Civil War Monuments and Memory

“This splendid and powerful collection of essays serves as a useful reminder that there is a great deal of difference between the reality of historic events and how individuals and groups remember those events and manipulate historic reality. The wide array of topics examined throughout this masterfully assembled anthology—monuments, commemoration, battlefield preservation and interpretation, mythmaking, and tensions among veterans—offers much for those seeking a deeper understanding of the Civil War’s contentious memory and the awesome power of the past.” ~Jonathan A. Noyalas, director, Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute and author of Slavery and Freedom in the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War Era

“Balancing rich immersion in primary sources with creative approaches to understanding and interpreting an eclectic mix of American Civil War monuments and memorials, this lively volume offers readers the opportunity to delve deeply into the stories behind the stone and granite, and the struggles over memory that have defined every generation’s efforts to make meaning of this nation’s most defining conflict.” ~Jill Ogline Titus, author of Gettysburg 1963

“For soldiers of the Civil War, battles such as Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg were exhilarating and often traumatic events. But once the war ended, how did they remember these battles and, more importantly, how did they want future generations to remember them? This compilation of twenty-eight essays by some of America’s most promising young historians is thought-provoking and informative, a welcome voice of reason at a time in our history when people too often endeavor to erase the past rather than to understand it.” ~Donald C. Pfanz, author of History Through Eyes of Stone

“Jonathan Tracey and Chris Mackowski have done a wonderful job of bringing together many of the contributors from the Emerging Civil War blog to address the ongoing debate about Civil War monuments. These essays are accessible to a wide audience, but more importantly, they offer an important reminder that the stories of individual monuments are the product of both history and memory. Readers will be entertained and challenged by this talented group of writers. A must read.” ~Kevin M. Levin, author of Searching for Black Confederates

“Unique, special, and unreservedly recommended compendium of erudite, informative, and insightful articles by experts in their fields…” ~Midwest Book Review

“The existence of emerging civil war authors, with or without their PhDs, their strict adherence to tight logic, judicious use of primary sources, and ability to communicate, refutes the doomsday scenario that history is dead.” ~Civil War News