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Patriots Twice: Former Confederates and the Building of America after the Civil War
A “timely” look at the roles played by ex-Confederates after the war, in politics, academia, the military, industry, and more (Midwest Book Review).The long and bloody American Civil War claimed the lives of more than 700,000 men. When it ended, former opponents worked to rebuild their reunified nation and move into the future together. Many people will find that surprising—especially in an era witnessing the destruction or removal of Confederate monuments and the desecration of Confederate cemeteries.In this unique and timely book, award-winning author Stephen M. Hood identifies more than three hundred former Confederate soldiers, sailors, and government officials who reintegrated into American society and attained positions of authority and influence in the federal government, the United States military, academia, science, commerce, and industry. Their contributions had a long-lasting and positive influence on the country we have today.For example, ten postwar presidents appointed former Confederates as Supreme Court justices, secretaries of the U.S. Navy, attorneys general, and a secretary of the interior. Dozens of former Southern soldiers were named U.S. ambassadors and consuls, and eight were appointed generals who commanded troops during the Spanish-American War. Former Confederates were elected mayors of such unlikely cities as Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Santa Fe, and served as governors of multiple non-Confederate states and territories.Ex-Southern soldiers became presidents of professional societies including the American Bar Association and the American Medical Association, to name only a few. Others paved the way in science and engineering by leading the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Geological Society of America. One former Confederate co-founded the environmental preservation group Sierra Club, and another was president of the Society for Classical Studies.Former soldiers in gray founded or co-founded many colleges and universities—some exclusively for women and newly freed African-Americans. Other former Rebels served as presidents of prominent institutions, including the University of California, Berkeley, and taught at universities outside the South including Harvard, Yale, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Johns Hopkins, and Amherst College. Several others served on the governing boards of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis.Every reader of Patriots Twice has benefited from the post-Civil War reconciliation when former combatants put down their swords, picked up their plowshares, and accepted the invaluable contributions of these (and thousands of other) former Confederates. The men who carried the bayonets found common cause and moved on together. This is an important concept everyone should—no, must—embrace to keep America united, strong, and free.
447 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 21, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 20, 2023
Confederates After The War
Steven M. Hood's recent book "Patriots Twice: Former Confederates and the Building of America after the Civil War" (2020) manages to be both timely and contrarian. A distant relative of Confederate General John Bell Hood, the author has written two books in partial rehabilitation of this Confederate general whose leadership, particularly as commander of the Army of Tennessee late in the War, has been sharply criticized by most historians.
"Patriots Twice" examines the lives of over 200 former Confederates of varying ranks to show how they attained positions of high responsibility and trust following the Civil War. The service of these individuals was not limited to positions in the Old South but instead spread across the reunited Union. As Hood shows, former Confederates were appointed to high positions within the Federal government, including positions as Justices of the Supreme Court and generals in the Spanish-American War. They were elected to governorships and local positions of responsibility in several states outside the former Confederacy. Former Confederates went on to lives of accomplishment in law, medicine, the academy, and business. Some served as presidents of professional organizations such as the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association while others were active in the founding of universities and other institutions of learning and of public service.
This is an important history to tell and it probably has not been studied before in the manner of this book. Hood makes his case that many former Confederates went on after the war to assume important positions of responsibility in reuniting the divided country. The discussions of each person are necessarily brief. Hood offers a brief summary of each individual's early life, the nature of his (all the characters discussed are men) Civil War service, and the positions that he occupied following the War. For the most part, Hood avoids discussing the political commitments of his subjects or the specifics of their performance in the positions they occupied after the War. The goal of the book is simply to show that these individuals became leaders working towards a united Union.
