Overview

In Rebel Salvation, Kathleen Zebley Liulevicius examines pardon petitions from former Confederate soldiers and sympathizers in Tennessee to craft a unique and comprehensive analysis of the process of Reconstruction in the Volunteer State after the Civil War. These underutilized petitions contain a wealth of information about Tennesseans from an array of social and economic backgrounds, and include details about many residents who would otherwise not appear in the historical record. They reveal the dynamics at work between multiple factions in the state: former Rebels, Unionists, Governor William G. Brownlow, and the U.S. Army officers responsible for ushering Tennessee back into the Union. The pardons also illuminate the reality of the politically and emotionally charged post-Civil War environment, where everyone-from wealthy elites to impoverished sharecroppers-who had fought, supported, or expressed sympathy for the Confederacy was required by law to sue for pardon to reclaim certain privileges. All such requests arrived at the desk of President Andrew Johnson, who ultimately determined which petitioners regained the right to vote, hold office, practice law, operate a business, and buy and sell land. Those individuals filing petitions experienced Reconstruction in personal and profound ways. Supplicants wrote and circulated their exoneration documents among loyalist neighbors, friends, and Union officers to obtain favorable endorsements that might persuade Brownlow and Johnson to grant pardon. Former Rebels relayed narratives about the motivating factors compelling them to side with the Confederacy, chronicled their actions during the war, expressed repentance, and pledged allegiance to the United States government and the Constitution. Although not required, many petitioners even sought recommendations from their former wartime foes. The pardoning of former Confederates proved a collaborative process in which neighbors, acquaintances, and erstwhile enemies lodged formal pleas to grant or deny clemency from state and federal officials. Indeed, as Rebel Salvation reveals, the long road to peace began here in the newly reunited communities of postwar Tennessee.

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9780807174906

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Reviews

Probing the pardoning process in Tennessee not from the top but from the bottom, Dr. Liulevicius's pioneering study exposes in all its complexity peacetime Reconstruction's first, fatal step: the pretenses, promises, aspirations, and rationalizations of those seeking to restore their old ties to a government that they had striven to destroy. It will make essential, dismaying reading.--Mark Wahlgren Summers, author of Ordeal of the Reunion Rebel Salvation tackles an immensely important topic: the legal status of Confederates in the wake of the Civil War. Tracing the tenuous and often unpredictable process of pardoning and amnesty in Tennessee, Liulevicius highlights the local and communal nature of Reconstruction. Perhaps most importantly, this meticulously researched account helps us to better grasp the limitations and shortcomings of Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plan. --Caroline E. Janney, author of Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation

Rebel Salvation tackles an immensely important topic: the legal status of Confederates in the wake of the Civil War. Tracing the tenuous and often unpredictable process of pardoning and amnesty in Tennessee, Liulevicius highlights the local and communal nature of Reconstruction. Perhaps most importantly, this meticulously researched account helps us to better grasp the limitations and shortcomings of Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plan. --Caroline E. Janney, author of Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation An important analysis of early Reconstruction. . . . Liulevicius's Rebel Salvation makes important contributions to understanding Reconstruction in Tennessee. --Journal of Southern History Probing the pardoning process in Tennessee not from the top but from the bottom, Dr. Liulevicius's pioneering study exposes in all its complexity peacetime Reconstruction's first, fatal step: the pretenses, promises, aspirations, and rationalizations of those seeking to restore their old ties to a government that they had striven to destroy. It will make essential, dismaying reading. --Mark Wahlgren Summers, author of Ordeal of the Reunion

Author Information

Kathleen Zebley Liulevicius received her PhD in nineteenth-century United States history at the University of Tennessee. She has taught at the State University of New York-Geneseo, the University of North Carolina-Pembroke, and the University of Tennessee.

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