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Galvanized: The Odyssey of a Reluctant Carolina Confederate
Every Civil War veteran had a story to tell. But few stories top the one lived by Wright Stephen Batchelor. Like most North Carolina farmers, Batchelor eschewed slaveholding. He also opposed secession and war, yet he fought on both sides of the conflict. During his time in each uniform, Batchelor barely avoided death at the Battle of Gettysburg, was captured twice, and survived one of the war’s most infamous prisoner-of-war camps. He escaped and, after walking hundreds of miles, rejoined his comrades at Petersburg, Virginia, just as the Union siege there began. Once the war ended, Batchelor returned on foot to his farm, where he took part in local politics, supported rights for freedmen, and was fatally involved in a bizarre hometown murder.
Michael K. Brantley’s story of his great-great-grandfather’s odyssey blends memory and Civil War history to look at how the complexities of loyalty and personal belief governed one man’s actions—and still influence the ways Americans think about the conflict today.
Michael K. Brantley’s story of his great-great-grandfather’s odyssey blends memory and Civil War history to look at how the complexities of loyalty and personal belief governed one man’s actions—and still influence the ways Americans think about the conflict today.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published May 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 18, 2020
This is a wonderful book - and not just for Southerners and history buffs!
As a bonafide Yankee and someone who has read much about the Civil war - I learned a great deal from the 'uncommitted' Southern perspective. This is a factual history book that reads like a novel.
Brantley takes on the tough issues with great care and an objectivity not often seen when discussing the Civil War. He rides the razor's edge with his open and frank discussion regarding confederate monuments, not afraid to deal openly with difficult subjects. This is a book for the open-minded reader, not one who seeks a simple or politically correct solution to our Country's most difficult conflict.
Highly recommended!
As a bonafide Yankee and someone who has read much about the Civil war - I learned a great deal from the 'uncommitted' Southern perspective. This is a factual history book that reads like a novel.
Brantley takes on the tough issues with great care and an objectivity not often seen when discussing the Civil War. He rides the razor's edge with his open and frank discussion regarding confederate monuments, not afraid to deal openly with difficult subjects. This is a book for the open-minded reader, not one who seeks a simple or politically correct solution to our Country's most difficult conflict.
Highly recommended!
October 30, 2022
I love local history, and this book does a great job telling the story of Wright Batchelor and his journey through the Civil War. Even those not local to eastern NC would enjoy reading this and potentially learn that the Civil War is much more complex than today's society makes it seem. It's hard to judge history unless you're actually a part of it, and this book gives a fresh perspective of the ordinary man and NC'S decision to join the war that most history books/classes don't teach.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews