By Scott Nelson and Carol Sheriff
Illustrated, table of contents, notes, political chronology, military chronology, suggested reading, index, 372 pp., 2007. Oxford University Press Inc., 198 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016-4314, $24.95 plus shipping.
Reviewer: Scott C. Anderson
Scott C. Anderson has a B.A. in history and M.A. in social sciences from Edinboro University. He has spoken for the Smithsonian Associates, written articles and is a volunteer research librarian at Antietam National Battlefield.
Review:
A simple trip to the local book monger will reveal ever-increasing numbers of books on the Civil War. Some are about battles, others on “what if,” and many others on the rehashing of tactics and strategy utilizing perfect 20/20 modern hindsight.
It was a delight to see that A People at War focused not on these general topics but on the common soldier. Scott Nelson and Carol Sheriff took the focus off the macro-study of the war and instead focused their attention on the everyday man and how he handled war, and how his wife and children handled the home front.
Each story takes the reader back to the struggles to farm the land and to survive to fight the next battle or perhaps the next skirmish. Suffice to say it shows a Civil War version of Rosie the Riveter, who may have been Rosie the farmer, and her man who went off to war.
The book begins with a chapter entitled ”From Compromise to Chaos; 1854-1861” and gives the reader a solid foundation on what turmoil took place before the war that led our nation to the breaking point. The book also debunks the old notions that all Northerners lived to work in industry and the South was filled with slave owners.
As stated, most Northerners lived on farms and Southern slave owners were on the decline between 1820-1860. The authors further note that many Northerners, those described to be living in Union states during the Civil War, owned slaves and believed in racial inferiority.
While many Southerners, free and enslaved, worked in urban areas or factories, there were some white Southerners working hard to bring about an end to slavery. This theory is used to support the issues of a splintered society, both North and South, which in turn led to riots and guerrilla warfare and influenced public outcries against the political parties.
Even more intriguing is the level of desertion in the North where thousands of men fled the battlefield or marches and were hidden in local communities or worked their way as far north as Canada. One could even surmise from this information that there may have even been a white underground railroad to support the smuggling of deserters from the ranks back to farms and factories and a peaceful existence.
These deserters would rather take their chances on escape, capture and death than become among the 600,000 men and few unknown women who lost their lives during the great conflict. At least they felt the odds were more in their favor if they were not on the fields of battle.
Further reading takes one into chapters such as “War’s Miseries; The Confederate Home Front” and, finally, “Rebuilding the Nation; 1865-1877.” The former gives a great explanation of the war hitting home for Southerners as well as former slaves. A simple comment to Union officer Edward L. Pierce from a former slave sums up the thoughts after the war: “The white man do what he please with us. We are your now, Masa.”
What they desired most was a white “protector” to guarantee the rights that were fought for. Former slaves had no real concept of freedom and many remained where they had been before the war. On several occasions federal officers negotiated labor contracts between former slaves and owners since the slaves had no real idea what to do with their newfound freedom.
A People at War stresses the war years from an individual’s perspective. Lots are cast towards war and the home front has to be protected, farmed and rebuilt. Even though many studies give exacting detail on the battle, this one certainly goes the distance in describing the decades before and after the war as they pertain to the common man, woman and child.
This book will make an excellent resource for Civil War historians and those interested in a more humanistic side of the war. True, the horrors of war are still presented, but in a socially oriented history. I definitely recommend this book and will enjoy using it as a reference for years to come.