations. Blair
demonstrates that Elias Boudinot, a delegate who represented the Cherokee Nation in the
Confederate Congress, made a substantial impact on policy through reforming electoral
procedures and financial relief for his people, although neither would be fully implemented. In
“Apples and Oranges and Hardtack,” Aaron Sheehan-Dean makes the case for comparative
history in the field of Civil War Era studies. Andre Fleche traces the ideology of Confederate
statesman through their foreign policy positions in Latin America. Fleche argues that southerners
recognized the centrality of the nation state in advancing policy goals, especially protecting
slavery.
The next three essays explore the intersections between military history and the social,
political, and economic circumstances. Robert E. Lee’s life and legacy is analyzed by Wayne
Wei-siang Hseih, who argues Lee’s background as engineer shaped his actions as general and coexisted with pre-modern behavior. Caroline Janney examines the military commission trial of
John McCue, a member of Mosby’s rangers who was arrested on a raid in the last days of the
war. She claims that military commission trials were an important tool to prosecute guerrillas,
and McCue’s subsequent pardon demonstrates the policy of national reconciliation. Cynthia
Nicoletti assesses the endurance of tax titles as a tool to redistribute land to freedpeople in Port
Royal, South Carolina. Nicoletti traces the planters’ attempts to revoke the land seizures, and the
Supreme Court case that ultimate proclaimed the validity of tax titles, granting a small victory
for freedpeople.
The final section examines memory and the construction of the past, revealing how both
popular remembrance and scholarly history were shaped by immediate reporting and later
mythologizing. Peter Carmichael treks to Sussex County, Virginia, where the memory of a
violent Civil War encounter lies buried in the past. Carmichael chronicles how Union soldiers
that overindulged in alcohol were left behind in a march to destroy a stretch of railroad, and
some of these stragglers were murdered and their corpses defiled. The Hicksford Raid, as it is
known, culminated in a brutal reprisal against civilians. Carmichael argues that early reporting
by the Union generals glossed over the violence, while southern newspapers also downplayed
violence on the home front to keep up morale. Kathryn Shively explores Jubal Early’s effect on
Confederate mythmaking in his role as self-appointed historian of the Confederacy. Shively
asserts that Early used scientific history to advance the odds thesis and supersede efforts by
women to control the narrative. Peter Luebke elucidates the role of northern veterans in the
standardization of the historical profession. Luebke argues that veterans utilized primary sources
and placed their works in conversation with each other, laying the groundwork for professional
historians.
The War That Made America illuminates under-appreciated aspects of the Civil War and
carries forward the legacy of Gary Gallagher and Dr. Carmichael.
The War That Made America is a celebration of scholarship that acknowledges past work,
presents meaningful scholarship, and looks towards a brilliant future. Edited by Aaron SheehanDean, Peter Carmichael, and Caroline Janney, this volume was dedicated to their mentor, Gary
Gallagher, and the themes of his prolific career. In addition to writing, editing, and teaching,
Gallagher mentored thirty students, nine of whom are contributors to this volume.
The first section explores nationalism, which Gallagher applied very seriously to the
Civil War. William Blair examines Confederate diplomacy with the Five Nations. Blair
demonstrates that Elias Boudinot, a delegate who represented the Cherokee Nation in the
Confederate Congress, made a substantial impact on policy through reforming electoral
procedures and financial relief for his people, although neither would be fully implemented. In
“Apples and Oranges and Hardtack,” Aaron Sheehan-Dean makes the case for comparative
history in the field of Civil War Era studies. Andre Fleche traces the ideology of Confederate
statesman through their foreign policy positions in Latin America. Fleche argues that southerners
recognized the centrality of the nation state in advancing policy goals, especially protecting
slavery.
The next three essays explore the intersections between military history and the social,
political, and economic circumstances. Robert E. Lee’s life and legacy is analyzed by Wayne
Wei-siang Hseih, who argues Lee’s background as engineer shaped his actions as general and coexisted with pre-modern behavior. Caroline Janney examines the military commission trial of
John McCue, a member of Mosby’s rangers who was arrested on a raid in the last days of the
war. She claims that military commission trials were an important tool to prosecute guerrillas,
and McCue’s subsequent pardon demonstrates the policy of national reconciliation. Cynthia
Nicoletti assesses the endurance of tax titles as a tool to redistribute land to freedpeople in Port
Royal, South Carolina. Nicoletti traces the planters’ attempts to revoke the land seizures, and the
Supreme Court case that ultimate proclaimed the validity of tax titles, granting a small victory
for freedpeople.
The final section examines memory and the construction of the past, revealing how both
popular remembrance and scholarly history were shaped by immediate reporting and later
mythologizing. Peter Carmichael treks to Sussex County, Virginia, where the memory of a
violent Civil War encounter lies buried in the past. Carmichael chronicles how Union soldiers
that overindulged in alcohol were left behind in a march to destroy a stretch of railroad, and
some of these stragglers were murdered and their corpses defiled. The Hicksford Raid, as it is
known, culminated in a brutal reprisal against civilians. Carmichael argues that early reporting
by the Union generals glossed over the violence, while southern newspapers also downplayed
violence on the home front to keep up morale. Kathryn Shively explores Jubal Early’s effect on
Confederate mythmaking in his role as self-appointed historian of the Confederacy. Shively
asserts that Early used scientific history to advance the odds thesis and supersede efforts by
women to control the narrative. Peter Luebke elucidates the role of northern veterans in the
standardization of the historical profession. Luebke argues that veterans utilized primary sources
and placed their works in conversation with each other, laying the groundwork for professional
historians.
The War That Made America illuminates under-appreciated aspects of the Civil War and
carries forward the legacy of Gary Gallagher and Dr. Carmichael.
Displaying 1 of 1 review