Spectacle of Grief

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352 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 17 halftones, 6 maps, notes, bibl., index

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-6833-8
Published: April 2022
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4696-6832-1
Published: April 2022
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4696-6834-5
Published: February 2022

Civil War America

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This illuminating book examines how the public funerals of major figures from the Civil War era shaped public memories of the war and allowed a diverse set of people to contribute to changing American national identities. These funerals featured lengthy processions that sometimes crossed multiple state lines, burial ceremonies open to the public, and other cultural productions of commemoration such as oration and song. As Sarah J. Purcell reveals, Americans’ participation in these funeral rites led to contemplation and contestation over the political and social meanings of the war and the roles played by the honored dead. Public mourning for military heroes, reformers, and politicians distilled political and social anxieties as the country coped with the aftermath of mass death and casualties.

Purcell shows how large-scale funerals for figures such as Henry Clay and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson set patterns for mourning culture and Civil War commemoration; after 1865, public funerals for figures such as Robert E. Lee, Charles Sumner, Frederick Douglass, and Winnie Davis elaborated on these patterns and fostered public debate about the meanings of the war, Reconstruction, race, and gender.

About the Author

Sarah J. Purcell is L. F. Parker Professor of History at Grinnell College.
For more information about Sarah J. Purcell, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

“An insightful exploration of an important cultural and political ritual: the public funeral. Purcell’s book is essential reading for those interested in Civil War memory.”—Gaines M. Foster, Louisiana State University

"In plumbing the depths of important public funerals, Sarah Purcell significantly advances our understanding of the complex interactions of Civil War memory in the reconstitution of the nation. A fascinating study."—William A. Blair, The Pennsylvania State University