Sing Not War: The Lives of Union and Confederate Veterans in Gilded Age America (Civil War America) - Softcover

Marten, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1469622025 ISBN 13: 9781469622026

Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press, 2014

Synopsis

After the Civil War, white Confederate and Union army veterans reentered-or struggled to reenter-the lives and communities they had left behind. In Sing Not War, James Marten explores how the nineteenth century's "Greatest Generation" attempted to blend back into society and how their experiences were treated by nonveterans. Many soldiers, Marten reveals, had a much harder time reintegrating into their communities and returning to their civilian lives than has been previously understood. Although Civil War veterans were generally well taken care of during the Gilded Age, Marten argues that veterans lost control of their legacies, becoming best remembered as others wanted to remember them-for their service in the war and their postwar political activities. Marten finds that while southern veterans were venerated for their service to the Confederacy, Union veterans often encountered resentment and even outright hostility as they aged and made greater demands on the public purse. Drawing on letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, newspapers, and other sources, Sing Not War illustrates that during the Gilded Age "veteran" conjured up several conflicting images and invoked contradicting reactions. Deeply researched and vividly narrated, Marten's book counters the romanticized vision of the lives of Civil War veterans, bringing forth new information about how white veterans were treated and how they lived out their lives.

About this title

Review

Marten's book is powerful in its presentation and is a must read for those historians who want to proceed further into the postwar era of the conflict.--The Journal of the North Carolina Association of Historians

[Marten's] scholarship is wide ranging, and his prose is excellent . . . . For anyone interested in the postwar lives of Civil War soldiers, Sing Not War is highly recommended.--The Annals of Iowa

A first rate study. . . . Well-written with well-placed illustrations and photographs, this will become a definitive work on the subject.--American Nineteenth Century History

Adds much to a growing literature on the Civil War soldier as veteran.--Journal of Illinois History

A remarkable book with significance far beyond the post-Civil War era.--Kansas History

A rich narrative. . . . Marten's well-researched study draws together a deep analysis of competing themes.--West Virginia History

[An] insightful work. . . . Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.--Choice

Sing Not War is a first-rate scholarly model of historical research and elegant writing that is sure to reshape studies of veteran culture, social welfare, Civil War memory, and the Gilded Age.--Journal of the Civil War Era

This volume is profoundly moving.--The Historian

A splendid synthesis in the emerging field of postwar studies.--Journal of Social History

About the Author

James Marten is professor of history at Marquette University, USA, and author or editor of more than a dozen books, including The Children's Civil War, Texas Divided: Loyalty and Dissent in the Lone Star State, 1856-1874, and Civil War America: Voices from the Homefront.

About this edition

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1469622025
• ISBN 13: 9781469622026
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352