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Civil War America
Why Confederates Fought: Family and Nation in Civil War Virginia
In the first comprehensive study of the experience of Virginia soldiers and their families in the Civil War, Aaron Sheehan-Dean captures the inner world of the rank-and-file. Utilizing new statistical evidence and first-person narratives, Sheehan-Dean explores how Virginia soldiers--even those who were nonslaveholders--adapted their vision of the war's purpose to remain committed Confederates.
Sheehan-Dean challenges earlier arguments that middle- and lower-class southerners gradually withdrew their support for the Confederacy because their class interests were not being met. Instead he argues that Virginia soldiers continued to be motivated by the profound emotional connection between military service and the protection of home and family, even as the war dragged on. The experience of fighting, explains Sheehan-Dean, redefined southern manhood and family relations, established the basis for postwar race and class relations, and transformed the shape of Virginia itself. He concludes that Virginians' experience of the Civil War offers important lessons about the reasons we fight wars and the ways that those reasons can change over time.
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In the first comprehensive study of the experience of Virginia soldiers and their families in the Civil War, Aaron Sheehan-Dean captures the inner world of the rank-and-file. He challenges earlier arguments that middle- and lower-class southerners gradually withdrew their support for the Confederacy because their class interests were not being met. Instead he argues that Virginia soldiers continued to be motivated by the profound emotional connection between military service and the protection of home and family, even as the war dragged on.
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Sheehan-Dean challenges earlier arguments that middle- and lower-class southerners gradually withdrew their support for the Confederacy because their class interests were not being met. Instead he argues that Virginia soldiers continued to be motivated by the profound emotional connection between military service and the protection of home and family, even as the war dragged on. The experience of fighting, explains Sheehan-Dean, redefined southern manhood and family relations, established the basis for postwar race and class relations, and transformed the shape of Virginia itself. He concludes that Virginians' experience of the Civil War offers important lessons about the reasons we fight wars and the ways that those reasons can change over time.
<!--copy for pb
In the first comprehensive study of the experience of Virginia soldiers and their families in the Civil War, Aaron Sheehan-Dean captures the inner world of the rank-and-file. He challenges earlier arguments that middle- and lower-class southerners gradually withdrew their support for the Confederacy because their class interests were not being met. Instead he argues that Virginia soldiers continued to be motivated by the profound emotional connection between military service and the protection of home and family, even as the war dragged on.
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291 pages, Hardcover
First published November 26, 2007
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About the author
Aaron Sheehan-Dean
27 books9 followersAaron Sheehan-Dean is Fred C. Frey Chair of Southern Studies at Louisiana State University. His previous books include The Civil War: The Final Year Told by Those Who Lived It and Why Confederates Fought: Family and Nation in Civil War Virginia. He is currently editing the Cambridge History of the American Civil War.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 5, 2019
I should say it was OK for such a pro-Confederacy book. All the Confederates were such passionate people who loved Virginia (as if others didn't love their own home) and these passions only increased as the years went on.. They were defending their freedom to enslave others (hypocritical? YES!) and the very idea of supremacy of the white race.
One can easily flip the story to speak of Union soldiers who were horrified by what Confederates were doing to their own territory.. The Confederates were just as violent and mercenary.. This country is made up of dueling ideas and moralities and the Civil War hasn't changed that.. If we want to see what horrible road our ciivic engagement can get us, just read one of many books like this that expose the personal cost to Civil War..
Be sure and read ALL THE LETTERS in Ken Burns'-style narration so you don't get bored & overwhelmed with all the anecdotal evidence. It's worth a read, though. The book is still good...
One can easily flip the story to speak of Union soldiers who were horrified by what Confederates were doing to their own territory.. The Confederates were just as violent and mercenary.. This country is made up of dueling ideas and moralities and the Civil War hasn't changed that.. If we want to see what horrible road our ciivic engagement can get us, just read one of many books like this that expose the personal cost to Civil War..
Be sure and read ALL THE LETTERS in Ken Burns'-style narration so you don't get bored & overwhelmed with all the anecdotal evidence. It's worth a read, though. The book is still good...
Displaying 1 of 1 review