Daily Life in Civil War America

by Dorothy Volo, James M. Volo

Overview

Based on extensive research into newly discovered documents, this new edition of the popular volume offers an updated look at the daily lives of ordinary citizens caught up in the Civil War.

When first published, Daily Life in Civil War America shifted the spotlight from the conflict's military operations and famous leaders to its affect on day-to-day living. Now this popular, groundbreaking work returns in a thoroughly updated new edition, drawing on an expanded range of journals, journalism, diaries, and correspondence to capture the realities of wartime life for soldiers and citizens, slaves and free persons, women and children, on both sides of the conflict.

In addition to chapter-by-chapter updating, the edition features new chapters on two important topics: the affects of the war on families, focusing on the absence of men on the home front and the plight of nearly 26,000 children orphaned by the war; and the activities of the Copperheads, anti-Confederate border residents, and other Southern pacifist groups.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798216070931
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/13/2009
Series:	The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	420
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 17 Years

About the Author

Dorothy Denneen Volo is a teacher, historian, and living history enthusiast.

James M. Volo is a teacher, lecturer, and historian.
James M. Volo, PhD, has been teaching Physics, Physical Science, and Astronomy for the past 39 years. He received his bachelor's from City College in New York, his masters from American Military University, and his doctorate from Berne University. He has taught on the Graduate level for more than 15 years and authored several reference works regarding U.S. military, social, and cultural history. In addition, he has consulted on TV and movie productions. Among his published works are Blue Water Patriots: The American Revolution Afloat (Greenwood, 2006), Daily Life in Civil War America (Greenwood, 1998), Family Life in the 19th Century (Greenwood, 2007), the Popular Culture of the Antebellum Period (Greenwood, 2004), and the Encyclopedia of the Antebellum South (Greenwood, 2000). Several of which were co-authored with his wife Dorothy Denneen Volo. Presently, Dr. Volo teaches at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Revised Edition
Chronology
Part I: History, Politics, and Slavery
1. The Historian's War
19th-century America
Sowing the Seeds of Conflict
A Divided Economy
Modernization
Politics as Usual
2. Politics: The National Hobby
The Politics of Division
The Election of 1860
Secession
Fire-Eaters
The Southern Radical Press
The Act of Disunion
3. The American Zion
The Perfect Nation
Growing Government
Urbanization
Religion
Reform Movements
The Temperance Movement
The Prevention of Pauperism
The Value of a Dollar
The North Finances the War
4. On Behalf of Southern Independence
Southern Nationalism
Reestablishing the American Revolution
Financing Disunion
Blockade Runners
The Bread Riots
5. The Peculiar Institution: Slavery
The Slave Trade
Plantation Slavery
Slave Clothing
Slave Work Week
Slave Food
Slave Entertainment
Legal Rights for Slaves and Discipline
Draft Riots
Black Churches
The Slave Family
Miscegenation
6. Abolition
The Anti-Slavery Movement
Suppression of the Slave Trade
Gradualism and Colonization
Abolitionists
Black Anti-Slavery Activists
Slaveowners
Slavery and the Courts
Mutiny on the Amistad
The Lemmon Case
The Dred Scott Decision
Fugitive Slaves
From Slavery to Contraband
Part II: Soldiers' Lives
7. Billy Yank and Johnny Reb
Common Soldiers
Boys in War
Partisan Warfare
Conscription
Prisoners of War
Disbanding the Armies
8. Hardtack and Coffee
Supplying the Army with Grub
Army Food
Cookware
The Commissary
Foodstuffs
Canned Foods
Camp Rations
Marching Rations
Sutlers
Officers' Mess
Foraging
Fresh Meat
Preserved Meats
Fresh Bread
Hardtack
Cornbread
Coffee
Salt and Life
9. Tenting Tonight: The Solider's Life
Shelter
Equipment
Uniforms
Camp Life and Recreation
10. Tactics and Strategy
Strategy
Geography
Raiders
Railroads
Roads
Military Organization
Armies
Corps and Divisions
Tactics
Ancillary Units
Medical Service
Moral Awakening
Women at War
11. Seeing the Elephant: The Realities of Life in Battle
Marching to War
Making Contact
A Day of Battle
Wounded in Battle
Climax
The Aftermath
Part III: Civilians' Lives
12. Be It Ever So Humble
The Front Hall
The Parlor
The Library
The Dining Room
The Kitchen
The Bedrooms
The Nursery
The Necessary
13. Leisure Time
Literature
Newspapers
Availability of Reading Material
Women Writers
Photography
Optical Novelties
Cultural Institutions
Reading Clubs
Lectures
Games
Croquet
Social Calls
Ladies' Crafts
14. Feast or Famine: Food and Cooking
Storage
Modern Advancement
Food Attitudes
Common Foods
Food Prices
The War's Effect
Shortages
Supplementing the Troops
15. The Look: Fashion and Women's Clothing
Women's Clothing
The Dress
Undergarments
Outerwear
Headgear
Ancillary Clothing
Footwear
Accessories
Jewelry
Hairstyles
16. Dressed for the Part: Men's, Children's, and Slaves Clothing
Men's Clothing
Children's Clothing
Slaves' Clothing
17. Elevating and Expanding the Young Mind
18. Till the Mournful Night Is Gone: Death and Dying
19. The Effects of Warfare on Families
A Devastated Landscape
An Absence of Men
Children of War
Soldiers' Orphans
Whose Children Are These?
The Orphan Trains
20. Copperheads
Clement Vallandigham
Anti-Confederate Southerners
Watching a Free Government Die
Glossary of Civil War Period Terms
Selected Bibliography
Index