Inglorious passages
Subtitle: noncombat deaths in the American Civil War
By: Brian Steel Wills
Series: Modern war studies; Modern war studies
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 404
ISBN-13: 9780700625086; 9780700625093
Subjects: Death; Social aspects; Soldiers; War casualties; Casualties; History
Description: Of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died in the Civil War, two-thirds, by some estimates, were felled by disease; untold others were lost to accidents, murder, suicide, sunstroke, and drowning. Meanwhile thousands of civilians in both the north and south perished--in factories, while caught up in battles near their homes, and in other circumstances associated with wartime production and supply. These "inglorious passages," no less than the deaths of soldiers in combat, devastated the armies in the field and families and communities at home. Inglorious Passages for the first time gives these noncombat deaths due consideration. In letters, diaries, obituaries, and other accounts, eminent Civil War historian Brian Steel Wills finds the powerful and poignant stories of fatal accidents and encounters and collateral civilian deaths that occurred in the factories and fields of the Union and the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865. Wills retrieves these stories from obscurity and the cold calculations of statistics to reveal the grave toll these losses exacted on soldiers and civilians, families and society. In its intimate details and its broad scope, his book demonstrates that for those who served and those who supported them, noncombat fatalities were as significant as battle deaths in impressing the full force of the American Civil War on the people called upon to live through it. With the publication of Inglorious Passages, those who paid the supreme sacrifice, regardless of situation or circumstance, will at last be included in the final tabulation of the nation's bloodiest conflict.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 355-375) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: "This inglorious taking off"; title: The first fatalities; title: The battle in camp; title: "The rhythm of the rails"; title: Not fooling with Mother Nature; title: Slipshod soldiering; title: Not so friendly fire; title: "As neere to heaven by sea"; title: Industrial and storage mishaps; title: Collateral casualties; title: Not cheating the hangman; title: Conclusion: "There is no glory in it".