New Perspectives on the Civil War

Issues raised by the Civil War, including its causes and consequences, reverberate through contemporary society. Family and community connections with the war exist everywhere, as do battlefields, memorials, and other physical reminders of the conflict. Here, leading Civil War scholars gather to sort out the fact and fiction of our collective memories.

John Y. Simon is editor of the acclaimed Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, twenty volumes of which have been published since 1967. He is professor of history at Southern Illinois University and a founder and past president of the Association for Documentary Editing. Michael E. Stevens is state historian and director of public history at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. His most recent book is As If It Were Glory: Robert Beecham's Civil War from the Iron Brigade to the Black Regiments.

Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 "Civilized Belligerents": Abraham Lincoln and the Idea of "Total War" Chapter 3 Considering Lee Considered: Robert E. Lee and the Lost Cause Chapter 4 Forging a Commander: Ulysses S. Grant Enters the Civil War Chapter 5 Stonewall Jackson: A "Pious, Blue-Eyed Killer?" Chapter 6 From Antebellum Unionist to Lost Cause Warrior: The Personal Journey of Jubal A. Early Chapter 7 The Common Soldier of the Civil War Chapter 8 Mirrors beyond Memories: Afro-Virginians and the Civil War Chapter 9 Contributors Chapter 10 Index