Religion and the American Civil War

by Randall M. Miller (Editor), Harry S. Stout (Editor), Charles Reagan Wilson (Editor)

Overview

The sixteen essays in this volume, all previously unpublished, address the little considered question of the role played by religion in the American Civil War. The authors show that religion, understood in its broadest context as a culture and community of faith, was found wherever the war was found. Comprising essays by such scholars as Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Drew Gilpin Faust, Mark Noll, Reid Mitchell, Harry Stout, and Bertram Wyatt-Brown, and featuring an afterword by James McPherson, this collection marks the first step towards uncovering this crucial yet neglected aspect of American history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195121285
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/05/1998
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	9.26(w) x 6.36(h) x 1.35(d)
Lexile:	1480L (what's this?)

About the Author

St. Joseph's University

Yale University

University of Mississippi

Table of Contents

PrefaceIntroduction, Randall M. Miller, Harry S. Stout, Charles Reagan WilsonOverview1. Religion and the American Civil War, Philip Shaw PaludanIdeas2. The Bible and Slavery, Mark A. Noll3. Religion in the Collapse of the Union, Eugene D. Genovese4. Church, Honor, and Secession, Bertram Wyatt-Brown5. The Coming of the Lord: The Northern Protestant Clergy and the Civil War Crisis, George M. Fredrickson6. "Wholesome Reading Purifies and Elevates the Man": The Religious Military Press in the Confederacy, Kurt O. Berends7. "Yankee Faith" and Southern Redemption: White Southern Baptist Ministers, 1850-1880, Paul Harvey8. Stonewall Jackson and the Providence of God, Daniel W. Stowell9. Lincoln's Sermon on the Mount: The Second Inaugural, Ronald C. White10. Days of Judgement, Days of Wrath: The Civil War and the Religious Imagination of Women Writers, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese11. "Without Pilot or Compass": Elite Women and Religion in the Civil War South, Drew Gilpin Faust12. Catholic Religion, Irish Ethnicity, and the Civil War, Randall M. Miller13. Christian Soldiers?: Perfecting the Confederacy, Reid MitchellPlaces14. Civil War, Religion and Communications: Richmond as a Case Study, Harry S. Stout and Christopher Grasso15. Religion and the Results of the Civil War, Samual S. HillComparisons16. Religion and the American Civil War in Comparative Perspective, Charles Reagan WilsonAfterward, James M. McPhersonContributorsIndex

Editorial Reviews

The series of essays in this volume originated at a conference on Religion and the Civil War held at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1994. The conference premise was that, despite the major resurgence in interest in the Civil War in the last decade, surprisingly little attention has been devoted to the war as a religious experience. To remedy this, the conference assembled an impressive array of scholars such as Bertram Wyatt-Brown, Eugene and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Drew Gilpin Faust, and Randall Miller, a frequent reviewer for Library Journal, who were each asked to probe religion's role as well as the connections among religion, war, and society. Faust's essay "Without Pilot or Compass?: Elite Women and Religion in the Civil War South" covers new ground and clearly shows the major role religion played in the lives of women. Charles Reagan Wilson's "Religion and the American Civil War in Comparative Perspective" invites comparisons of the American Civil War with other civil wars. There is an insightful overview written by Phillip Shaw Paludan and an afterword by James M. McPherson. A thought-provoking if somewhat pricey collection; for academic libraries.--Charles C. Hay, Eastern Kentucky Univ. Archives, Richmond

Library Journal

"...the essays offer many provocative new insights....the excellent essays in Religion and the American Civil War succeed brilliantly in the editors' goal of stimulating and deepening the study of religion during a critical era of American history."—Georgia Historical Quarterly

"...[an] excellent collection."—News and Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina

"...this volume...is one that should be given great consideration by anyone wishing to enrich his or her Civil War library. The essays contained within are well written, very well researched and documented, and contribute greatly to an underrated and misunderstood aspect of the Civil War."—The Civil War Library and Museum

"...religion and the American Civil War are two topics that relate to one another in fascinating and revelatory ways....Religion and the American Civil War stands as a welcomed addition to the study of American religious history and to the study of the Civil War."—Koinonia

"The essays...give voice to people who were not in charge but whose lives were nonetheless greatly impacted by the war. The resulting story is complex and multilayered and should stimulate the interest of a wide range of readers....All readership levels will benefit from this book."—Choice

From the Publisher