Veterans, United States Civil War - Social Aspects, United States Civil War - Resolution & Aftermath, Confederate States of America - Armed Forces, Union - Armed Forces - Civil War History

To Appomattox And Beyond

Name: To Appomattox And Beyond
Author: Larry M. Logue
ISBN: 9781566630948

by Larry M. Logue

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Overview

An immense literature about the Civil War has nonetheless paid surprisingly little attention to the common soldier, North and South. Historians have shown even less concern for the long-term impact of this military service on American society. Larry M. Logue's To Appomattox and Beyond makes a major contribution in addressing this need. In a compact synthesis that draws upon important new materials from his own research, Logue provides the fullest account available of the Civil War soldier in war and peace—who fought, what happened to them in battle, how the public regarded them, how the war changed the rest of their lives, in what ways they were like and different from their counterparts across the Mason-Dixon line. To Appomattox and Beyond offers surprising conclusions about the psychological impact of warfare on its participants; about the North's generous pension system for veterans; and about the role that veterans played in politics and social issues, notably the Confederate racist reaction of the late nineteenth century. In a final irony, Logue points out, by the twentieth century men who had once been enemies now had more in common with each other than with the new world around them.

Synopsis

Focusing on a neglected aspect of the Civil War's social history, Mr. Logue describes the character and experience of its soldiers, North and South, and how their postwar lives affected the history of the nation. An orderly, useful summary...easily digestible. --Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post. American Ways Series.

The Washington Post - Jonathan Yardley

An orderly, useful account of up-to-date scholarship...easily digestible.

About the Author, Larry M. Logue

Larry M. Logue teaches American history at Mississippi College and is the author of A Sermon in the Desert, winner of the Chipman Prize.

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Editorials

The Historian

A spirited synthesis of the burgeoning historiography of the U.S. Civil War soldier.

Journal Of Southern History

Logue has forced us to think about the Civil War in terms that transcend the war itself. He has produced a readable, edifying volume . . . for that he should be commended.
— Jason H. Silverman

The Journal Of Southern History - Jason H. Silverman

Logue has forced us to think about the Civil War in terms that transcend the war itself. He has produced a readable, edifying volume . . . for that he should be commended.

The Washington Post - Jonathan Yardley

An orderly, useful account of up-to-date scholarship . . . easily digestible.

Historian

A spirited synthesis of the burgeoning historiography of the U.S. Civil War soldier.

Jonathan Yardley

An orderly, useful account of up-to-date scholarship...easily digestible.
— The Washington Post

Jason H. Silverman

Logue forces us to think about the Civil War in terms that transcend the war itself...a readable, edifying volume. Journal of Southern History

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Logue, professor of history at Mississippi College, has written a stimulating, brief introduction to Civil War soldiers' motivations and behaviors during and after the conflict that defined their lives. Drawing on a broad spectrum of specialized monographs, Logue argues that enlistment on both sides was encouraged by idealism, desire to prove one's masculinity, and commitment to preserving a way of life. Beginning as individualists, Union and Confederate soldiers alike developed a profound appreciation of solidarity: common experiences created bonds. These ties were revived in the postwar South by a commitment to restoring white supremacy, in the North by a concern for pensions. Although both campaigns were successful, in the long run the broad-gauged nature of their program gave Confederate veterans far more influence than ex-Union soldiers. Of most interest to social historians. (Nov.)

Library Journal

Logue (history, Mississippi Coll.) offers an evenhanded introduction to the impact of America's Civil War on those who fought. He balances a conventional interpretation of their wartime experience with a distinctly progressive analysis of the effects of the conflict on the surviving combatants and their postwar lives. He deftly reveals the schism between the veterans, whose sporadic political efforts to secure pensions and benefits presaged today's politial action committees, and a society that honored their sacrifice but only grudgingly funded America's first "social security" system. Logue's work includes an excellent bibliographic essay. Suitable for public and academic libraries.-Lawrence E. Ellis, Newberry Coll., S.C.

Booknews

A dozen essays, three in Spanish, explore the resurging literature of one of the submerged nations of modern Europe. They range from general surveys of modern Catalan poetry to studies of specific poets, poems, novels, and modern folktales. They also discuss women writers and stylistic relationships between writers. Includes translations of two new collections by poets Olga Xirinacs and Miquel Marti i Pol. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)