Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War by Brian Matthew Jordan
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Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War by Brian Matthew Jordan
Beginning where most Civil War histories end, Brian Matthew Jordan's groundbreaking reinterpretation of post-Civil War society reveals the desperate fate that awaited Union veterans after demobilization. While Confederate troops returned to homes that shared their sense of defeat and wounded pride, Union soldiers encountered northern civilians who were determined to shield themselves from the grisly realities of the battlefield -- eager to put the war behind them.
On May 23, 1865, the victorious Union army paraded through the streets of Washington, D.C., marking an end to the bloody Civil War. The soldiers were cheered and feted, hailed with a banner that read, "The Only National Debt We Can Never Repay Is the Debt We Owe Our Victorious Union Soldiers." For generations, this romantic vision of Union veterans as the celebrated heroes of a bitterly won peace has dominated our understanding of the war's legacy. In Marching Home, Brian Matthew Jordan persuasively shatters this narrative.
Beginning with the restless weeks that followed Appomattox, Jordan recalls Billy Yank's grueling homeward journey and the looming threat of criminals attempting to steal hard-won pensions. In a remarkable feat of historical detection, Jordan has uncovered voluminous archives of veterans' correspondence, medical records, pension files, and neglected veteran newspaper accounts that fundamentally alter our roseate perception. Citing the anguished correspondence they left behind, Jordan recovers startling details of Union veterans' fraught reintegration into civilian routines: one lieutenant used his diary to painstakingly rewrite his war experience each day instead of documenting his new life; another drilled his bulldog by moonlight to perform the familiar motions of battle. Many veterans simply could not forget, could not move on, and found little sympathy in a nation ready to look ahead.
In creating a new historical synthesis, Jordan provides a perspective on the psychological burdens that few previous historians have explored. His masterful account demonstrates that while northerners were willing to salute the heroism of Union soldiers, they remained terribly ill-equipped to mitigate the challenges of their homecoming. Battling physical pain and psychic trauma that was barely understood, Union veterans came together to share and honor memories that no one else would. A piercing investigation into the truth of American veteranhood, Marching Home is an unforgettable elegy to those whose bitter war long outlasted the final battle.
Liveright, Hardcover, 2014
This is a BRAND NEW book. There is a small black "closeout/remainder" mark on the bottom page edges.
Beginning where most Civil War histories end, Brian Matthew Jordan's groundbreaking reinterpretation of post-Civil War society reveals the desperate fate that awaited Union veterans after demobilization. While Confederate troops returned to homes that shared their sense of defeat and wounded pride, Union soldiers encountered northern civilians who were determined to shield themselves from the grisly realities of the battlefield -- eager to put the war behind them.
On May 23, 1865, the victorious Union army paraded through the streets of Washington, D.C., marking an end to the bloody Civil War. The soldiers were cheered and feted, hailed with a banner that read, "The Only National Debt We Can Never Repay Is the Debt We Owe Our Victorious Union Soldiers." For generations, this romantic vision of Union veterans as the celebrated heroes of a bitterly won peace has dominated our understanding of the war's legacy. In Marching Home, Brian Matthew Jordan persuasively shatters this narrative.
Beginning with the restless weeks that followed Appomattox, Jordan recalls Billy Yank's grueling homeward journey and the looming threat of criminals attempting to steal hard-won pensions. In a remarkable feat of historical detection, Jordan has uncovered voluminous archives of veterans' correspondence, medical records, pension files, and neglected veteran newspaper accounts that fundamentally alter our roseate perception. Citing the anguished correspondence they left behind, Jordan recovers startling details of Union veterans' fraught reintegration into civilian routines: one lieutenant used his diary to painstakingly rewrite his war experience each day instead of documenting his new life; another drilled his bulldog by moonlight to perform the familiar motions of battle. Many veterans simply could not forget, could not move on, and found little sympathy in a nation ready to look ahead.
In creating a new historical synthesis, Jordan provides a perspective on the psychological burdens that few previous historians have explored. His masterful account demonstrates that while northerners were willing to salute the heroism of Union soldiers, they remained terribly ill-equipped to mitigate the challenges of their homecoming. Battling physical pain and psychic trauma that was barely understood, Union veterans came together to share and honor memories that no one else would. A piercing investigation into the truth of American veteranhood, Marching Home is an unforgettable elegy to those whose bitter war long outlasted the final battle.
Liveright, Hardcover, 2014
This is a BRAND NEW book. There is a small black "closeout/remainder" mark on the bottom page edges.
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