The War That Made America

Essays Inspired by the Scholarship of Gary W. Gallagher

Edited by Caroline E. Janney, Peter S. Carmichael, Aaron Sheehan-Dean

280 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, notes, bibl., index

  • Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-7889-4
    Published: March 2024
  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4696-7888-7
    Published: March 2024
  • E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-1-4696-7890-0
    Published: March 2024

Civil War America

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This collection of original essays reveals the richness and dynamism of contemporary scholarship on the Civil War era. Inspired by the lines of inquiry that animated the writings of the influential historian Gary W. Gallagher, this volume includes nine essays by leading scholars in the field who explore a broad range of themes and participants in the nation's greatest conflict, from Indigenous communities navigating the dangerous shoals of the secession winter to Confederate guerrillas caught in the legal snares of the Union’s hard war to African Americans pursuing landownership in the postwar years. Essayists also explore how people contested and shaped the memory of the conflict, from outright silences and evasions to the use of formal historical writing. Other contributors use comparative and transnational history to rethink key aspects of the conflict. The result is a thorough examination of Gallagher’s scholarly legacy and an assessment of the present and future of the Civil War history field.

Contributors are William A. Blair, Peter S. Carmichael, Andre M. Fleche, Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh, Caroline E. Janney, Peter C. Luebke, Cynthia Nicoletti, Aaron Sheehan-Dean, and Kathryn J. Shively.

About the Authors

Caroline E. Janney is John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the Civil War, University of Virginia.
For more information about Caroline E. Janney, visit the Author Page.

Peter S. Carmichael is Robert C. Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies, Gettysburg College.
For more information about Peter S. Carmichael, visit the Author Page.

Aaron Sheehan-Dean is Fred C, Frey Professor of History, Louisiana State University.
For more information about Aaron Sheehan-Dean, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"Written by some of the most significant historians working today in Civil War studies, this book is an important statement, and Civil War scholarship is going to be better for it."—Luke Harlow, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

"Traditional themes assume new luster in this impressive collection. Using original approaches and fresh evidence, these essays deliver fascinating and often unexpected insights into the Civil War era."--Nina Silber,Boston University