The War Was You and Me: Civilians in the American Civil War

(Paperback)

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Though civilians constituted the majority of the American population and were intimately involved with almost every aspect of the war, we know little about the civilian experience of the Civil War. That experience was inherently dramatic. Southerners lived through the breakup of basic social and economic institutions, including, of course, slavery. Northerners witnessed the reorganization of society to fight the war. And citizens of the border regions grappled with elemental questions of loyalty that reached into the family itself. These essays recover the stories of civilians from Natchez to New England. They address the experiences of men, women and children; of whites, slaves and free blacks; and of civilians from numerous classes. Not least of these stories are the on-the-ground experiences of slaves seeking emancipation and the actions of white Northerners who resisted the draft. In addition to the editor, the contributors to this volume are Peter W. Bardaglio, William Blair, W. Fitzhugh Brundage, Margaret S. Creighton, J. Matthew Gallman, Joseph T. Glatthaar, Anthony E. Kaye, Robert Kenzer, Elizabeth D. Leonard, Amy E. Murrell, George C. Rable, Nina Silber, Mark M. Smith, Mar

Reviews

"A fresh and intriguing text."--Library Journal "These are fresh topics, written in an engaging style by solid historians, and based on primary sources... Highly recommended."--Choice "Overall, every essay in this volume is an excellent scholarly contribution to our understanding of the Civil War. Additionally, the volume points the way to new scholarship on the Civil War era, both North and South."--Angela Boswell, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography "This is a dense and rich tapestry of Civil War civilian life, one that will enrich reigning narratives in the field. Readable, rigorously researched, with ample and diverse articles, this is a must for Civil War scholars and biffs alike."--Lyde Cullen Sizer, H-Net Reviews "This collection will be of great interest to scholars for its breadth of coverage as well as for the notable strength of the essays' research, writing, and interpretation."--Margaret M. Storey, Journal of Southern History "An exceptional collection of original essays that focus on the connections between the front line and the home front... Taken as a whole, they remind readers that the majority of Americans experienced the war out of uniform. Home-front experiences demand our attention if we are to come to a better understanding of the United States' great drama."--Paul A. Cimbala, Journal of American History "[This book] not only makes a considerable contribution to the field, but it also suggests new ways of approaching wartime social and cultural history... Every essay is well written, admirably researched, and provides not only vital new insights into the civilian home front but also suggests new interdisciplinary boundaries for historical writing on the Civil War."--Silvana R. Siddall, Civil War History

Author Bio

Joan E. Cashin is Associate Professor of History at Ohio State University. She is the author of "A Family Venture: Men and Women on the Southern Frontier" and the editor of "Our Common Affairs: Texts from Women in the Old South".