Andover in the Civil War:
In recent years, the trend of Civil War scholarship has been to create studies that not only study the war on the battlefield but also how those actions affected the home front as well. This is the premise of Joan Silva Patrakis in Andover in the Civil War. This book is a full-scale study of one rather common New England town and its experiences in the Civil War. Patrakis begins by putting Andover, Mass., into perspective; it was a mill town, with a strong academic and anti-slavery presence. Readers learn that Andover was a patriotic town, with many of her citizens going to war, and those left behind contributing much to the cause. While Andover men served in many of the state’s regiments, Patrakis focuses on the men of the Andover Light Infantry. The company joined the 14th Massachusetts, which later became the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. The author effectively describes the experiences of the men on and off the battlefield. Of the 600 Andover soldiers who served, nearly 100 died. Throughout the work, she does not lose touch with the war and its effects on Andover. The impacts of the Emancipation Proclmation, the draft, and soldiers’ relief work are all chronicled in detail. Patrakis, a local historian, breathes new life into a generally unknown topic. She gives readers a greater understanding of how the Civil War affected one New England town. The sources are generally superb, including both local newspapers and unpublished soldiers’ letters from the local historical society. This reviewer would have enjoyed hearing about some of the other men from the town who served, not just those from the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. That oversight and its blurry images are the book’s two weaknesses. Regardless, Andover in the Civil War is one of those books that really hits home with the terrible effects of the war on a New England town and the consequences that never fully healed. Reviewer: Robert Grandchamp Robert Grandchamp is a historian from Warwick, R.I. He has an MA in American History from Rhode Island College. He is the author or editor of seven books on American military history, including The Seventh Rhode Island Infantry and The Boys of Adams’ Battery G.
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Illustrated, index, bibliography, 122 pp., 2009. The History Press, 18 Percy St., Charleston, SC 29403, $21.99 plus shipping.