Sing Not War
The Lives of Union and Confederate Veterans in Gilded Age America
By James Marten
352 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 12 halftones, notes, bibl., index
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Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-2202-6
Published: December 2014 -
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-0-8078-7768-5
Published: June 2011 -
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-8135-9
Published: June 2011
Civil War America
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Many soldiers, Marten reveals, had a much harder time reintegrating into their communities and returning to their civilian lives than has been previously understood. Although Civil War veterans were generally well taken care of during the Gilded Age, Marten argues that veterans lost control of their legacies, becoming best remembered as others wanted to remember them--for their service in the war and their postwar political activities. Marten finds that while southern veterans were venerated for their service to the Confederacy, Union veterans often encountered resentment and even outright hostility as they aged and made greater demands on the public purse. Drawing on letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, newspapers, and other sources, Sing Not War illustrates that during the Gilded Age "veteran" conjured up several conflicting images and invoked contradicting reactions. Deeply researched and vividly narrated, Marten's book counters the romanticized vision of the lives of Civil War veterans, bringing forth new information about how white veterans were treated and how they lived out their lives.
About the Author
James Marten is professor of history at Marquette University and author or editor of more than a dozen books, including The Children's Civil War, Texas Divided: Loyalty and Dissent in the Lone Star State, 1856-1874, and Civil War America: Voices from the Homefront.
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Reviews
"A first-rate scholarly model of historical research and elegant writing that is sure to reshape studies of veteran culture, social welfare, Civil War memory, and the Gilded Age."—Journal of the Civil War Era
“A worthy addition to the growing body of scholarship on Civil War veterans. For readers new to the topic, it represents a well-written introduction to the world of the men that served in and survived the Civil War. For scholars knowledgeable on this topic, Marten’s study pulls together many familiar threads and adds some new ones, thoughtfully weaving both.”—Civil War Book Review
“Elegantly written . . . . Sing Not War has given admirable shape and definition to an anemic subfield of Civil War history.”—Civil War Monitor
“A carefully crafted volume that weaves together a complex variety of evidence and argument.”—Journal of Southern History
“An insightful work. . . . Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.”—CHOICE
“Deeply researched and vividly narrated, Marten’s book counters the romanticized vision of the lives of Civil War veterans, bringing forth new information about how white veterans were treated and how they lived out their lives.”—McCormick Messenger
Multimedia & Links
Read: Guest blog post by Marten on "Inspiring the Next Generation of Historians."
Read: Marten's guest blog post, "Not Just Fading Away: Civil War 'Veteranizing.'"
Read: Marten's guest blog post, "Charity for All: A Little-Known Legacy of Lincoln's Second Inaugural."
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