The Civil War in the Border South

(Hardback)

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Description

The border states during the Civil War have long been ignored or misunderstood in general histories. This book corrects that oversight, explaining how many border state residents used wartime realities to redefine their politics and culture as "Southern." By studying the characteristics of those positioned along this fault line during the Civil War, the centrality of the war issue of slavery, which border residents long eschewed as being divisive, became apparent. This book explains how the process of Southernization occurred during and after the Civil Wara phenomenon largely unexplained by historians. Beyond the broader, more traditional narrative of the clash of arms, within these border slave states raged an inner civil war that shaped the military and political outcomes of the war as well as these states' cultural landscapes. Author Christopher Phillips describes how the Civil War experience in the border states served to form new loyalties and communities of identity that both deeply divided these states and distorted the meaning of the war for postwar generations.

Reviews

Phillips' book brings a comprehensive perspective to the chaotic conditions dominating the Border South before, during, and after the war. * Civil War Times *
Phillips has taken on a difficult task, describing the border South during the Civil War. . . . He does a very good job. . . . Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. * Choice *
With a host of publications dealing with Civil War era Border State cultural history and biography under his belt, Phillips is an excellent authorial candidate for this contribution to the Reflections on the Civil War Era series of concise introductory volumes written by subject experts.Possessing scholarly depth while remaining accessible to new readers, The Civil War in the Border South is a matchless subject primer. * Civil War Books and Authors *
[T]this work stands out as the only one to tackle the daunting challenge of providing much needed interpretive coherence for the Civil War Border State experience on the whole. . . . The Civil War in the Border South will make excellent reading for Civil War historians, lay readers interested in the Civil War, and for students in the college classroom and seminar room. * Civil War Book Review *
This book is highly recommended for all Civil War enthusiasts, but it will be of particular interest for those who want to understand Missouri's internal struggle within a wider context. * Missouri Historical Review *
Philips's new look at the border South contributes to the historiography of this important Civil War topic in significant ways. His analysis and compelling evidence challenge much of the previous thinking about these states. * Journal of Southern History *

Author Bio

Christopher Phillips is professor of history at the University of Cincinnati, OH. He is the author of six books on the border states in the Civil War era.