History Commons^™

Stonewalls And Statues: A Personal Exploration Of Memorialization Culture Within The United States, Petra Mcdonnell-Ingoglia

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

A personal exploration of Confederate memorials and the Lost Cause narrative. How and who has created these memorials is integral in understanding the rise of racial hatred and racial violence in the U.S., and is rooted in the creation of Confederate culture and memorialization. This paper explores those topics while also trying to reckon with where we go from here and how we unravel the mythical narrative that has had such an impact on our society.

Praying For The South: Catholics And The Confederacy, Thomas Richardson

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis examines the distinctiveness of Southern Catholic support of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, with a geographic emphasis on Virginian Catholics. During the antebellum decades, the Catholic Church in America thrived despite facing increasing hostility from the largely-Protestant United States. In response to these challenges, Catholics learned to support their state and federal governments whenever and wherever they could as a means to defuse anti-Catholic attacks. This led Catholics to condone (and involve themselves in) American racialized slavery, even after the Church itself condemned the practice. Seen in this light, Catholics who fought for and supported the …

The “Honorable” Woman: Gender, Honor, And Privilege In The Civil War South, Sarah West

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

When past wars are discussed or taught in a mainstream setting, the focus is often on the soldiers, the battles, and the generals that led them. The topic of the people who passively lived through them is rarely included in the narrative and when it is, it usually pertains to the people on the winning side. During the Civil War, the Southern women made tremendous contributions on the home front. Although social construction of southern honor paved the way for patriotic expressions, as the war went on many women found themselves discarding these honorable gestures in favor of self-preservation. The …

War And Reconstruction From An East Texas Perspective: Nacogdoches County From 1861-1876, William Wade Carter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Initially founded in 1826 as a municipality of Mexico and organized as a county in 1837—and sharing its name with the oldest town in Texas—Nacogdoches County flourishes with a rich history and has been a factor in nearly every major event in early Texas history. The Civil War is no exception. Men from the county contributed to the war effort but also felt the war’s sting at home. Citizens did what they could to survive. The county continued under the yoke of Reconstruction after the war before booming again in the 1880s thanks largely to the town the county shares …

The 1863 Invasion Of Pennsylvania, Michael J. Gallagher

Theses

Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863 was a grave mistake, on a variety of levels, which ultimately culminated in a crippling defeat at Gettysburg. After the Army of Northern Virginia successfully defended southern territory against northern attacks, the transition to an offensive strategy, advancing north in to Pennsylvania was a vast miscalculation. Lee’s army now traversed enemy territory, leaving behind the advantages of a campaign on southern territory and abandoning a defensive posture. This transition to fighting on enemy territory brought several difficulties that Lee seemingly overlooked, and presented challenges for which Lee was unprepared. Lee …

No Tolerance For Cowards Or “Yankees:” The Letters Of Reuben Allen Pierson, A Confederate Officer, Erica L. Uszak

Student Publications

Confederate officer Reuben Allen Pierson was a single well-to-do Louisiana slaveholder. He enlisted early in the Ninth Louisiana Infantry, insisting that he joined the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to defend his freedom, family, and new country. He turned his back on the United States, convinced that his Northern counterparts were subhuman and dishonorable. This paper argues that Reuben Allen Pierson remained steadfast in his convictions about Southern duty and honor, arguing in the Confederacy’s favor even in bleak times. The writer will examine why he clung desperately to the Confederacy and how he was influenced by ideas of honor, …

The Contributions Of Edward A. Pollard's The Lost Cause To The Myth Of The Lost Cause, Justin F. Krasnoff

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Edward A. Pollard’s The Lost Cause first appeared in 1866. Although it established the Myth of the Lost Cause, it was widely read, not as myth, but as history, especially in the South. Then, after 1900, it was largely forgotten. However, starting in the early 1970s, historians began to investigate the Myth of the Lost Cause as a myth. Pollard’s name and the title of his book finally came up again, but usually just in passing. Except for occasionally getting credit for coining the term “the Lost Cause,” his contributions and popularity remained largely ignored. The purpose of this thesis …

Slavery And Confederate Military Strategy And Policy, 1860–1865, David M. Campmier

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis places slavery at the center of all aspects of the Confederate war effort; from the beginning of the war until its end, the Rebel leadership in Richmond, in the army, and in the states prioritized protecting slavery.

