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Conflicting Worlds: New Dimensions of the American Civil War
The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis
In the seventy-three succinct essays gathered in The Enduring Civil War, celebrated historian Gary W. Gallagher highlights the complexity and richness of the war, from its origins to its memory, as topics for study, contemplation, and dispute. He places contemporary understanding of the Civil War, both academic and general, in conversation with testimony from those in the Union and the Confederacy who experienced and described it, investigating how mid-nineteenth-century perceptions align with, or deviate from, current ideas regarding the origins, conduct, and aftermath of the war. The tension between history and memory forms a theme throughout the essays, underscoring how later perceptions about the war often took precedence over historical reality in the minds of many Americans.
The array of topics Gallagher addresses is striking. He examines notable books and authors, both Union and Confederate, military and civilian, famous and lesser known. He discusses historians who, though their names have receded with time, produced works that remain pertinent in terms of analysis or information. He comments on conventional interpretations of events and personalities, challenging, among other things, commonly held notions about Gettysburg and Vicksburg as decisive turning points, Ulysses S. Grant as a general who profligately wasted Union manpower, the Gettysburg Address as a watershed that turned the war from a fight for Union into one for Union and emancipation, and Robert E. Lee as an old-fashioned general ill-suited to waging a modern mid-nineteenth-century war. Gallagher interrogates recent scholarly trends on the evolving nature of Civil War studies, addressing crucial questions about chronology, history, memory, and the new revisionist literature. The format of this provocative and timely collection lends itself to sampling, and readers might start in any of the subject groupings and go where their interests take them.
The array of topics Gallagher addresses is striking. He examines notable books and authors, both Union and Confederate, military and civilian, famous and lesser known. He discusses historians who, though their names have receded with time, produced works that remain pertinent in terms of analysis or information. He comments on conventional interpretations of events and personalities, challenging, among other things, commonly held notions about Gettysburg and Vicksburg as decisive turning points, Ulysses S. Grant as a general who profligately wasted Union manpower, the Gettysburg Address as a watershed that turned the war from a fight for Union into one for Union and emancipation, and Robert E. Lee as an old-fashioned general ill-suited to waging a modern mid-nineteenth-century war. Gallagher interrogates recent scholarly trends on the evolving nature of Civil War studies, addressing crucial questions about chronology, history, memory, and the new revisionist literature. The format of this provocative and timely collection lends itself to sampling, and readers might start in any of the subject groupings and go where their interests take them.
294 pages, Paperback
Published February 2, 2022
About the author
Gary W. Gallagher
139 books108 followersGary W. Gallagher, the John L. Nau III Professor of History at the University of Virginia, is the author or editor of many books in the field of Civil War history, including The Confederate War; Causes Won, Lost, and Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know about the Civil War; and The Union War.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 7, 2020
A collection of essays more than an actual book, this work fills an important gap in current Civil War literature. The author relates some of his personal experiences developed over fifty plus years studying the Civil War. Along the way, we get an unvarnished, straight-shooting commentary on many aspects and characters involved in the conflict. A great starting point for anyone new to the subject matter, as well as those more experienced readers who seek a fresh perspective.
December 24, 2021
The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis is a collection of seventy essays written from 2007 through 2020 by author Gary W. Gallagher. The collection is divided into six subtopics: “Framing the War,” “General and Battles,” “Controversies,” “Historians and Books,” “Testimony and Participants,” and “Places and Public Culture.” People fortunate enough to have attended his presentations know that Prof. Gallagher touts the taking of New Orleans and the Seven Days Battles as two of the most decisive events of the war, because the loss of New Orleans was the death blow to Confederate commerce and the Seven Days led to Lincoln’s decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. He’s also a champion of the war having been settled in the east due to the impact of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. With seventy essays to read, readers are free to pick what interests them; most were to me.
August 3, 2024
Great read!
I have learned so much from this single volume. As always the good Professor has enlightened this amateur historian. Thanks!
I have learned so much from this single volume. As always the good Professor has enlightened this amateur historian. Thanks!
November 7, 2024
A series of essays on various topics about the American Civil War. Includes leadership, strategies, primary sources, battlefields, bibliographies and recommendations on modern films about the conflict. Approachable for the non-scholar and recommends additional reading.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews