In the beautiful Southern autumn days, a war was becoming bloodier and bloodier by the day. Howard Bahr’s The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War takes place in the most tranquil time of the year in 1864. Bushrod Carter, a young Confederate rifleman, leaves his Mississippi town to fight in the Tennessee Army under General John Bell Hood. The story follows Bushrod and a few of his fellow Confederates through the months leading up to the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. Bahr writes the story with great historical accuracy and vivid imagery. The story documents the fear, suffering, and close bonds created with fellow soldiers through every part of the battle including the eve, during, and its aftermath. Bushrod’s luck runs high as he has never once gotten seriously wounded or shot. However, he becomes wounded in one of the Confederate charges and he is taken to a makeshift hospital where he comes under the care of Anna Hereford. She has already lost two potential romances to the war, but Bushrod attempts to form somewhat of a courtship even though he is in the middle of a terrible war that will not be settled for sometime. This type of novel is recommended for anyone interested in the Civil War. Not too many books explore the southern battles, especially from a Confederates soldier’s point of view. Bahr does an excellent job at capturing the essence of the Civil War and its affects on the people involved. The novel was nominated for several awards, earning the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Gettysburg College, won the Book-of-the-Month Club, and was a New York Times Notable Book. The book showed some popularity and sold 10,000 copies, but was heavily overshadowed by another... ... middle of paper ... ..., Nebo takes Bushrod to his grave. “ ‘Well, old Bushrod,’ he said, ‘it’s mighty quiet now.’ He touched Bushrod’s hand. It was cold and stiff, but Nebo closed his own around it anyway. He was sitting like that, still holding hands,” (Bahr 265). This tear-jerking moment shows how close these soldiers become and the death of one of them is also a death of oneself. This magnificent novel is a definite must read for military men because Bahr effectively combines the interesting history of the Battle of Franklin with the psychological affects of battle. Though the novel inherits some natural flaws, the pros outweigh the cons. This short read becomes very satisfying as the story progresses. Also, Bahr shatters the concept of the Confederates being hicks and cruel slave owners, but that they are actual people too, who experience war just the same as someone form the Union.
Book summary: Confederates in the Attic addresses the life of Tony Horwitz: a man from the North, who decided to take an expedition down South to figure out how the Civil War affected America. As Horwitz illustrates in Confederates in the Attic, the Civil War is far from over. Horwitz, determined to find the answers to this conflict, treks through the South, seeking to explain man's longtime obsession with a war that divided the nation. Speaking to historians and Civil War reenactors of all kinds, he finds that people are still contemporarily split when it comes to the war and current complications in society. On his endeavour, He collects an abundant amount of information, which created a challenge when attempting to draw a broad conclusion. Horwitz learns how contrasting the views of the war are between the north and south. He learns the way people use history to suit their own personal needs, and explores the problems of race. While I believe Confederates in the Attic is an excellent calligraphy on the ongoing history ...
Shaara’s novel Killer Angels shows the battle of Gettysburg through a number of unique viewpoints. Shaara offers a more intimate view of the battle than other Civil War novels. A reader can see the battle through the eyes of both Union and Confederate leaders. Through the novel the reader is able to see why each character is fighting and what they hope to gain from the war. Readers can also see the effect that the war has on the different characters. I will examine the war through the eyes of several different characters from Shaara’s novel.
Turner, Thomas R. 101 Things You Didn’t Know about the Civil War. Avon: Adams, 2007.
Heidler, David Stephen, and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: a
McPherson, James M.; The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: 15 Columbus Circle New York, NY. 1994.
Ida B. Wells was born into slavery, and lived in Holly Springs Mississippi. She was later freed, and learned from her parents what it meant to be a political activist. By 1891, Wells was the owner of the newspaper, Free Speech, and was reporting on the horrors that were occurring in the south. Wells, along with other people of the African American activist community were particularly horrified about the lynching’s that were occurring in the south. As a response to the lynching that was occurring, and other violent acts that the African American community was dealing with Wells wrote three pamphlets: Southern Horrors, The Red Record, and Mob Brutality. Muckraking and investigative journalism can be seen throughout these pamphlets, as well as Wells intent to persuade the African American community, and certain members of the white community to take a stand against the crime of lynching. Wells’ writings are an effective historical text, because she serves as a voice to an underrepresented African American community.
I felt like the author could clearly show the true contributing factors of the civil war. As an admirer of history, I could use utilize his book for references later on in my academic studies. The book is 127 pages chronicling the events that led to the civil war. Holt gives novices history readers a wonder firsthand look into the world of young America pre-civil war. His book brought out new ways to approach the study of pre-civil war events. The question whether the Civil War was inevitable or could have been derailed was answered in The Fate of Their Country. Holt places the spotlight on the behaviors Politicians and the many congressional compromises that unintendedly involved the actions of the residents of American. These factors at hand placed the Civil war as inevitable. Most of the politician’s views in The Fate of Their Country were egotistical and shortsighted which left gaps in American’s social future. To consider the subject of why, first we need to understand the contributing causes, America’s great expansion project, the Manifest Destiny the driving factor behind the loss of virtue and political discord.