It might be valuable to provide more historical context to this study than Hood provides. After the War, there was a tension between Reconstructionists who wished to change the political and social structure of the defeated South and to protect the rights of the newly-freed people and Reconciliationists. Reconciliationists were more interested in reuiniting the former combatants, North and South, and in creating peace between the sections. Historian David Blight's 2002 book, "Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory" is among many studies that discuss the tension between the Reconstructionist and the Reconciliationist approaches. Blight and many other scholars acknowledge the need for reconciliation but they tend to be highly critical of how the rights of African Americans were ignored and pushed to the side for a century with the rise, following the end of Reconstruction, of a Jim Crow South as well as a segregated North.
Hood's book implicitly takes a reconciliationist approach to the Civil War. There is something to be said for this approach in that its critics tend to downplay the significance and difficulty of reuniting the country after four years of hard war. Still, Hood's book does not acknowledge the other side of the story -- the continued mistreatment of African Americans. His book would have been stronger with a recognition that the status of African Americans was not adequately addressed during the years of reconciliation he describes in his book. Similarly, while Hood's biographical sketches are largely free of polemic, he objects in his introductory sections to the ongoing removal of Confederate statues from public places and to the renaming of buildings and institutions and the like. Several of the people discussed in this study have been among the subjects of these efforts. The book would have been better, in my view, if the author had refrained from taking a position on these matters. It would not have impacted the content or the value of the book. Reconciliationist efforts need to continue to be made, as they apply to the broader country and the African American community. The place for historical reconciliation is in books and studies such as Hood's if not in public places.
With this criticism, Hood's story remains valuable and deserves to be told. A quotation from Robert E. Lee about the necessity for patience in following the course of history serves as an epigraph to and frames the book. Hood offers another insightful quotation from Lee in his discussion of Lee's post-war service as the president of Washington College. Lee wrote, in words that still apply: "I think it the duty of every citizen in the present condition of the Country, to do all in his power to aid in the restoration of peace and harmony."
Of the many people Hood discusses, I was most moved to learn about Moses Jacob Ezekiel, a Jewish American, a committed Confederate, and a world-class sculptor. I hadn't known anything of him before. Ezekiel designed the Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery. His descendants have petitioned for the Monument's removal and relocation.
I was glad to read and learn from this book. The publisher, Savas Beatie, kindly sent me a review copy.
Robin Friedman
Steven M. Hood's recent book "Patriots Twice: Former Confederates and the Building of America after the Civil War" (2020) manages to be both timely and contrarian. A distant relative of Confederate General John Bell Hood, the author has written two books in partial rehabilitation of this Confederate general whose leadership, particularly as commander of the Army of Tennessee late in the War, has been sharply criticized by most historians.
"Patriots Twice" examines the lives of over 200 former Confederates of varying ranks to show how they attained positions of high responsibility and trust following the Civil War. The service of these individuals was not limited to positions in the Old South but instead spread across the reunited Union. As Hood shows, former Confederates were appointed to high positions within the Federal government, including positions as Justices of the Supreme Court and generals in the Spanish-American War. They were elected to governorships and local positions of responsibility in several states outside the former Confederacy. Former Confederates went on to lives of accomplishment in law, medicine, the academy, and business. Some served as presidents of professional organizations such as the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association while others were active in the founding of universities and other institutions of learning and of public service.
This is an important history to tell and it probably has not been studied before in the manner of this book. Hood makes his case that many former Confederates went on after the war to assume important positions of responsibility in reuniting the divided country. The discussions of each person are necessarily brief. Hood offers a brief summary of each individual's early life, the nature of his (all the characters discussed are men) Civil War service, and the positions that he occupied following the War. For the most part, Hood avoids discussing the political commitments of his subjects or the specifics of their performance in the positions they occupied after the War. The goal of the book is simply to show that these individuals became leaders working towards a united Union.
