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A People at War: Civilians and Soldiers in America's Civil War
Claiming more than 600,000 lives, the American Civil War had a devastating impact on countless numbers of common soldiers and civilians, even as it brought freedom to millions. This book shows how average Americans coped with despair as well as hope during this vast upheaval.
A People at War brings to life the full humanity of the war's participants, from women behind their plows to their husbands in army camps; from refugees from slavery to their former masters; from Mayflower descendants to freshly recruited Irish sailors. We discover how people confronted their own feelings about the war itself, and how they coped with emotional challenges (uncertainty, exhaustion, fear, guilt, betrayal, grief) as well as physical ones (displacement, poverty, illness, disfigurement). The book explores the violence beyond the battlefield, illuminating the sharp-edged conflicts of neighbor against neighbor, whether in guerilla warfare or urban riots. The authors travel as far west as China and as far east as Europe, taking us inside soldiers' tents, prisoner-of-war camps, plantations, tenements, churches, Indian reservations, and even the cargo holds of ships. They stress the war years, but also cast an eye at the tumultuous decades that preceded and followed the
battlefield confrontations.
An engrossing account of ordinary people caught up in life-shattering circumstances, A People at War captures how the Civil War rocked the lives of rich and poor, black and white, parents and children--and how all these Americans pushed generals and presidents to make the conflict a people's war.
A People at War brings to life the full humanity of the war's participants, from women behind their plows to their husbands in army camps; from refugees from slavery to their former masters; from Mayflower descendants to freshly recruited Irish sailors. We discover how people confronted their own feelings about the war itself, and how they coped with emotional challenges (uncertainty, exhaustion, fear, guilt, betrayal, grief) as well as physical ones (displacement, poverty, illness, disfigurement). The book explores the violence beyond the battlefield, illuminating the sharp-edged conflicts of neighbor against neighbor, whether in guerilla warfare or urban riots. The authors travel as far west as China and as far east as Europe, taking us inside soldiers' tents, prisoner-of-war camps, plantations, tenements, churches, Indian reservations, and even the cargo holds of ships. They stress the war years, but also cast an eye at the tumultuous decades that preceded and followed the
battlefield confrontations.
An engrossing account of ordinary people caught up in life-shattering circumstances, A People at War captures how the Civil War rocked the lives of rich and poor, black and white, parents and children--and how all these Americans pushed generals and presidents to make the conflict a people's war.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published March 20, 2007
11 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Scott Reynolds Nelson
17 books19 followersSCOTT REYNOLDS NELSON is the author of Steel Drivin' Man, which won the National Award for Arts Writing, the Anisfield-Wolf Literary Prize, the Merle Curti Prize for best book in U.S. history, and the Virginia Literary Award for Nonfiction. His young adult book, Ain't Nothing But a Man (written with Marc Aronson) won seven national awards, including the Jane Addams Prize for best book on social justice.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 30, 2018
Unique perspectives of people and places caught up in the horrors of the civil war that you don't find in traditional battle- focused narratives. Written by 2 William & Mary historians.
June 11, 2018
Extremely insightful, and does a great job showing both sides, as well as how military, politics, etc. all interacted.
February 10, 2016
This book was extremely interesting and superbly researched. I liked it so much I plan to ask for a copy for my birthday. The book focuses with great detail on the lives and experiences of ordinary civilians and soldiers. It covers the struggles and horrors of not just the soldiers, but the city dwellers and country farmers, men and women, blacks and whites, immigrants and Native Americans. It was enjoyable to read a book about the Civil War that didnt focus just on the battles. It gave me a whole new perspective of what the people went through before, during and after the war Especially interesting was the chapter on "The Confederate Home Front". The sections concerning what happened to slaves before, during and after the war was heartbreaking.
