Although North Carolina was a "home front" state rather than a battlefield state for most of the Civil War; it was heavily involved in the Confederate war effort and experienced many conflicts as a result. North Carolinians were divided over the issue of secession; and changes in race and gender relations brought new controversy. Blacks fought for freedom; women sought greater independence; and their aspirations for change stimulated fierce resistance from more privileged groups. Republicans and Democrats fought over power during Reconstruction and for decades thereafter disagreed over the meaning of the war and Reconstruction. With contributions by well-known historians as well as talented younger scholars; this volume offers new insights into all the key issues of the Civil War era that played out in pronounced ways in the Tar Heel State. In nine essays composed specifically for this volume; contributors address themes such as ambivalent whites; freed blacks; the political establishment; racial hopes and fears; postwar ideology; and North Carolina women. These issues of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras were so powerful that they continue to agitate North Carolinians today.Contributors:David Brown; Manchester UniversityJudkin Browning; Appalachian State UniversityLaura F. Edwards; Duke UniversityPaul D. Escott; Wake Forest UniversityJohn C. Inscoe; University of GeorgiaChandra Manning; Georgetown UniversityBarton A. Myers; University of GeorgiaSteven E. Nash; University of GeorgiaPaul Yandle; West Virginia UniversityKarin Zipf; East Carolina University
#3199935 in Books The University of North Carolina Press 2002-02-25Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.21 x 1.23 x 6.14l; 1.87 #File Name: 080785400X592 pages
Review
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Over-loaded with information; but written with styleBy BomojazTo acknowledge that this history of the role of foreigners in the Confederacy contains a great deal of information would be a gross understatement. The only way it could contain more information would be if Ms. Lonn had provided more examples as proof of her points; which would in no way make the work any better. It's true that there's a certain redundancy to her approach; and much of the book proceeds; paragraph by paragraph; on the simplest statement-followed-by-example basis. For example; in the chapter on foreign-born officers in the southern army Lonn merely goes nationality by nationality; rank by rank; citing examples. Her approach is the same no matter what the category. Fortunately she is still able to write with style as well as authority; and although the book is weighty factually; it never bogs down in academic dullness. It's still a lively book; with enough interesting anecdotal information sprinkled throughout to keep most readers reading. She brings to the work certain prejudices (the English are models of courage and intelligence; the Irish much less so); but overcompensating for that is her tenacity to give the foreign-born their due as important participants in the Civil War south; something that is still underappreciated today in the research done on the war. I enjoy history books that were written during a time when historians sought literary approval and didn't just have axes to grind. This is one of those books.
