A revealing compilation of essays documenting the effects of the Civil War and its aftermath on Americans-young and old, black and white, northern and southern. Civil War America: Voices from the Homefront describes the myriad ways in which the Civil War affected both Northern and Southern civilians. A unique collection of essays that include diary entries, memoirs, letters, and magazine articles chronicle the personal experiences of soldiers and slaves, parents and children, nurses, veterans, and writers. Exploring such wide-ranging topics as sanitary fairs in the North, illustrated weeklies, children playing soldier, and the care of postwar orphans, most stories communicate some element of change, such as the destruction of old racial relationships, the challenge to Southern whites' complacency, and the expansion of government power. Although some of the subjects are well known-Edmund Ruffin, Louisa May Alcott, Henry Cabot Lodge, Booker T. Washington-most of the witnesses presented in these essays are relatively unknown men, women, and children who help to broaden our understanding of the war and its effects far beyond the front lines. 26 essays on varied topics such as the impact of the war on children, as seen in Oliver Optic's Civil War: Northern Children and the Literary War for the Union, and the aftermath of the war, chronicled in The Devil's War: The Stories of Ambrose Bierce A wide range of primary source documents including book excerpts, diaries, personal letters, newspaper articles, and magazine articles Drawings, etchings, and photographs depicting battles, soldiers, and the families left behind A selected bibliography and general works offering information and analysis about the Confederate and Union home fronts during the Civil War

The Civil War influenced virtually every aspect of children's lives, and in turn they eagerly incorporated the experience of war into their daily assumptions and activities. In this new contribution to the American Childhoods series, James A. Marten places the experiences of children living in the North during the Civil War into the larger contexts of economic, political, and cultural developments during the nineteenth century. On the home front, children became almost full-fledged members of their communities in their support of the war effort. They left school to replace absent men on farms and in factories, helped raise funds for hospitals and other soldiers' causes, and volunteered to knit socks, pick lint, and perform other necessary duties. Even as families were torn apart by the war, Mr. Marten notes, family ties grew stronger as Union soldiers filled their letters with love and advice for their children. He shows how the war brought writers for children to challenge the pacifism reflected in antebellum literature and instead to promote controversial political viewpoints such as abolitionism and to support the Union's military action. Indeed, Northern children's lives were militarized as never before, from the toys and games and stories that were overwhelmed by images of warfare and pro-Union ideals to actual military service by under-age soldiers and drummer boys. Both heroes and casualties, drummer boys in fact became potent symbols of the Northern war effort and the subject of countless poems and articles, at least temporarily altering perceptions of proper roles for children and youth in American society. As adults looking back, Northern children saw the war as a great adventure or a turning point in their lives. Some mourned lost fathers or relatives; others mourned lost childhoods. Children for the Union opens a new window on the impact of the war and shows that the youngest Americans were inevitable and enthusiastic participants in the nation's worst crisis. Abundantly illustrated.