It might be valuable to provide more historical context to this study than Hood provides. After the War, there was a tension between Reconstructionists who wished to change the political and social structure of the defeated South and to protect the rights of the newly-freed people and Reconciliationists. Reconciliationists were more interested in reuiniting the former combatants, North and South, and in creating peace between the sections. Historian David Blight's 2002 book, "Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory" is among many studies that discuss the tension between the Reconstructionist and the Reconciliationist approaches. Blight and many other scholars acknowledge the need for reconciliation but they tend to be highly critical of how the rights of African Americans were ignored and pushed to the side for a century with the rise, following the end of Reconstruction, of a Jim Crow South as well as a segregated North.
Hood's book implicitly takes a reconciliationist approach to the Civil War. There is something to be said for this approach in that its critics tend to downplay the significance and difficulty of reuniting the country after four years of hard war. Still, Hood's book does not acknowledge the other side of the story -- the continued mistreatment of African Americans. His book would have been stronger with a recognition that the status of African Americans was not adequately addressed during the years of reconciliation he describes in his book. Similarly, while Hood's biographical sketches are largely free of polemic, he objects in his introductory sections to the ongoing removal of Confederate statues from public places and to the renaming of buildings and institutions and the like. Several of the people discussed in this study have been among the subjects of these efforts. The book would have been better, in my view, if the author had refrained from taking a position on these matters. It would not have impacted the content or the value of the book. Reconciliationist efforts need to continue to be made, as they apply to the broader country and the African American community. The place for historical reconciliation is in books and studies such as Hood's if not in public places.
With this criticism, Hood's story remains valuable and deserves to be told. A quotation from Robert E. Lee about the necessity for patience in following the course of history serves as an epigraph to and frames the book. Hood offers another insightful quotation from Lee in his discussion of Lee's post-war service as the president of Washington College. Lee wrote, in words that still apply: "I think it the duty of every citizen in the present condition of the Country, to do all in his power to aid in the restoration of peace and harmony."
Of the many people Hood discusses, I was most moved to learn about Moses Jacob Ezekiel, a Jewish American, a committed Confederate, and a world-class sculptor. I hadn't known anything of him before. Ezekiel designed the Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery. His descendants have petitioned for the Monument's removal and relocation.
I was glad to read and learn from this book. The publisher, Savas Beatie, kindly sent me a review copy.
Robin Friedman
November 1, 2020
The long and bloody American Civil War claimed over 700,000 men. When it ended, former opponents worked to rebuild the nation. Author Stephen M. Hood has been able to bring together various stories of former Confederates who helped build the new nation. Many filled key positions within the government.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading and learning about these men and their contributions to our great nation. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about our history in rebuilding the nation after the Civil War.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading and learning about these men and their contributions to our great nation. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about our history in rebuilding the nation after the Civil War.
March 27, 2021
Interesting History
Now in 2021 we are bombarded by news that anybody, anything associated with the CSA is evil. Much to the disappointment of those whose only knowledge is from Cardi B or David Barton, this informative book is an eye opener to the character of great men. We need more men like this to keep the wheel of innovation, learning, and enlightenment alive.
Now in 2021 we are bombarded by news that anybody, anything associated with the CSA is evil. Much to the disappointment of those whose only knowledge is from Cardi B or David Barton, this informative book is an eye opener to the character of great men. We need more men like this to keep the wheel of innovation, learning, and enlightenment alive.
November 8, 2020
Alright, but be aware of what it is
The book is an admirable work of scholarship, though it is largely a catalog of the post-war lives of Confederate soldiers, I was hoping for more by way of biography.
The book is an admirable work of scholarship, though it is largely a catalog of the post-war lives of Confederate soldiers, I was hoping for more by way of biography.
November 1, 2020
The long and bloody American Civil War claimed over 700,000 men. When it ended, former opponents worked to rebuild the nation. Author Stephen M. Hood has been able to bring together various stories of former Confederates who helped build the new nation. Many filled key positions within the government.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading and learning about these men and their contributions to our great nation. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about our history in rebuilding the nation after the Civil War.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading and learning about these men and their contributions to our great nation. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about our history in rebuilding the nation after the Civil War.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews