South to Posterity: Introduction to the Writing of Confederate History

by Douglas Southall Freeman

After the publication of Gone with the Wind, many Confederate historians were asked, "What shall I read next?" To answer the requests for further writings on the Civil War era, distinguished historian Douglas Southall Freeman assembled this bibliography of the best narratives, memoirs, and other works -- those that tell their stories simply, with wit and realism -- that provide a good introduction to literature on the Lost Cause.In contrast to most bibliographies, South to Posterity reads easily and often movingly. In eight masterful chapters, Freeman reviews soldiers' battlefield accounts; vindications penned just after the war; biographies of and tributes to General Robert E. Lee; women's commentaries; thoughts from foreign observers and participants; and diaries, letters, and speeches; and discusses topics yet to be addressed. A new introduction by Civil War historian Gary Gallagher provides an excellent background to Freeman's life and work and considers what has been accomplished in the field since South to Posterity first appeared.

Genres: History, Civil War, War

235 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1939

About the author

The son of a Confederate veteran, Douglas Southall Freeman was long interested in the Civil War. A man of intense work ethic, he earned his PhD at 22, then balanced a journalist's demanding schedule with a historian's, as he churned out Lee's Dispatches (1915), the Pulitzer-Prize-winning four-volume R. E. Lee: A Biography (1934-35), Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command (1942-44), and finally, the multi-volume George Washington (1948-54). A respected historian, renown for his research, he garnered fame in his native Virginia and the friendship of major military figures.

Reviews

[Al]

I’m a big Freeman fan. This book is essentially a bibliographic essay, and Freeman manages to make this a very interesting book to read. He surveys collections of letters, diaries, and memoirs that serve to illustrate life in the Confederacy and not limited to just the army. There’s an interesting chapter on the creation of the Official Records, as well as a chapter on foreign accounts of the war. Perhaps most interesting is a chapter which surveys women’s perspectives on the Confederacy and the war. Freeman describes the best accounts, and what it is that makes these diaries and letters exceptional. He notes the important role women played in the Confederacy and why.

This is a good book for the non-specialist, and gives a good place to start, when beginning to study the Confederacy. Most of the books surveyed have been reprinted. This is well worth the time and effort to read.

[Mark Harden]

Historiography of the Confederacy as of 1938. Excellent summaries, short reviews and some citations. He convincingly divides the books into certain categories following the war, depending on their context and the lapse of time.

One of the most interesting chapters is the final, “Yet to be Written”, where Freeman proposed future subjects needing to be written. His plea for more histories of the Army of Tennessee belies the claim that Freeman only cared about the Eastern Theater.

[Joseph Raborg]

Excellent bibliography of some of the best memoirs and histories written about Confederate soldiers and campaigns. The text is very well written, replete with both anecdotes and judgments of the accuracy and readability of various works. It would be nice if someone were to write an updated bibliography like this on more recent scholarship.

[NDH]

This turned out to be an unexpectedly interesting book, one that I am tempted to purchase as a permanent addition to my ‘library’. The addendum to it, ‘A Confederate Book Shelf’, is a useful compilation of books that any good southern (or northern) boy (or girl) should have or have read, and is alone worth such an investment.
Originally published in 1939 (the same year the film version of ‘Gone With the Wind& was released) the edition I have before me was published in 1964, presumably for the university library whose name is stamped thereon, and, curiously, doesn’t seem to have subsequently been read by anyone. There’s no evidence of it having been checked out by a curious student since that time, and the overall condition for a 60-year old volume is ‘as good as new.’
That lack of academic curiosity in this work seems unfortunate.
Whatever the case, the author presents a fascinating look at the development and publication histories of various categories of historical works, authored largely but not exclusively by southerners, from shortly before the war up to the early-to-mid 1900s. Obviously, a great deal has been written on these texts since then…some of it even true!…but as a survey of southern historical literature over the time period mentioned, this book is probably as good as it gets. The chapters about post-war controversies (e.g., whom to blame for various defeats) and the publication history of the “Official Records” particularly interested me.
It’s clear that the author, DS Freeman, is a southern boy, and as these chapters seem to have in part had their origin in a series of lectures he gave (spring 1939) at the Alabama State College for Women…a southerner talking to a southern audience…it could be said that there’s a certain amount of mutual flattery going on. Regardless, that flaw and some sins of omission don’t necessarily detract from the value of the work as it is. Somebody else can fill in the gaps and add perspective.
Fundamentally, I am impressed by DSF’s depth and breadth of knowledge. It would take a lifetime of reading to begin to match it. Happily, he provides useful guidance for that undertaking.