Overview

"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 non-veterans. 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. |Marten explores how, after the Civil War, the white Confederate and Union army veterans reentered--or struggled to reenter--the lives and communities they had left behind. Marten's book counters the romanticized vision of the lives of Civil War veterans, bringing forth new information about how veterans were treated and how they lived out their lives."

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9780807834763

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Reviews

No other book combines the cultural and social history of Civil War veterans, north and south, like Marten's Sing Not War . Beautifully written and deeply researched, this book captures a fresh perspective of veteran's lives, revealing their personal and distinctive experiences as they returned home after the war. A vivid, compelling, and original study that provides surprising new information about 'Johnny Reb' and 'Billy Yank.' --Joan Waugh, author of U. S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth

A worthy addition to the growing body of scholarship on Civil War veterans. For readers new to the topic, it represents a well-written introduction to the world of the men that served in and survived the Civil War. For scholars knowledgeable on this topic, Marten's study pulls together many familiar threads and adds some new ones, thoughtfully weaving both.--<i>Civil War Book Review</i>

A reminder of the lingering presence of the Civil War in the decades after the last shots were fired on the battlefield. . . . Sing Not War fulfills the desire expressed publicly by many Union and Confederate veterans--to be remembered in the history books. <br>- The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

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. <br>- McCormick Messenger

Author Information

James Marten is professor of history at Marquette University in Milwaukee. He is director of the Children in Urban America Project: A Digital Archive.

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