The Civil War in Popular Culture: Memory and Meaning

by Randal Allred, Lawrence A. Kreiser (Editor)

Overview

"An important read for anyone trying to sort through the current social and political controversy over the question of how do we memorialize the Civil War." —Strategy Page
Dividing the nation for four years, the American Civil War resulted in 750,000 casualties and forever changed the country's destiny. The conflict continues to resonate in our collective memory, and U.S. economic, cultural, and social structures still suffer the aftershocks of the nation's largest and most devastating war. Over a century and a half later, portrayals of the war in books, songs, cinema, and other cultural media continue to draw widespread attention and controversy.
In The Civil War in Popular Culture: Memory and Meaning, editors Lawrence A. Kreiser Jr. and Randal Allred analyze American depictions of the war across a variety of mediums, from books and film to monuments and battlefield reunions to reenactments and board games. This collection examines how battle strategies, famous generals, and the nuances of Civil War politics translate into contemporary popular culture. This unique analysis assesses the intersection of the Civil War and popular culture by recognizing how memories and commemorations of the war have changed since it ended in 1865.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813143217
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	06/29/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	310
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Lawrence A. Kreiser Jr. is associate professor history at Stillman College. He is a coeditor of Popular Culture Values and the Arts: Essays on Elitism versus Democratization and The Detective as Historian: History and Art in Historical Crime Fiction.

Table of Contents

Introduction Lawrence A. Kreiser Randal Allred 1

Section I The Aftermath of Battle

1 "Really, Though, I'm Fine": Civil War Veterans and the Psychological Aftereffects of Killing Michael W. Schaefer 11

2 Traumatized Manhood: Confederate Amputees in History, Memory, and Hollywood Brian Craig Miller 25

Section II Reunions and Battlefield Preservation

3 Relics of Reunion: Souvenirs and Memory at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, 1889-1895 Daryl Black 47

4 The Graying of Gettysburg National Military Park: Race, Erasure, Ideology, and Iconography Robert E. Weir 61

5 Civil War Battlefields for Future Generations: The Relationship between Battlefield Preservation and Popular Culture Susan Chase Hall 83

Section III The Memory of the Civil War over Time

6 The Cultural Politics of Memory: Confederate Women and General William T. Sherman Jacqueline Glass Campbell 101

7 "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye": The Civil War Navies in Public Memory Matthew Eng 117

Section IV The Civil War in Fiction and Film

8 From History to Fiction: Abraham Lincoln's Most Famous Murder Trial and the Limits of Dramatic License Daniel W. Stowell 137

9 The War in Film: The Depiction of Combat in Glory Paul Haspel 153

Section V The Civil War as Entertainment

10 The War in Cardboard and Ink: Fifty Years of Civil War Board Games Alfred Wallace 175

11 "Oh, I'm a Good Ol' Rebel": Reenactment, Racism, and the Lost Cause Christopher Bates 191

Afterword: Untangling the Webs of the Civil War and Reconstruction in the Popular Culture Imagination David Madden 223

Acknowledgments 237

List of Contributors 239

Index 243

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The Civil War in Popular Culture is an eclectic approach covering a variety of subjects, including Civil War myth and memory, films, novels, battlefield preservation and monuments, souvenirs, race and gender politics, the internet, war gaming, military medicine, and battle field reenactment. A lively read based on fresh research." — Frank J. Wetta, author of The Louisiana Scalawags; Politics, Race, and Terrorism during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Editorial Reviews

The Civil War in Popular Culture is an eclectic approach covering a variety of subjects, including Civil War myth and memory, films, novels, battlefield preservation and monuments, souvenirs, race and gender politics, the internet, war gaming, military medicine, and battle field reenactment. A lively read based on fresh research.

Frank J. Wetta

The Civil War in Popular Culture: Memory and Meaning by Lawrence A. Kreiser Jr. & Randal Allred looks at depictions of the war across a variety of mediums, from books and film, to monuments and battlefield reunions, to reenactments and board games. —Those That Can't Write

Those That Can't Write

[...] The eleven essays, introduction and afterward offered in The Civil War In Popular Culture: Memory And Meaning are each scholarly, informative and entertaining.  The perspectives and focus of the fourteen authors' essays are both broad and unique. [...] Clear, concise and cogent, the essays are both incisive for the scholar and accessible to the general reader.

Civil War Librarian

This incredibly diverse volume is composed of essays from academic historians, literary scholars, and public historians. [M]any of these essays offer wonderful gems.

Civil War Monitor

Although published three years ago, The Civil War in Popular Culture is even more timely today, and an important read for anyone trying to sort through the current social and political controversy over the question of how do we memorialize the Civil War.

Strategy Page

The Civil War in Popular Culture contains contributions from academic historians, archivists and museum coordinators, and American literature scholars, giving readers a range of voices that provide an eclectic yet coherent compilation of essays investigating how the Civil War has been commemorated, remembered, and misremembered in American popular culture since the late 1800s.

Journal of Military History

"This wide-ranging collection speaks to the power of the Civil War as a long-term force in American popular culture. The contributors illuminate the phenomenon from a remarkable range of perspectives extending from veterans in the post-Appomattox era through re-enactors and Hollywood films of the early 21st century. Whether drawn especially to historical, literary, or cinematic themes, readers will find much to ponder and enjoy in these pages."—Gary W. Gallagher, author of The Union War and The Confederate War

From the Publisher