Pathway to Hell: A Tragedy of the American Civil War

by Dennis W. Brandt, Richard Wheeler (Foreword)

Shell shock, battle fatigue, posttraumatic stress disorder, lack of moral different terms for the same mental condition, formal names that change with observed circumstances and whenever experts feel prompted to coin a more suitable descriptive term for the shredding of the human spirit. Although the specter of psychological dysfunction has marched alongside all soldiers in all wars, always at the ready to ravish minds, rarely is it discussed when the topic is America’s greatest conflict, the Civil War. Yet mind-destroying terror was as present at Gettysburg and Antietam as in Vietnam and today in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Drawing almost exclusively from extensive primary accounts, Dennis W. Brandt presents a detailed case study of mental stress that is exceptional in the vast literature of the American Civil War. Pathway to Hell offers sobering insight into the horrors that war wreaked upon one young man and illuminates the psychological aspect of the War Between the States.

Genres: Civil War

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2008

Reviews

[Boots LookingLand · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is neither exhaustive nor eloquent. in fact, the narrative is plain and straightforward, but the story it tells is absolutely and profoundly heartbreaking.

through Angelo Crapsey's letters, diary, and a host of depositions from his pension inquiries, you see his horrifying degeneration into despair and self-destruction. And all the while his family and friends scratch their heads and helplessly watch him fall to pieces: scratching at phantom lice, flying into violent fits, withdrawing into protracted silences, rambling incoherently, paranoia, loss of appetite, moments of strange lucidity, and all the while making attempts on his life until he finally succeeds ~ all symptoms of what we now recognize as post-traumatic stress disorder.

there are very few references to the psychological effects of the Civil War on its combatants (something that has always been a source of fascination to me personally). mental illness was little understood and shameful for those who experienced it. while the Union kept some record of wartime suicides, it's impossible to know how many veterans on either side died after the fact as a result of deliberately self-destructive behavior.

brandt does well to organize the material and facilitate our understanding of the story from Angelo's enlistment (too young, but managing with a lie, like many boys then), through his imprisonment, his return to battle already unfit for duty, and his eventual collapse and hospitalization in an asylum. But even brandt, ultimately can't make much more of it than what's baldy there: the boy was severely damaged. he went to war young and idealistic and never really came back at all. if he had more support and less condemnation when he got home, would he have made it? impossible to tell.

at just a little over 200 pages, this book is a quick read, but a very painful one. not recommended if you're in a funk.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book touches on an often forgotten side of the Civil War (or any less-than-modern war, really)-- PTSD. Brandt begins the book with a literal "bang," then starts over at the beginning of Angelo Crapsey's story and his eventual descent down the "Pathway to Hell". The book is full of fantastic primary sources, including letters, diaries, and photographs. The photos are an excellent addition, as they show a bright-eyed, shy Angelo transition into a man deeply and irreparably affected by what he saw in war.

Brandt does an excellent job of drawing in a reader, though the pacing is a little slow at times. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the Civil War, PTSD, or American history. It's a difficult read if you get emotionally invested in "characters" (in this case, a real person), especially when you realize that Angelo wasn't alone in his suffering, and that thousands of soldiers throughout history have had to deal with their torment alone.

[J. L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pathway to Hell is a dichotomy. It is far from being particularly well-written --- indeed, the writing is repetitive, dry, and plain --- and it needs a great deal of firming up in the research department. Yet I found myself totally engrossed by the story of Angelo Crapsey, who went into war an idealistic youth and was so shattered by what he lived through that he emerged totally changed --- broken, raving, and suicidal. Brandt's narrative illuminates a shockingly hidden part of our history that is assuredly being just as ignored and swept under the rug today with veterans returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.