An Environmental History of the Civil War

by Judkin Browning, Timothy Silver

Overview

This sweeping new history recognizes that the Civil War was not just a military conflict but also a moment of profound transformation in Americans' relationship to the natural world. To be sure, environmental factors such as topography and weather powerfully shaped the outcomes of battles and campaigns, and the war could not have been fought without the horses, cattle, and other animals that were essential to both armies. But here Judkin Browning and Timothy Silver weave a far richer story, combining military and environmental history to forge a comprehensive new narrative of the war's significance and impact. As they reveal, the conflict created a new disease environment by fostering the spread of microbes among vulnerable soldiers, civilians, and animals; led to large-scale modifications of the landscape across several states; sparked new thinking about the human relationship to the natural world; and demanded a reckoning with disability and death on an ecological scale. And as the guns fell silent, the change continued; Browning and Silver show how the war influenced the future of weather forecasting, veterinary medicine, the birth of the conservation movement, and the establishment of the first national parks.

In considering human efforts to find military and political advantage by reshaping the natural world, Browning and Silver show not only that the environment influenced the Civil War's outcome but also that the war was a watershed event in the history of the environment itself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469655383
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	04/13/2020
Series:	Civil War America
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Judkin Browning is professor of military history at Appalachian State University and author of Shifting Loyalties: The Union Occupation of Eastern North Carolina. Timothy Silver is professor of environmental history at Appalachian State University and author of Mount Mitchell and the Black Mountains: An Environmental History of the Highest Peaks in Eastern America.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

With both geographic and chronological sweep, Judkin Browning and Timothy Silver reveal the powerful way nature shaped Civil War campaigns and the experiences of soldiers and civilians. Fast-paced and engaging, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in American environmental history or Civil War history."—Megan Kate Nelson, author of The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West

For years I have responded to the question 'What is left to say about the Civil War?' with the answer that we need a good study of the environmental impact of the war. Judkin Browning and Timothy Silver have not only met that challenge with great success; they have also written a splendid account of the impact of the environment on the ways in which the war was fought." —James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom

This creative collaboration between a military historian and an environmental historian has produced a stunning reinterpretation of the Civil War. Highlighting the importance of everything from mud and hogs to brushwood and wildfire, Browning and Silver have produced an imaginative, well-crafted book that will change how we think about the epic conflict."—Ted Steinberg, author of Down to Earth: Nature's Role in American History

Editorial Reviews

For scholars of the Civil War, this book adds a fresh perspective, illustrating how ecology, nature, and weather had a striking and unpredictable effect upon military preparedness and the waging of war."—Library Journal



Just when you think the history of the Civil War has been done to death, some enterprising writer turns over a new line of inquiry into this singular American tragedy. In this case, it was Judkin Browning and Timothy Silver, Appalachian State University professors of military and environmental history, respectively, who joined forces to break new ground...Despite their keen eye on the science, the authors don't skimp on narrative, telling insightful, intriguing stories about how the environment's most basic elements could prove vexing for war planners." —WNC Magazine



It is hard for this book review to do this book justice. Readers will not study or look at the battles of any war [again] without wanting to know more about the environmental impacts. The book is exceptionally well written." —Military Review



Browning and Silver have produced a long-needed study...They strike a nice balance between synthesis and originality, weaving together the scholarship of others with their own research...It is an added bonus that the book is so well written, with a deft feel for storytelling and a unified voice that belies its dual authorship. It will almost certainly find wide adoption in college courses on the Civil War and environmental history." —Louisiana History



Browning and Silver have authored a book that will find its way into countless classrooms and should influence research papers, doctoral dissertations, and other books for at least the coming generation...One of the most original and anticipated [books] of the past decade...readers will finish it with a newfound appreciation toward an old subject." —Georgia Historical Quarterly



In a briskly written text of fewer than 200 pages, [Browning and Silver] highlight the themes Civil War environmental historians have the unique ability to explore and make more relevant to our broader understanding of the conflict. . . . What they do accomplish is to enrich our understanding of the agency of microbes, animals, and landscape on the military history of the war." —The Annals of Iowa



A compact, smartly illustrated narrative." —America's Civil War



A most excellent study of aspects of the war ignored in many accounts of the conflict." —Michigan War Studies Review



Browning and Silver provide a comprehensive interpretation of the Civil War as they present the conflict as a watershed event in environmental history. . . . It is a well-argued book that succeeds in providing 'a more holistic way of thinking about the Civil War'...The book's length, readability, and fresh perspective would make it a great addition to any Civil War or environmental history course."—Journal of Southern History



Sweeping in breadth yet remarkably accessible, An Environmental History of the Civil War offers new insight into the intricate relationship between Civil War soldiers and their environment." —Journal of the Civil War Era

From the Publisher

02/07/2020

Browning and Silver (both, environmental history, Appalachian State Univ.) delve into the many environmental factors that helped shape the American Civil War. Inclement weather, such as the April 1862 snowstorm at the Battle of Shiloh, quickly unraveled military plans and often had an unpredictable effect on battle outcomes. Military readiness was severely compromised by lethal communicable disease, the cause and prevention of which were poorly understood at the time. Procurement and care of animals, vital to transporting supplies to the battlefields, presented other logistical challenges. The authors also explain how animals as battlefield participants, including officer mounts and artillery caisson haulers, added to the spread of disease among soldiers. Terrain, combined with weather vagaries, added yet another complication for military commanders. The marshy, boggy east coast often slowed Union westward advances into the Confederate heartland, while unusual rain events bogged down military advances in the arid west. VERDICT For scholars of the Civil War, this book adds a fresh perspective, illustrating how ecology, nature, and weather had a striking and unpredictable effect upon military preparedness and the waging of war.—John Muller, Dist. of Columbia P.L.

Library Journal