The chapter on everyday life in an army camp revealed so many facts Id never heard before. For example, it told about how bottled and tinned food had its heyday during the war thanks to Louis Pasteurs work in the 1850s and entrepreneurs like Gail Borden, Gilbert Van Camp and Philip Armour. Or how to help ease boredom and improve teamwork, officers organized games of townball (a rowdy New England pastime) and base (a more refined sport started in NY).
The book offers so many facts. That Arlington National Cemetary was established on an estate owned by Robert E. Lee. Or how "butternut" came to refer to poor whites and Confederate common soldiers, because only the poorest families made and dyed their own cloth with the husks of the nuts from the butternut tree.
This book was a great read.
The chapter on everyday life in an army camp revealed so many facts Id never heard before. For example, it told about how bottled and tinned food had its heyday during the war thanks to Louis Pasteurs work in the 1850s and entrepreneurs like Gail Borden, Gilbert Van Camp and Philip Armour. Or how to help ease boredom and improve teamwork, officers organized games of townball (a rowdy New England pastime) and base (a more refined sport started in NY).
The book offers so many facts. That Arlington National Cemetary was established on an estate owned by Robert E. Lee. Or how "butternut" came to refer to poor whites and Confederate common soldiers, because only the poorest families made and dyed their own cloth with the husks of the nuts from the butternut tree.
This book was a great read.
April 6, 2014
This book would be a fantastic overview of the Civil War period for an undergraduate class. Some of the chapters could even be assigned separately without the rest of the book for a clear picture of different aspects of the war's impact on both civilian and military persons. However, the authors fail to go much deeper than the figurative "tips of the waves" and so the book lacks the clear picture they set out to achieve regarding civilians and the homefront.
As much as they argue that the average person affected by the Civil War has been neglected, they often do the very same thing in their book. The authors fail to use enough primary sources to really call this a book about the average Northern (or Southern) citizen. That brings about one other important aspect of the book that fails to deliver. The Southern experience of the war is often spoken of in one paragraph for each topic, but fails to go into any detail. For example, Union relief agencies are written in more detail than say, Southern ones that were based much more on local rule. Because of the reliance on localism, nothing much could be done on the national level (this being the Confederate nation. That is where Nelson and Sherriff leave it. Not much detail into their achievements or failings, or even the people who were involved in such efforts.
Read it for an introduction to the different aspects of the Civil War on society, but don't expect it to give you much more than that introduction. You will be disappointed.
As much as they argue that the average person affected by the Civil War has been neglected, they often do the very same thing in their book. The authors fail to use enough primary sources to really call this a book about the average Northern (or Southern) citizen. That brings about one other important aspect of the book that fails to deliver. The Southern experience of the war is often spoken of in one paragraph for each topic, but fails to go into any detail. For example, Union relief agencies are written in more detail than say, Southern ones that were based much more on local rule. Because of the reliance on localism, nothing much could be done on the national level (this being the Confederate nation. That is where Nelson and Sherriff leave it. Not much detail into their achievements or failings, or even the people who were involved in such efforts.
Read it for an introduction to the different aspects of the Civil War on society, but don't expect it to give you much more than that introduction. You will be disappointed.
February 11, 2010
Although the scope of this book is a bit too large its still a great book for anyone interested in the Civil War era or in social history. The format is full of first hand accounts and written in an accessible and relatable way. Not to mention it provides more of a back story of the war that you often don't get with books touting a strictly military or top down approach. This book is kind of like an ode to the unsung heroes of the American Civil War...although it could have used a few more ladies in the mix.
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December 15, 2010Good book to give the people's history of the Civil War. I feel like I am up to my eyeballs in Civil War right now, though. I need to give it a break!
May 13, 2013
This is a great social history of the Civil War. Well worth the read.
October 21, 2014
a brilliant book. essential reading for anyone who wants to know what the rest of America was doing.
March 2, 2015
Although very informative, the book was a bit dry and difficult for me to read.
October 30, 2015
a different slant on the civil war. how the war effected the civilians and those not directly on the front
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews