The Civil War Veteran

by Logue, Larry M.

• ISBN13: 9780814752043
• ISBN10: 0814752047
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-01
• Publisher: New York Univ Pr

Summary

The Civil War Veteranpresents a profound but often troubling story of the postwar experiences of Union and Confederate Civil War veterans. Most ex-soldiers and their neighbors readjusted smoothly. However, many arrived home with or developed serious problems; poverty, drug and alcohol addiction, and other manifestations of post traumatic stress syndrome, such as flashbacks and paranoia, plagued these veterans. Black veterans in particular suffered a particularly cruel fate: they fought with distinction and for their freedom, but postwar racism obliterated recognition of their wartime contributions.Despite these hardships, veterans found some help from federal and state governments, through the establishment of a national pension system and soldiers' homes. Yet veterans did not passively accept this assistance--some influenced and created policy in public office, while others joined together in veterans' organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic to fight for their rights and to shape the collective memory of the Civil War. As the number of veterans from wars in the Middle East rapidly increases, the stories in the pages ofThe Civil War Veterangive us valuable perspective on the challenges of readjustment for ex-soldiers and American society.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Transition to Peace
By Rail and Boat	p. 9
Confederate Demobilization	p. 22
Did the Confederacy Change Southern Soldiers?	p. 31
Ghost Dance	p. 49
Problems of Readjustment
The Civil War and the Crime Wave	p. 65
Conventional Wisdom versus Reality	p. 80
The Veteran Wins Through	p. 83
Southern Poor Boys	p. 95
Opiate Addiction as a Consequence of the Civil War	p. 103
Exempt from the Ordinary Rules of Life	p. 116
Post-Traumatic Stress	p. 126
USCT Veterans in Post-Civil War North Carolina	p. 146
Governments Provide Aid
America's First Social Security System	p. 179
"I Do Not Suppose That Uncle Sam Looks at the Skin"	p. 200
Civil War Pensions for Native and Foreign-Born Union Army Veterans	p. 221
Establishing a Federal Entitlement	p. 227
Living Monuments	p. 255
The Fate of the Civil War Veteran	p. 261
Veterans Fight Their Own Battles
Veterans in Politics	p. 277
What Sorts of Men Joined the Grand Army of the Republic?	p. 294
The Reality of Veterans' Voting	p. 310
The Confederate Celebration	p. 317
A Generation of Defeat	p. 333
An Activist Minority	p. 343
Twice a Child	p. 347
Collective Resistance in Soldiers' Homes	p. 356
Veterans Shape the Collective Memory
The Patriotic Boom	p. 365
A Respect for Confederate History	p. 376
Binding the Wounds of War	p. 397
Quarrel Forgotten or a Revolution Remembered?	p. 407
Black Veterans Recall the Civil War	p. 424
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 441
Index	p. 453
About the Editors	p. 457
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