In many ways, the Northern soldier in the Civil War fought as if he
had never left home. On campsites and battlefields, the Union
volunteer adapted to military life with attitudes shaped by
networks of family relationships, in units of men from the same
hometown. Understanding these links between the homes the troops
left behind and the war they had to fight, writes Reid Mitchell,
offers critical insight into how they thought, fought, and
persevered through four bloody years of combat.
In The Vacant Chair, Mitchell draws on the letters, diaries, and
memoirs of common soldiers to show how mid-nineteenth-century ideas
and images of the home and family shaped the union soldier's
approach to everything from military discipline to battlefield
bravery. For hundreds of thousands of "boys," as they called
themselves, the Union army was an extension of their home and
childhood experiences. Many experienced the war as a coming-of-age
rite, a test of such manly virtues as self-control, endurance, and
courage. They served in companies recruited from the same
communities, and they wrote letters reporting on each other's
performance--conscious that their own behavior in the army would
affect their reputations back home. So, too, were they deeply
affected by letters from their families, as wives and mothers
complained of suffering or demanded greater valor. Mitchell also
shows how this hometown basis for volunteer units eroded respect
for military rank, as men served with officers they saw as equals:
"Lieut Col Dewey introduced Hugh T Reid," one sergeant wrote dryly,
"by saying, 'Boys, behold your colonel, ' and we _beheld_ him." In
return, officers usually adopted paternalist attitudes toward their
"boys"--especially in the case of white officers commanding black
soldiers. Mitchell goes on to look at the role of women in the
soldiers' experiences, from the feminine center of their own
households to their hatred of Confederate women as
"she-devils."
The intimate relations and inner life of the Union soldier, the
author writes, tell us much about how and why he kept fighting
through four bloody years--and why demoralization struck the
Confederate soldier as the war penetrated the South, threatening
his home and family while he was at the front. "The Northern
soldier did not simply experience the war as a husband, son,
father, or brother--he fought that way as well," he writes. "That
was part of his strength. The Confederate soldier fought the war
the same way, and, in the end, that proved part of his weakness."
The Vacant Chair uncovers this critical chapter in the Civil War
experience, showing how the Union soldier saw--and won--our most
costly conflict.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
