Midnight in America: Darkness, Sleep, and Dreams during the Civil War

Civil War America

by Jonathan W. White

The Civil War brought many forms of upheaval to America, not only in waking hours but also in the dark of night. Sleeplessness plagued the Union and Confederate armies, and dreams of war glided through the minds of Americans in both the North and South. Sometimes their nightly visions brought the horrors of the conflict vividly to life. But for others, nighttime was an escape from the hard realities of life and death in wartime. In this innovative new study, Jonathan W. White explores what dreams meant to Civil War–era Americans and what their dreams reveal about their experiences during the war. He shows how Americans grappled with their fears, desires, and struggles while they slept, and how their dreams helped them make sense of the confusion, despair, and loneliness that engulfed them.

White takes readers into the deepest, darkest, and most intimate places of the Civil War, connecting the emotional experiences of soldiers and civilians to the broader history of the conflict, confirming what poets have known for centuries: that there are some truths that are only revealed in the world of darkness.

Genres: Civil War, History, American History, Nonfiction, War, American Civil War

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 2, 2017

Reviews

[Peg - The History Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review on my BookTube channel (and subscribe!): https://youtu.be/W8A5OSd51LE

[Randy Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells a uniquely emotional story through the dream life of people who lived through the American Civil War. This is a great subject for considering dreams as material for talking about an event like the Civil War because of how everyone would have such a heightened experience of the extreme violence. Every battle, every person would know so much about this event because it was happening to neighbors, family members, places everyone knows.

It surprised me a little though that people both wrote down accounts of their dreams during these years and that so many of them involved the war. The book also considers the way specific dreams became mythic like the ones where soldiers dreamt of their own deaths and then they would die in the next battle.

The book concludes with the dream Lincoln supposedly had and that he recounted shortly before his assassination predicting that he wouldn’t live long. The author first looks at all the various accounts people had of his story of the dream, and finally how that dream became part of Lincoln’s martyred mythology.

[Brenda Clough · Rating 3 out of 5]

An almost too thorough coverage of the topic. The fact is that most of our dreams are not very interesting except to us; gathered together like this makes it distressingly plain.

[James Crabtree · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book Mr. White looks at sleep and dreams during the Civil War and does an excellent job on a unique study of the Civil War. To be honest, when I picked up this book I thought it might be an intellectual study, one that "tries to link the excess sleep of urbanized Union soldiers towards a thoughtful approach of war vice the more rural Confederates who lacked sleep and thuis were more inclined to brutality and bigotry." Instead, this is a carefully considered look at sleep and how its lack affected soldiers. How Lincoln declined to have sleeping sentries shot even though this was the standard punishment for such an offense. The types of dreams soldiers had during the war. The types of dreams civilians had during the war. How soldiers dealt with dreams of their own deaths in combat. And, of course, the dreams of President Lincoln and his own supposed premonition of death.

White uses first-hand accounts of dreams written in journals and newspapers and excerpts from documents talking about sleep. It makes for an interesting read and is illustrated with contemporary artwork and photos. Well worth taking time for, especially if you're a Civil War reader.

[Emily Gingrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find civil war history interesting and when my colleague said his book was to be published in March I decided to read it. I like how White gives you a glimpse into the society of this era via their dreams. A good read for someone who loves history but wants more of a story feel rather than a textbook feel.

[Louiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and different. If you love history, you'll enjoy this. A non-fiction exploration of the difficulties Civil War soldiers faced due to lack of sleep and the significance they and the civilians at home gave to their dreams, so much so that they recorded them in their journals and they wrote them to the letters they sent to their loved ones.

[Jason S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating premise for a book, and incredibly well researched. Surprising for me that looking at dreams of the era didn’t really lead to many new insights about the Civil War. Maybe that is the point? I enjoyed the idea of this book much more than the actual book.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

At times it felt like I was in a David Lynch movie, and I mean this as a compliment.