Historians of the Civil War and the Confederacy agree that the war began when southern states declared secession to preserve the institution of slavery. When examining the war, scholars tend to not analyze slavery and its impact on Confederate military strategy, logistics, conscription, and military policy. This lack of study stands in stark contrast to how historians of the Union war …

Diplomacy And The American Civil War: The Impact On Anglo-American Relations, Johnathan B. Seitz

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Modern historical memory of the American Civil War is dominated by the domestic elements of the four-year conflict between the Union and Confederacy. The military figures, battles, and major political changes of 1861-1864 are central elements to public interpretation of the Civil War. But there is an additional dimension to the events of this period in American history, one that, outside of secondary scholarly research in the past century, remains distant from public knowledge. This research explores the nature of international reaction to the American Civil War, focusing on interaction between the combatants and the United Kingdom. The heart of …

Pro-Confederate Sympathy And Its Results In Northern Kentucky, Joel Shutt

Senior Honors Theses

During the Civil War, Kentucky was deeply divided in sentiment between Union and Confederate sympathies. Although these divides could be found anywhere, even within the smallest of towns, the population of some regions numerically favored one side or the other. Even so, there was always a vocal and active minority present, leading to political and even violent contention. This thesis seeks to understand the role that pro-Confederate sentiment played in northern Kentucky during the war. It will investigate how the region influenced the war and public sentiment statewide, and the nature of the conflict within. It will investigate geographic, social, …

Galvanized Yankees: Confederates In Union Service, Patrick O'Neil

Honors Theses

This museum exhibit explores the topic of the Galvanized Yankees, or U.S. Volunteers, who were regiments of captured Confederate soldiers that chose to take an oath of allegiance to the Union and served on the Western Frontier protecting settlers from Indian attacks. The former Confederate soldiers enlisted because it provided them an opportunity of freedom from the POW camps and an opportunity to earn a wage to provide for their families. One such soldier was James A.P. Fancher, a Confederate POW from Sparta, Tennessee. During their time in the West, the Galvanized Yankees patrolled to keep stagecoach and mail lines …

“When This Cruel War Is Over”: The Blurring Of The Confederate Battlefront And Homefront During The Civil War, Sophie Hammond

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

The line dividing the Confederate battlefront and homefront was always extremely blurred, and this blurring, though initially a source of strength, contributed significantly to the South losing the Civil War. While fighting the war, the Confederacy faced a terrible handicap which the Union did not: the vast majority of the war's battles happened on its own soil. At first, this situation galvanized Southerners. But as the war dragged on, concern for their families as well as the very real costs of war—Confederate soldiers were nearly three times as likely to die as Union soldiers—encouraged a total of around 103,000 Confederates …

Women Of The War: Female Espionage Agents For The Confederacy, Sarah Stellhorn

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Although historians have frequently examined the role of women on the home front during the Civil War, women who contributed to the cause in more direct ways, such as espionage, are often neglected. An in-depth examination of specific females spying for the Confederacy, such as Rose O’Neal Greenhow and Belle Boyd, proves that their actions, both remarkable and uncharacteristic of women at the time, had a direct impact on the war. A vast network of spies and smugglers existed not only in the southern and border states but also throughout the North, even in Washington D.C. itself. This network was …

Robert E. Lee And Slavery, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

Robert E. Lee was the most successful Confederate military leader during the American Civil War (1861–1865). This also made him, by virtue of the Confederacy's defense of chattel slavery, the most successful defender of the enslavement of African Americans. Yet his own personal record on both slavery and race is mottled with contradictions and ambivalence, all which were in plain view during his long career. Born into two of Virginia's most prominent families, Lee spent his early years surrounded by enslaved African Americans, although that changed once he joined the Army. His wife, Mary Randolph Custis Lee, freed her own …

