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War on Record: The Archive and the Afterlife of the Civil War
A history of the United States’ greatest archival project and how it has shaped what we know about the Civil War
The Civil War generated a vast archive of official records—documents that would shape the postwar era and determine what future generations would know about the war. Yael Sternhell traces these records from their creation during wartime through their deployment in a host of postwar battles, including those between the federal government and Southerners seeking reparations and between veterans blaming each other for defeat.
These documents were eventually published in the most important historical collection ever to have been assembled in the United The War of the The Official Records of the Union and the Confederate Armies . Known as the OR , it is the ultimate source for generations of scholars and writers and ordinary citizens researching the war. By delving into the archive, Sternhell reveals its power to shape myths, hide truths, perpetuate rancor, and foster reconciliation. Far more than a storehouse of papers, the Civil War archive is a major historical actor in its own right.
The Civil War generated a vast archive of official records—documents that would shape the postwar era and determine what future generations would know about the war. Yael Sternhell traces these records from their creation during wartime through their deployment in a host of postwar battles, including those between the federal government and Southerners seeking reparations and between veterans blaming each other for defeat.
These documents were eventually published in the most important historical collection ever to have been assembled in the United The War of the The Official Records of the Union and the Confederate Armies . Known as the OR , it is the ultimate source for generations of scholars and writers and ordinary citizens researching the war. By delving into the archive, Sternhell reveals its power to shape myths, hide truths, perpetuate rancor, and foster reconciliation. Far more than a storehouse of papers, the Civil War archive is a major historical actor in its own right.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published November 7, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 30, 2024
War on Record is one of the most interest books on the archive that I have read in a long time. Sternhell tells the story of the an archive composed of official records created during the Civil War and collected by the Federal Government in the aftermath.
She wants to know how the archival processes shape what we recognise today as Civil War history. Sternhell claims that she is unearthing the forces that shaped Washington's Civil War archive and learning how the archival records figured in the fraught reality of postbellum era. She reconstructed the process through the records that created tools of war. How Civil War history is shaped by the archive, and the demonstrated extend to which archival labour is rooted in cultural contexts.
There is very little literature on how non-archivists chose to record documents. Scholars have and do contemplate these problems. This particular archive, and others, have never been studied as rigorously as it deserves. She investigates the decision-making process that shaped the compilation: the personal, political, and institutional.
Historians, including Sternhell, agree that archives are deceptive. They are unstable, constructed, and susceptible to influences. Archival records are not static objects. Archives do not simply reflect the past but they shape the present and the future.
Sternhell says "Historians like to think of themselves as the original interpreters of archival records. Yet long before they set foot in the reading room, the records they will be working with had been interpreted in ways they do not understand and cannot escape."
Sternhell conducts her study by 'reading along the grain.' She focuses on the people who managed the records while also studying archival users.
She wants to know how the archival processes shape what we recognise today as Civil War history. Sternhell claims that she is unearthing the forces that shaped Washington's Civil War archive and learning how the archival records figured in the fraught reality of postbellum era. She reconstructed the process through the records that created tools of war. How Civil War history is shaped by the archive, and the demonstrated extend to which archival labour is rooted in cultural contexts.
There is very little literature on how non-archivists chose to record documents. Scholars have and do contemplate these problems. This particular archive, and others, have never been studied as rigorously as it deserves. She investigates the decision-making process that shaped the compilation: the personal, political, and institutional.
Historians, including Sternhell, agree that archives are deceptive. They are unstable, constructed, and susceptible to influences. Archival records are not static objects. Archives do not simply reflect the past but they shape the present and the future.
Sternhell says "Historians like to think of themselves as the original interpreters of archival records. Yet long before they set foot in the reading room, the records they will be working with had been interpreted in ways they do not understand and cannot escape."
Sternhell conducts her study by 'reading along the grain.' She focuses on the people who managed the records while also studying archival users.
January 23, 2026
I almost gave it three stars, but the topic is unique, and despite Sternhell's own biases and personal ticks, she does not indulge in disparaging the great achievement that is the OR.
May 18, 2024
I’m mulling over my ideas about this book. It’s a compelling story. Fair disclosure is that I am a Public Historian who studied the American Civil War and was an archivist for almost twenty years before getting into the editor end of things these last five years (in N.C.). This topic hits many of my sweet spots.
Hats off to the probing of the collection (that maybe becomes RG109?) and its use, the personalities involved, and how that played out against national politics and trends.
Some pieces are slightly off in reference to NC. The indication is at one point only two letter books of N.C. records survived re the war. Suffice it to say that is wonderfully wrong. Later the author recounts the ongoing conflict between the state of NC and the War Record office over the two seized letter books. That is wonderfully right. Small quibbles.
What were, if any, ex-Confederate states’ response to the series? 1882 NC General Assembly authorized a Roster of troops to be printed - roster of the WBTS. Response to the published WOTR titles? Alabama, Mississippi and N.C. would all create archives/ historical commissions by 1903 - to help preserve Confederate memory and records. Is that a response to the War Records Office? Just questions for a larger conversation. So, if the book sparks that kind of questioning it is doing well.
The author does a thorough job of helping us understand the expanse and limits of the published series. She examines how people, place, and politics shape the collection and how it in turn shapes its users, both the unaware and those who understand it has boundaries and dare to wade in and push those around.
I’ll go on Record as being a fan of the book.
Hats off to the probing of the collection (that maybe becomes RG109?) and its use, the personalities involved, and how that played out against national politics and trends.
Some pieces are slightly off in reference to NC. The indication is at one point only two letter books of N.C. records survived re the war. Suffice it to say that is wonderfully wrong. Later the author recounts the ongoing conflict between the state of NC and the War Record office over the two seized letter books. That is wonderfully right. Small quibbles.
What were, if any, ex-Confederate states’ response to the series? 1882 NC General Assembly authorized a Roster of troops to be printed - roster of the WBTS. Response to the published WOTR titles? Alabama, Mississippi and N.C. would all create archives/ historical commissions by 1903 - to help preserve Confederate memory and records. Is that a response to the War Records Office? Just questions for a larger conversation. So, if the book sparks that kind of questioning it is doing well.
The author does a thorough job of helping us understand the expanse and limits of the published series. She examines how people, place, and politics shape the collection and how it in turn shapes its users, both the unaware and those who understand it has boundaries and dare to wade in and push those around.
I’ll go on Record as being a fan of the book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews