Table of Contents
Introduction to the Revised Edition xi
Chronology xv
Part I History, Politics, and Slavery
1 The Historian's War 3
19th-century America 3
Sowing the Seeds of Conflict 7
A Divided Economy 9
Modernization 10
Politics as Usual 13
2 Politics: The National Hobby 17
The Politics of Division 17
The Election of 1860 22
Secession 25
Fire-Eaters 26
The Southern Radical Press 27
The Act of Disunion 28
3 The American Zion 35
The Perfect Nation 35
Growing Government 37
Urbanization 39
Religion 42
Reform Movements 44
The Temperance Movement 44
The Prevention of Pauperism 47
The Value of a Dollar 50
The North Finances the War 51
4 On Behalf of Southern Independence 57
Southern Nationalism 57
Reestablishing the American Revolution 61
Financing Disunion 64
Blockade Runners 66
The Bread Riots 68
5 The Peculiar Institution: Slavery 71
The Slave Trade 71
Plantation Slavery 76
Slave Clothing 79
Slave Work Week 79
Slave Food 80
Slave Entertainment 81
Legal Rights for Slaves and Discipline 81
Draft Riots 83
Black Churches 84
The Slave Family 85
Miscegenation 86
6 Abolition 93
The Anti-Slavery Movement 93
Suppression of the Slave Trade 94
Gradualism and Colonization 96
Abolitionists 101
Black Anti-Slavery Activists 104
Slaveowners 104
Slavery and the Courts 106
Mutiny on the Amistad 106
The Lemmon Case 107
The Dred Scott Decision 108
Fugitive Slaves 109
From Slavery to Contraband 111
Part II Soldiers' Lives
7 Billy Yank and Johnny Reb 119
Common Soldiers 119
Boys in War 129
Partisan Warfare 131
Conscription 132
Prisoners of War 134
Disbanding the Armies 135
8 Hardtack andCoffee 139
Supplying the Army with Grub 139
Army Food 140
Cookware 140
The Commissary 141
Foodstuffs 142
Canned Foods 143
Camp Rations 144
Marching Rations 144
Sutlers 144
Officers' Mess 146
Foraging 146
Fresh Meat 149
Preserved Meats 150
Fresh Bread 151
Hardtack 151
Cornbread 153
Coffee 153
Salt and Life 155
9 Tenting Tonight: The Solider's Life 159
Shelter 159
Equipment 166
Uniforms 170
Camp Life and Recreation 172
10 Tactics and Strategy 177
Strategy 177
Geography 179
Raiders 182
Railroads 184
Roads 187
Military Organization 188
Armies 192
Corps and Divisions 194
Tactics 195
Ancillary Units 198
Medical Service 199
Moral Awakening 201
Women at War 202
11 Seeing the Elephant: The Realities of Life in Battle 205
Marching to War 207
Making Contact 209
A Day of Battle 210
Wounded in Battle 216
Climax 219
The Aftermath 220
Part III Civilians' Lives
12 Be It Ever So Humble 231
The Front Hall 231
The Parlor 232
The Library 238
The Dining Room 239
The Kitchen 239
The Bedrooms 241
The Nursery 241
The Necessary 243
13 Leisure Time 245
Literature 245
Newspapers 253
Availability of Reading Material 256
Women Writers 257
Photography 257
Optical Novelties 259
Cultural Institutions 260
Reading Clubs 261
Lectures 261
Games 262
Croquet 263
Social Calls 263
Ladies' Crafts 264
14 Feast or Famine: Food and Cooking 271
Storage 271
Modern Advancement 272
Food Attitudes 274
Common Foods 274
Food Prices 276
The War's Effect 276
Shortages 277
Supplementing the Troops 281
15 The Look: Fashion and Women's Clothing 283
Women's Clothing 284
The Dress 284
Undergarments 291
Outerwear 293
Headgear 293
Ancillary Clothing 295
Footwear 296
Accessories 297
Jewelry 298
Hairstyles 299
16 Dressed for the Part: Men's, Children's, and Slaves Clothing 303
Men's Clothing 303
Children's Clothing 308
Slaves' Clothing 313
17 Elevating and Expanding the Young Mind 317
18 Till the Mournful Night Is Gone: Death and Dying 329
19 The Effects of Warfare on Families 345
A Devastated Landscape 345
An Absence of Men 348
Children of War 352
Soldiers' Orphans 354
Whose Children Are These? 356
The Orphan Trains 357
20 Copperheads 361
Clement Vallandigham 363
Anti-Confederate Southerners 366
Watching a Free Government Die 369
Glossary of Civil War Period Terms 375
Selected Bibliography 381
Index 389