Visual Culture Project: Confederate War Etchings: Searching For Arms By Adalbert Johann Volck, Lynn B. Hatcher

Student Publications

Adalbert Johann Volck’s 1861 sketch of Union soldiers, “Searching for Arms,” represents a substantial contribution to the narrative about gender relations during the American Civil War. This simple, small sketch offers the observer a window into the past. It is a collision of symbols and meaning—from gender to war to the household—all wrapped up in one image. This is a portrait sketch of a woman being invaded in her domestic, private sphere, revealing so much about gender relations during the time. The mistress herself seemed to embody a vast range of sentiments such as anger, fear, frailty, and strength, proving …

An End To Slavery In The Confederacy: One Of The Civil War's Greatest "What-Ifs", Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

A few weeks ago one of our readers posted a comment on one of our blog posts asking for a “best guess” as to when slavery would have ended in the South had the Confederacy been successful in winning its independence. There is, of course, no easy answer to this question, as counter-factual history is just that: not factual. However, the question is an important one that deserves attention and at the very least can be used to explore some ways in which slavery can be contextualized in the Civil War era.

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A Connecticut Yankee In Jeff Davis's Court, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

For the past ten weeks or so, I have been interning at Richmond National Battlefield Park. The experience has been like no other. I began the summer with a few goals. First, I wanted to see if working for the National Park Service was everything that my fellow park geeks said it was. Second, I wanted to enrich my understanding of the Civil War by focusing my study on one particular community’s experience in the Civil War (Richmond). Third, as a born-and-raised New Englander, I wanted to see what it was like to spend a summer in Dixie. Finally, …

Yonder Stands Jackson Beyond Reproach, Kevin P. Lavery

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Yonder, he stands, a lone sentinel of stone amidst the fallow fields of Henry Hill. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, his nom de guerre earned here on the fields of First Manassas, rides tall in the saddle of his steed. The statue’s commanding presence on Henry Hill anchors a memory of that battle that emphasizes the triumph of Jackson, his brigade, and the Confederate army in the defense of Southern soil. It is an embodiment of idealized notions of Southern courage, honor, and martial spirit. At the same time, the monument serves to depoliticize Jackson and the Confederate war effort—yet in doing …

Gettysburg College Journal Of The Civil War Era 2016

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

No abstract provided.

Cotton, Clemency, And Control: United States V. Klein And The Juridical Legacy Of Executive Pardon, Heather L. Clancy

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

When the guns of war fell silent in 1865, Americans throughout the reunited states grappled with the logistics of peace. At virtually every turn lay nebulous but critical questions of race, class, allegiance, and identity. More pragmatic legal stumbling blocks could also be found strewn across the path to Reconstruction; some of them would ensnare the healing nation for decades to come. Among their number was notorious Supreme Court decision United States v. Klein (1872). Born on July 22, 1865 out of a small debate over the wartime seizure of Vicksburg cotton stores, Klein quickly evolved into a legal …

"Life Under Union Occupation: Elite Women In Richmond, April And May 1865", Amanda C. Tompkins

Theses and Dissertations

This paper crafts a narrative about how elite, white Richmond women experienced the fall and rebuilding of their city in April and May 1865. At first, the women feared the entrance of the occupying army because they believed the troops would treat them as enemies. However, the goal of the white occupiers was to restore order in the city. Even though they were initially saddened by the occupation, many women were surprised at the courtesy and respected afforded them by the Union troops. Black soldiers also made up the occupying army, and women struggled to submit to black authority. With …

The Ideal And The Real: Southern Plantation Women Of The Civil War, Kelly H. Crosby

Student Publications

Southern plantation women experienced a shift in identity over the course of the Civil War. Through the diaries of Catherine Edmondston and Eliza Fain, historians note the discrepancy between the ideal and real roles women had while the men were off fighting. Unique perspectives and hidden voices in their writings offer valuable insight into the life of plantation women and the hybrid identity they gained despite the Confederate loss.

Ten Miles From Richmond, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

At the tiny crossroads town of Cold Harbor, Ulysses S. Grant hoped to crush Robert E. Lee's army and hasten the war's end. What happened instead would become one of his greatest regrets.

