Inglorious Passages: Noncombat Deaths in the American Civil War

Modern War Studies

by Brian Steel Wills

Of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died in the Civil War, two-thirds, by some estimates, were felled by disease; untold others were lost to accidents, murder, suicide, sunstroke, and drowning. Meanwhile thousands of civilians in both the north and south perished—in factories, while caught up in battles near their homes, and in other circumstances associated with wartime production and supply. These “inglorious passages,” no less than the deaths of soldiers in combat, devastated the armies in the field and families and communities at home. Inglorious Passages for the first time gives these noncombat deaths due consideration.

In letters, diaries, obituaries, and other accounts, eminent Civil War historian Brian Steel Wills finds the powerful and poignant stories of fatal accidents and encounters and collateral civilian deaths that occurred in the factories and fields of the Union and the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865. Wills retrieves these stories from obscurity and the cold calculations of statistics to reveal the grave toll these losses exacted on soldiers and civilians, families and society. In its intimate details and its broad scope, his book demonstrates that for those who served and those who supported them, noncombat fatalities were as significant as battle deaths in impressing the full force of the American Civil War on the people called upon to live through it. With the publication of Inglorious Passages, those who paid the supreme sacrifice, regardless of situation or circumstance, will at last be included in the final tabulation of the nation’s bloodiest conflict.

Genres: History, Civil War, American History

408 pages, Hardcover

First published November 10, 2017

Reviews

[Sarah Handley-Cousins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long but enjoyable read on the people who died everywhere but the battlefield during the Civil War. While this book does offer interesting anecdotes on a variety of subjects - folks died by drowning, lightning strikes, exposure, illness, falling from horses, you name it - but it doesn't offer much in the way of analysis. How do all these deaths change or affect what we know about the era? How did Americans deal with the death and destruction that refused to be contained within the boundaries of the battlefield? Wills doesn't really attempt to answer these questions. Nonetheless, a pleasant read.

[W Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an enigma. The information is extremely interesting. It is unreal to read about so many non-combat deaths during the Civil War. Wills research for this book is incredible and detailed. However, the author faced an enormous challenge in writing this book. As best as he could, he grouped the deaths around a particular type of death. The problem is that this book does not lend itself to a narrative or “story.” I enjoyed the information but it was a slog to read. It was just the nature of the book, not the author’s fault.

[Shawn Slattery · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like Faces of Death meets the Civil War, this book tells about all the non-battle killed individuals in this war. While the minority of stories are interesting, the chapters can get extremely repetitive and tiresome. I cant say I really learned much new about the Civil War fork this book, just viewed it from a different angle. Pass.