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Wisconsin and the Civil War
Wisconsin troops fought and died for the Union on Civil War battlefields across the continent, from Shiloh to Gettysburg. Wisconsin lumberjacks built a dam that saved a stranded Union fleet.
The Second Wisconsin Infantry suffered the highest percentage of battle deaths in the Union army. Back home, in a state largely populated by immigrants and recent transplants, the war effort forced Wisconsin's residents to forge a common identity for the first time. Drawing on unpublished letters and new research, Ron Larson tells Wisconsin's Civil War story, from the famous exploits of the Iron Brigade to the heretofore largely unknown contributions of the Badger State's women, African Americans and Native Americans.
The Second Wisconsin Infantry suffered the highest percentage of battle deaths in the Union army. Back home, in a state largely populated by immigrants and recent transplants, the war effort forced Wisconsin's residents to forge a common identity for the first time. Drawing on unpublished letters and new research, Ron Larson tells Wisconsin's Civil War story, from the famous exploits of the Iron Brigade to the heretofore largely unknown contributions of the Badger State's women, African Americans and Native Americans.
- GenresHistory
224 pages, Paperback
Published November 27, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 9, 2018
Wisconsin and the Civil War is a very broad topic in a very small form. A brief survey of the Civil War years, the history of Wisconsin forces engaged in the seat of war, and the effects of the conflict on the state, the volume touches a large number of subjects. Ronald Paul Larson lays out a premise that a general history of Wisconsin during the war hasn’t been done in some time, and the internet and further scholarship justify a new treatment. He is absolutely correct. The digitization of archival sources makes a more thorough history a desirable commodity, and there has been a proliferation of unit histories, especially, which can be integrated into a solid synthesis. Unfortunately, this volume is not the new treatment which Wisconsin deserves.
As already stated, the topic is very broad but is covered in fewer than 200 pages. The result is that heavy topics are glossed over, and less significant topics are given even shorter shrift. For instance, Larson covers the draft and draft riots in a mere eight pages. This brief summary ends with a paragraph noting that Wisconsin didn’t see as violent resistance as, for instance, New York City. Had Larson devoted more space, he could have suggested why. For instance, the widespread practice of hiring contractors to find bodies to fill recruitment quotas allowed municipalities from having to draft at all. But, this is completely omitted in favor of the broad generalization without explanation.
One cannot place all blame on the author for these shortcomings. Larson makes his qualifications plain, and they stand up to scrutiny. The problem, in the opinion of this reviewer, is with the nature of the publisher. The History Press is an imprint of Arcadia Publishing. The publisher focuses on mass numbers of small and cheap books on local and regional history, written by locals themselves. The History Press, most well-known for their “Haunted History” series, specializes even more closely on short and cheap. It is almost certain that the press contacted the writer directly, or the writer was referred by the initial contact, and a subject and page count was suggested. Larson then had to work within the bounds of his publisher. And it is detrimental.
Larson’s writing has a lot of merit: it’s clear and very concise. I did not note any instances of incorrect terminology or over simplification to attempt to appeal to a lay audience. Although it does give its subjects a far too short treatment, the book does cover many understudied subjects. It is not often recalled that the Midwest suffered a significant economic crisis as the war was beginning: Larson argues it was a combination of several issues. First, the Midwest was under-developed and relied on the Mississippi to transit its products. Second, northern banks used bonds from southern banks to guarantee deposits. Third, wages did not rise with inflation. Many histories ignore regional economics and it’s good Larson explained them.
Other subjects covered include the experience of women, Native Americans, and African Americans, prisoners of war, and state politics. There are a very large number of photographs, and appendices with well-constructed tables. It does lack maps, however, which would have been nice to include to give geographic context to the text. How badly was Wisconsin underdeveloped? A map showing rail lines, navigable waterways, and the like would illustrate this. Notes are scarce, only citing sources. There are no explanatory notes. And the bibliography is basically a works cited instead of a comprehensive bibliography, which removes some value from the overall work. These issues could be partially the publisher’s policies.
There is one thing Larson can be accused of is not researching his sources. He states that Klement’s Wisconsin in the Civil War was published in 1997. He is wrong. It was published in 1963. The edition Larson apparently used was the 1997 reprint from the Wisconsin Historical Society. As a historian, this does cast doubt of all of his research. But as a historian, I also made the mistake of not engaging with my sources, but you learn not to neglect the historiography in grad school and Larson seldom appears cognizant of his sources.
Wisconsin and the Civil War is a too short, too broad, well-written, although not well cited, synthesis of existing work and survey of the war years. It’s not all on Ron Larson because a writer works within the bounds of their assignment, but it’s not a worthy work. Stick to Klement’s survey, it is better despite its age. And give Larson the benefit of the doubt with his next book.