From Self-Sacrifice To Self-Preservation: The Changing Roles Of Southern Women During America's Civil War, Jennifer E. Edine

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

The Civil War is an event in American history that will continue to be discussed and analyzed for years to come. The conflict affected the entire population of the country, regardless of social class or race. One of the most important changes in southern society was the change in the roles and ideologies of southern women as a result of the war. Before the war, the South was a patriarchal society with prominent gender roles and ideologies on how the perfect Southerner should behave. Ideally, the Cavalier Man, filled with honor and chivalry, was meant to be in complete control. …

The Political War, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

Pity Abraham Lincoln. Everything that should have gone right for the Union cause in the spring of 1864 had, in just a few weeks, gone defiantly and disastrously wrong.

For two years, the 16th president had toiled uphill against the secession of the Confederate states, against the incompetence of his luckless generals and against his howling critics from both sides of the congressional aisle. Finally, in the summer and fall of 1863, the course of the war had begun to turn his way. Two great victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg staggered the Confederates, and those were followed by a knockdown …

Class Conflict And The Confederate Conscription Acts In North Carolina, 1862-1864, Tyler Cline

Honors College

This thesis will analyze the effect that Confederate conscription policies during the American Civil War from 1862 to 1864 had on the social order that existed in North Carolina. Conflicts arose during the war between the slave-owning aristocratic class and the yeomen farmers who owned few slaves, if any, and thus were not dependent on the slave system in the pre-war era. A regional approach, exploring the impact of geography on social development, illustrates that the undermining of this social stability led to growing class-consciousness among the middle class farmers who dominated the Piedmont region of North Carolina. It will …

The Fall Of The House Of Dixie: The Civil War And The Social Revolution That Transformed The South, Brexton L. O'Donnell

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

This article reviews The Fall of the House of Dixie: The Civil War and the Social Revolution that Transformed the South (2013) by Bruce Levine.

America's Forgotten Constitutions: Defiant Visions Of Power And Community, Robert Tsai

Robert L Tsai

The U.S. Constitution opens by proclaiming the sovereignty of all citizens: "We the People." Robert Tsai's gripping history of alternative constitutions invites readers into the circle of those who have rejected this ringing assertion--the defiant groups that refused to accept the Constitution's definition of who "the people" are and how their authority should be exercised. America's Forgotten Constitutions is the story of America as told by dissenters: squatters, Native Americans, abolitionists, socialists, internationalists, and racial nationalists. Beginning in the nineteenth century, Tsai chronicles eight episodes in which discontented citizens took the extraordinary step of drafting a new constitution. He examines …

Fateful Lightning: A New History Of The Civil War And Reconstruction, Allen C. Guelzo

Gettysburg College Faculty Books

The Civil War is the greatest trauma ever experienced by the American nation, a four-year paroxysm of violence that left in its wake more than 600,000 dead, more than 2 million refugees, and the destruction (in modern dollars) of more than $700 billion in property. The war also sparked some of the most heroic moments in American history and enshrined a galaxy of American heroes. Above all, it permanently ended the practice of slavery and proved, in an age of resurgent monarchies, that a liberal democracy could survive the most frightful of challenges.

In Fateful Lightning, two-time Lincoln Prize-winning …

Xrf And The Corrosion Environment At Camp Lawton: A Comprehensive Study Of The Archeological Microenvironment Of A Civil War Prison Camp, Amanda L. Morrow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author's abstract: Handheld X Ray Fluorescence (XRF) technology is a new and emerging method in the field of archeology. This thesis discusses the results of XRF comparative analysis and comparative chemical analysis between a given ferrous metallic artifact's corrosion environment (the surrounding soil matrix) and the subsequent corrosion products formed on the artifact. The hypothesis is that the data will demonstrate a chemical correlation between the two. Iron and chlorine are the two major elements discussed in the study. The artifacts in the sample set have been collected from Camp Lawton (9JS1), a Confederate Prison for Union Soldiers located in …