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A Country Riven
by Ph.D. Irene McCrystal
Product Group: Book
Publisher: American Literary Press (2006-09-05)
ISBN: 1561679437
EAN: 9781561679430
Dewey Decimal #: 973.70922
Paperback: 280 pages
Edition: Five Star Special
SKU: 4AB4-081-7-0308
Condition: As New As New
Comments: NEW IN SHRINKWRAP. *International Buyers Welcome!* (except for prohibitively heavy items, as noted) - Satisfied customers in over 40 countries! We ship quickly and guarantee satisfaction. Your purchase helps support a U. Chicago student
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
A collection of first-person Civil War accounts. The Civil War was a tumultuous time of division across the United States. It was also a period of great conviction and contemplation by leaders, citizens, and soldiers on both sides of the conflict. In this compilation of Civil War writings, Dr. Irene McCrystal provides readers with a unique insight into how the war affected both the notable and the ordinary citizen, physically, mentally, and emotionally. This invaluable collection of writings from diaries, letters, and speeches includes those of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Ulyssees S. Grant, Frederick Douglas, Walt Whitman, Mary Todd Lincoln, and Booker T. Washington, to name a few. Whether emeshed in the terror of fighting or reflecting on the war decades later, these selected writings offer perspective on the lives of the people who experienced first-hand this pivotal and horrific period of U.S. history, revealing the depth and breadth of individual gallantry, courage, nobility, passion, and determination.
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Customer Reviews
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A remarkable compilation
Rating  (5)
Date: 2006-12-07
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (11/06)
Irene McCrystal has compiled excerpts from speeches, correspondence, journals and diaries from representative enlisted men, military officers, and political leaders that were affected by their participation in the war between the Union and the Confederacy.
She has included memoirs, diaries, and letters from women who were directly involved in the armed forces, in supporting roles, doctors, nurses, wives and mothers whose lives were impacted by the outcome of this destructive, yet uniting, American conflict. Slaves freed before and after the war are also represented in this well researched and documented work.
Sometimes paraphrased but without secondary sources, these dramatic monologues reflect the tenor of days surrounding the Civil War. I was deeply moved as I read story after story of personal bravery, sacrifice, and dedication to their cause.
These writings give insight into the inner struggles of the participants. Some were fighting for states rights, some to maintain status quo and to protect their plantations and their slaves. Some were fighting at all costs to save the Union, others to free the slaves. All recognized or experienced the suffering and the anguish of losing loved ones to the war.
On a lighter side, Sarah Morgan, a young girl in Baton Rouge, recorded her reactions during the occupation by Union soldiers. "We were Episcopalians. During the occupation, I was shocked and dreadfully distracted upon seeing, directly in front of me, Yankee soldiers, also Episcopalians, in church praying with us." She went on to observe, "Meantime, I could not help pondering the vitriolic, obsessive hatred borne all Yankees by some of the most devout ladies in our church."
I was especially touched by the letters of General Robert E. Lee to his family. His expressions of concern for their welfare and his deep trust in God gave me a deep respect for Lee as a man.
References to President Lincoln reflected the high regard the Union soldiers held for him. Letters written by Mary Todd Lincoln spoke of her love and of her grief after his death.
These first person accounts have had a profound impact on me and given me new insight into the bravery, fervor, and determination of those fighting for their cause in this crucial period of American history. "A Country Riven" should be required reading in every high school and college social studies curriculum, and recommended reading for every American family.
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