As Tony Horwitz illustrates in Confederates in the Attic, the Civil War is far from over. Horwitz, determined to find the answers to this conflict, treks through the South, seeking to explain man's longtime obsession with a war that divided the nation. Talking to historians and Civil War reenactors of all kinds, he finds that people are still divided today when it comes to the war and present issues in society. He collects a vast amount of data, which proves to make things very difficult in drawing a general conclusion. Horwitz learns how differently the south views the war, discovers the way in which people use history to suit their own needs, and explores issues of race.
The Civil War is one of the defining wars in the history of this great nation. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle in American history, and a turning point in the four year war. At the time, Gettysburg was a small, quiet town generally unaffected by the war. General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate States of America and General George Meade of the Union converged in Gettysburg, and a conflict quickly arose. After three long days of battle the Union pulled away with a victory, though not an easy one. This essay will outline the six themes of history; in essence the who, what, when, where, why, and who cares of this infamous battle.
The novel that I had picked was Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt. The reason why I had picked this novel is that it is a Civil War- causes, military leaders, and battles. Across Five Aprils is about a unforgettable story about a young kid whos name is Jethro Creighton, who comes of age during the turbulent years of the Civil War. In the beginning of the story Across Five Aprils Jethro doesn't have an understanding of what war is really about. During the war Abraham Lincoln in his worthy to keep Jethro brother and family out of trouble by law. Across Five Aprils then opens up by telling how Joseph Hooker who is before Robert E. Lee. The war had then escalated and taken to the point to where the author can no longer continue writing about the historical events of the Civil War.
Mary Boykin Chesnut was born on her grandparents' estate at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on March 31, 1823. She learned early about the workings of a plantation by observing her grandmother. Grandmother Miller rose early to assign the cleaning and cooking duties for her servants. Besides keeping the mansion clean and prepared for the frequent guests, Mary's grandmother also took charge of making and mending clothing for the slaves on the plantation. She spent whole days cutting out clothing for the children and assigning sewing to her nine seamstresses. Her grandmother worked with the servants and sewing crew so easily and effectively that Mary was nearly nine years old before she became aware that her grandmother's coworkers were slaves. Having learned to respect these workers, she thought of them as near equals.
The novel, “Shiloh” by Shelby Foote is a fictional recreation of the bloody battle. The story begins with the soldiers of the Confederate Army heading towards Pittsburg Landing. The men are marching in terrible conditions. It is pouring down rain and they are dragging their tired legs through the mud. The troops come to a halt so the commanders can talk to General Johnston. General Johnston says the only way they might have a chance is if they plan a surprise attack. As the sergeants hand the men their guns, they are told to check the powder in case it got wet in the rain. A group of soldiers test their guns out on a deer running close by. At the same time the shots were fired, the sun came out and the soldiers started to scream and cheer. These noises combined were more than enough to alert the Union soldiers of the Confederates advance. Palmer remembers what his life was like before going to war. He attended the Louisiana State Military Academy when the Confederacy seceded from the Union. One of his professors predicted the south did not have a chance of winning the war. That night Palmer dreams of holding Sherman at gunpoint making him admit that he was wrong. Prior to the battle, the commanders create a battle plan. Palmer is assigned a part in this process. When the plan fails, Palmer learns that planning a battle is more difficult than it seems because the commanders on the ground face challenges that do not exist on paper.
Kara Walker’s piece titled Gone: An Historical Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred b 'tween the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart represents discrimination on basis of race that happened during the period of slavery. The medium Walker specializes in using paper in her artwork. This piece is currently exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art. Even though this artwork depicts slavery, discrimination is still an issue today in America, the country where people are supposedly free and equal. Even though slavery ended in the 19th century, we still see hints of racial discrimination for African Americans in our society. Walker uses color, image composition, and iconography to point out evidence of racial inequality that existed in the
The next four years were spent traveling the states fighting in some of the most well known battles of the Civil War . Ambrose Bierce’s experience during the Civil War where he faced the dangers of nature and man influenced his writing.
The Civil War is considered the bloodiest war in the history of the United States of America with 618,000 deaths, and numerous injuries that left many on both sides of the war maimed and handicapped. Due to the four years that the war lasted, the tolerance for war had grown very thin as time dragged on with the citizens of the United States. Many military officers and politicians were falling out of favor with the citizens, and with drastic times come drastic measures. The siege of Petersburg, Virginia had been dragging on for eig...