As already stated, the topic is very broad but is covered in fewer than 200 pages. The result is that heavy topics are glossed over, and less significant topics are given even shorter shrift. For instance, Larson covers the draft and draft riots in a mere eight pages. This brief summary ends with a paragraph noting that Wisconsin didn’t see as violent resistance as, for instance, New York City. Had Larson devoted more space, he could have suggested why. For instance, the widespread practice of hiring contractors to find bodies to fill recruitment quotas allowed municipalities from having to draft at all. But, this is completely omitted in favor of the broad generalization without explanation.
One cannot place all blame on the author for these shortcomings. Larson makes his qualifications plain, and they stand up to scrutiny. The problem, in the opinion of this reviewer, is with the nature of the publisher. The History Press is an imprint of Arcadia Publishing. The publisher focuses on mass numbers of small and cheap books on local and regional history, written by locals themselves. The History Press, most well-known for their “Haunted History” series, specializes even more closely on short and cheap. It is almost certain that the press contacted the writer directly, or the writer was referred by the initial contact, and a subject and page count was suggested. Larson then had to work within the bounds of his publisher. And it is detrimental.
Larson’s writing has a lot of merit: it’s clear and very concise. I did not note any instances of incorrect terminology or over simplification to attempt to appeal to a lay audience. Although it does give its subjects a far too short treatment, the book does cover many understudied subjects. It is not often recalled that the Midwest suffered a significant economic crisis as the war was beginning: Larson argues it was a combination of several issues. First, the Midwest was under-developed and relied on the Mississippi to transit its products. Second, northern banks used bonds from southern banks to guarantee deposits. Third, wages did not rise with inflation. Many histories ignore regional economics and it’s good Larson explained them.
Other subjects covered include the experience of women, Native Americans, and African Americans, prisoners of war, and state politics. There are a very large number of photographs, and appendices with well-constructed tables. It does lack maps, however, which would have been nice to include to give geographic context to the text. How badly was Wisconsin underdeveloped? A map showing rail lines, navigable waterways, and the like would illustrate this. Notes are scarce, only citing sources. There are no explanatory notes. And the bibliography is basically a works cited instead of a comprehensive bibliography, which removes some value from the overall work. These issues could be partially the publisher’s policies.
There is one thing Larson can be accused of is not researching his sources. He states that Klement’s Wisconsin in the Civil War was published in 1997. He is wrong. It was published in 1963. The edition Larson apparently used was the 1997 reprint from the Wisconsin Historical Society. As a historian, this does cast doubt of all of his research. But as a historian, I also made the mistake of not engaging with my sources, but you learn not to neglect the historiography in grad school and Larson seldom appears cognizant of his sources.
Wisconsin and the Civil War is a too short, too broad, well-written, although not well cited, synthesis of existing work and survey of the war years. It’s not all on Ron Larson because a writer works within the bounds of their assignment, but it’s not a worthy work. Stick to Klement’s survey, it is better despite its age. And give Larson the benefit of the doubt with his next book.
July 9, 2020
I would give a 3.5 if possible but rounded up to 4 stars.
This book gives a good overview of a complex subject and I learned many new things. It must have been challenging to attempt to tell the story of each regiment in the Civil War from Wisconsin. A balance needs to found between telling disjointed, yet exciting anecdotes, and dry facts. At times Larson was not equal to the task.
Larson attempted to touch on many broad areas including home front, economics, and the various theatres of war. He generally does a good job, but gives a disproportionate amount of attention to Wisconsin minorities (who were very small minorities of Wisconsin's Civil War participation). Several chapters could have been written on the German, Norwegian, and Irish etc. immigrants each, however these numerically more significant groups do not get the same focus and attention to detail. I suppose, the excuse is that this book is a book of its times.
This book gives a good overview of a complex subject and I learned many new things. It must have been challenging to attempt to tell the story of each regiment in the Civil War from Wisconsin. A balance needs to found between telling disjointed, yet exciting anecdotes, and dry facts. At times Larson was not equal to the task.
Larson attempted to touch on many broad areas including home front, economics, and the various theatres of war. He generally does a good job, but gives a disproportionate amount of attention to Wisconsin minorities (who were very small minorities of Wisconsin's Civil War participation). Several chapters could have been written on the German, Norwegian, and Irish etc. immigrants each, however these numerically more significant groups do not get the same focus and attention to detail. I suppose, the excuse is that this book is a book of its times.
March 26, 2020
A broad look at Wisconsin's involvement in the Civil War. This is the perfect read for someone just starting out with this topic. Has a great bibliography for delving deeper into the topics. A light and fun non-fiction read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be checking out some other books about this.
September 27, 2020
A bit difficult to read as there is scads of details about hundreds of WI units involved in the war. It might be a good book for those really interested in the Civil War or doing war research. For enjoyment reading, it was difficult.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews