Georgias Civil War

by David Williams

In September 1864, at a gathering in Macon, Georgia, Confederate President Jefferson Davis admitted that two-thirds of his troops were absent, most without leave. Some had opposed secession to begin with. Others came to see the conflict as a rich mans war. But it was hardship and hunger among their families that drew most soldiers back home. For more than a century and a half, historians have often ignored the Confederacys home front difficulties, which had so much to do with desertion and defeat. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Civil War knows that Confederate armies were outnumbered two to one. In a presumptive way, the manpower disparity is usually attributed to the Norths larger population. Lost in that simplistic view is the impact that desertion had on the Confederacys fighting strength. This is but one of the many critical issues historians too often brush aside. By looking behind the battle lines, we can find answers to these frequently overlooked questions.

284 pages, Hardcover

Published October 2, 2017

About the author

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A professor of history at Valdosta State University, David Williams received his Ph.D. in history from Auburn University in 1988. The author of numerous articles on Georgia history, the Old South, Appalachia, and the Civil War, Williams is the author of Rich Man's War: Class, Caste, and Confederate Defeat in the Lower Chattahoochee Valley and Johnny Reb's War: Battlefield and Homefront and the coauthor of Gold Fever: America's First Gold Rush and Plain Folk in a Rich Man's War: Class and Dissent in Confederate Georgia. He lives in Valdosta, Georgia.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific riposte to the revisionism of "Lost Cause" historiography. Points out the manner in which Georgia was stampeded into secession, how conscription and exemption of the planter class from military service rendered the cause unpopular, then how continued cotton planting in expectation of rising price windfalls by the planters combined with hoarding and speculation of scarce foodstuffs doomed the Confederacy to a well-earned defeat. Makes the point that the Confederate government was thoroughly discredited and disavowed even by steadfast veterans in 1865 and that the nostalgic afterglow of chivalry and popular unity was applied well after the fact. The epilogue is well worth reading as it subtly draws parallels between the reestablishment of rule in the late 19th century by the classes responsible for the South's ruin and today's plutocracy with its resurrection of white supremacy, voter suppression, and debt peonage for plain folks.