Table of Contents
Series Foreword xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xv
Chronology of the Civil War Era xix
1 The Red Badge of Courage (Stephen Crane, 1895) 1
Synopsis of The Red Badge of Courage 1
Historical Background: The Red Badge of Courage and a Nation at War 4
About Stephen Crane: The Author Who Made the Battlefield Seem Real 12
Why We Read The Red Badge of Courage 14
Historical Explorations of The Red Badge of Courage 16
Documenting The Red Badge of Courage 25
The Evolution of Conscripted Service and the New York Draft Riots of 1863 25
Document: The Militia Act of 1862 26
Document: The Enrollment Act of 1863 26
Document: "The Conscription a Great National Benefit," 1863 30
Document: "The Mob in New York," 1863 33
Document: "Another Day of Rioting," 1863 42
Document: The Enrollment Act of 1864 44
Firsthand Accounts of the Face of Battle 45
Document: The Narrative of Private Sam Watkins 1882 45
Document: The Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, 1889 50
Suggested Readings 60
2 "Chickamauga" (Ambrose Bierce 1889) 63
Synopsis of "Chickamauga," 63
Historical Background: "Chickamauga" and the Geography of the Battle of Chickamauga 64
About Ambrose Bierce 65
Why We Read "Chickamauga," 66
Historical Explorations of "Chickamauga": Individual Soldiers on the Battlefield 68
Documenting "Chickamauga," 70
On the Battlefield 70
Document: The Narrative of Private Sam Watkins 1882 71
Document: The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant 1885 74
Document: The Dispatch Carrier and Memoirs of Andersonville Prison 1892 79
The Official Record of the Rebellion 104
Document: The Official Record of the War of the Rebellion 1863 104
Suggested Readings 107
3 Hospital Sketches (Louisa May Alcott 1863) 109
Synopsis of Hospital Sketches 109
Historical Background: Hospital Sketches and Taking Care of the Wounded and the Rights of Women 111
About Louisa May Alcott 115
Why We Read Hospital Sketches 115
Historical Explorations of Hospital Sketches 117
Documenting Hospital Sketches 120
The State of Military Medicine during the American Civil War 120
Document: The Evolution of Preventative Medicine in the United States Army 1607-1939 121
Document: Grant of Powers from the President and the Sec[retary] of War (Approved by General Scott) 1861 132
The Rights of Women and the Service of Women in the War 148
Document: "The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions," Seneca Falls Conference 1848 149
Document: "A Petition for Universal Suffrage," 1866 152
Document: Women in the War, Frank Moore 1866 153
Suggested Readings 163
4 The Civil War Poetry of Walt Whitman and Herman Melville 165
Synopsis of Whitman's Drum-Taps (1865) and Civil War Poems, "The Wound Dresser" and "O Captain! My Captain," 165
Historical Background: Whitman's Drum-Taps; Capturing the Soul of the Soldier and the Nation 167
About Walt Whitman 168
Why We Read Drum-Taps 169
Historical Explorations of Walt Whitman's Poetry 172
Documenting Watt Whitman's War Poetry 175
The Suffering of the Nation 175
Document: "The Great Crisis of the Nation," 1861 175
Document: "Fredericksburg," 1863 177
Document: "A Letter for a Wounded Soldier," Walt Whitman 1865 178
The Great Army of the Sick 178
Document: "The Great Army of the Sick," 1863 179
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln 184
Document: "Details of the Assassination," 1865 185
Document: "Assassination of President Lincoln," 1865 188
Document: "Douglass on Lincoln," 1876 191
Synopsis of Melville's Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) 194
Historical Background of Melville's Battle-Pieces 195
About Herman Melville 196
Why We Read Battle-Pieces 197
Historical Explorations of Herman Melville's Poetry 198
Documenting Herman Melville's War Poetry 199
The Death of Stonewall Jackson and Gettysburg 199
Document: The Report of Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck 1863 199
Document: Three Poems from Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War 1866 208
Suggested Readings 211
5 "The Gettysburg Address" (Abraham Lincoln 1863) 213
Synopsis of "The Gettysburg Address," 213
Historical Background: "The Gettysburg Address" and Why It Needed to Be Delivered 214
About Abraham Lincoln 216
Why We Read "The Gettysburg Address," 220
Historical Explorations of "The Gettysburg Address": Executive Power and Emancipation 222
Documenting "The Gettysburg Address," 225
Lincoln's Executive Power 225
Document: Lincoln's Writs of Habeas Corpus 1861 227
Document: General Orders No. 141, Abraham Lincoln, 1862 228
Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation 229
Document: The Emancipation Proclamation January 1, 1863 230
Document: Letter from the Mother of a Northern Black Soldier to the President, 1863 232
Document: The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, 1865 233
Document: Law Creating the Freedmen's Bureau, 1865 233
Suggested Readings 235
Index 237
