Why Confederates Fought: Family and Nation in Civil War Virginia (Civil War America) - Hardcover

Sheehan-Dean, Aaron

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807861847 ISBN 13: 9780807861844

Publisher: University North Carolina Pr, 2009

Synopsis

In the first comprehensive study of the experience of Virginia soldiers and their families in the Civil War, Aaron Sheehan-Dean captures the inner world of the rank-and-file. Utilizing new statistical evidence and first-person narratives, Sheehan-Dean explores how Virginia soldiers-even those who were nonslaveholders-adapted their vision of the war's purpose to remain committed Confederates. Sheehan-Dean challenges earlier arguments that middle- and lower-class southerners gradually withdrew their support for the Confederacy because their class interests were not being met. Instead he argues that Virginia soldiers continued to be motivated by the profound emotional connection between military service and the protection of home and family, even as the war dragged on. The experience of fighting, explains Sheehan-Dean, redefined southern manhood and family relations, established the basis for postwar race and class relations, and transformed the shape of Virginia itself. He concludes that Virginians' experience of the Civil War offers important lessons about the reasons we fight wars and the ways that those reasons can change over time. -copy for pb reprint: In the first comprehensive study of the experience of Virginia soldiers and their families in the Civil War, Aaron Sheehan-Dean captures the inner world of the rank-and-file. He challenges earlier arguments that middle- and lower-class southerners gradually withdrew their support for the Confederacy because their class interests were not being met. Instead he argues that Virginia soldiers continued to be motivated by the profound emotional connection between military service and the protection of home and family, even as the war dragged on.

About this title

Review:

A major contribution to the growing body of literature on Civil War soldiers.--North Carolina Historical Review

A thought-provoking analysis of the rise of the Confederate nation. . . . Should serve as a model for meticulous historical research. . . . An engaging text, which challenges scholars to look more carefully at the motivation that caused Virginians to fight for the Confederacy.--Southern Historian

A thought-compelling, quality monograph. . . . Highly recommended.--CHOICE

A fresh and forceful contribution to our understanding of why these Virginians fought and how the very course of the war served to create new rationales for their resolve in doing so for so much of the Confederate nation's four-year lifespan.--Civil War Book Review

A fresh approach to the issues. . . . A good book raises good questions as much as it answers them. Sheehan-Dean . . . succeeds in doing both.--On Point

This study . . . rests on a statistical base that does not intrude on the fascinating narrative. . . . An essential study underlining the need for works on other states.--Military History of the West

A careful analysis [that] should . . . supersede previous works.--American Historical Review

This well-researched, well written book is a very welcome addition to the literature on nationalism in the Confederacy.--The Journal of American History

Continues the ongoing debate over what inspired Confederate soldiers to fight. . . . Steer[s] us toward important new questions.--H-Net

As is true of the best recent scholarship on Confederate nationalism, Sheehan-Dean carefully delineates the evolution of Virginian soldiers' national commitment amid the bloody crucible of the Civil War. . . . Will prompt a new wave of much-needed scholarship that grounds these loyalties within Confederate daily life.--H-CivilWar

About the Author:

Aaron Sheehan-Dean is assistant professor of history at the University of North Florida. He is editor of <i>Struggle for a Vast Future: The American Civil War</i> and <i>The View from the Ground: The Experience of Civil War Soldiers</i>. <!--to change to assoc prof-->

About this edition

• Publisher: University North Carolina Pr
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0807861847
• ISBN 13: 9780807861844
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 308