Life During the Civil War is an educational and entertaining collection of articles on the war, written by David A. Norris. Norris takes the reader beyond the battle fields and into the homes and occupations of Americans, including the soldiers, ans examines what they saw, heard, and felt during these trying years. Everyday life is the theme behind the collection. This publications answers, in vivid detail, what the average American experienced during the Civil War.
David Norris is an avid writer and historian with over 250 publications to his name. His publications have appeared online and in print in Family Chronicle, History Magazine, CNN.com, American History, Civil War Times, and many more. The Civil War has been a passion of his since childhood. In particular, he loves the personal stories. Anyone would be hard pressed to call him anything but an expert on American life during 1860s.
There are, in this publication, article which cover common, even expected, topics. Food and cooking, life in the military, and even photography are common enough topics to find in almost any expose on the war. However, Norris digs even deeper covering topics like humor, pets in the army, army laundresses, war artists, common medicines, naval life on an ironclad, and fundraising fairs. It seems like you will find it all in these 26 articles. You will learn about the war. If you have ancestors who lived at that time, then you will learn about their lives, the way the thought and lived. Best of all, you will have fun doing it.
Contents
OPENING NOTES – Notes From the Publisher, About the Author
FROM ABATIS TO ZOUAVES: A CIVIL WAR DICTIONARY – What were some of the popular sayings, slang, jargon and military terms in the 1860s?
TALE OF TWO CAPITALS: RICHMOND AND WASHINGTON – The war brought great changes to the lives of residents of Richmond and Washington
HOME AWAY FROM HOME: HOTELS OF THE CIVIL WAR – From four-star resorts to small town hostelries, hotel business boomed during the war
SOUNDTRACK TO A CONFLICT: MUSIC OF THE CIVIL WAR – Music, whether popular songs or military tunes, was as much a part of life then as it is now
STARVATION PARTIES AND CONFEDERATE CANDLES? – Southerners found unusual substitutes for scarce staples, like wheat, pins, shoe polish and coffee
SLUMGULLION, SALT HORSE AND HELL-FIRED STEW! – What did soldiers, and their families at home, eat during the war years?
RELIEF FROM REALITY: CIVIL WAR HUMOR – Popular humorists and jokes helped lighten hearts on both sides of the battle
SHINPLASTERS AND GREENBACKS: MONEY DURING THE CIVIL WAR – Banks, businesses, states, the Union and Confederacy all issued their own, incompatible, money
ZOUAVES: NEW YORK FIREMEN AND LOUISIANA TIGERS – Instead of the familiar blue and gray, some regiments donned bright colors and turbans
MAN’S BEST FRIENDS: PETS IN THE ARMY – From the exotic to the common, animals were kept as companions and mascots
JOHNNIE REB AND BILLY YANK: LIFE IN THE ARMIES – Fresh recruits and veterans of past conflicts faced new, and familiar,challenges in the Civil War
FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM: THE US COLORED TROOPS – African-American troops played a vital role in the Civil War
SUTLER SHOPS: CONVENIENCE STORES FOR SOLDIERS – Where did soldiers get ink, ginger snaps or Valentine cards?
LIFE ON SOAP SUDS ROW: ARMY LAUNDRESSES – Laundry was a grueling, but essential, duty in army camps
TAKING THE CARS: RAIL TRAVEL DURING THE CIVIL WAR – Though far from luxurious, or safe, trains became vital to the war effort and civilian life
WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED: HOSPITALS AND MEDICINE – Hospitals were understaffed, undersupplied and relied on dangerous cures and treatments
COMMON CIVIL WAR MEDICINES – Hospitals stocked standard treatments of the day, including mercury, opium and brandy
FUNDRAISING FAIRS: THE US SANITARY COMMISSION – Volunteer groups raised millions of dollars to improve military hospital and camp conditions
PICTURING THE CIVIL WAR: WAR ARTISTS – Before modern photography and TV, how did people get a glimpse of the battles?
FROM THE FRONTLINES TO THE HOMEFRONT: NEWSPAPERS – Despite shortages of labor and ink, papers fed the public appetite for news and entertainment
TELEGRAMS: AT THE SPEED OF LIGHTNING – The telegraph became an indispensable part of military and commercial communication during the war
WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS: PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE CIVIL WAR – Despite technological limitations, photography boomed during the Civil War
“I HAIN’T GOT ANY STAMPS”: CONFEDERATE AND UNION MAIL – Two postal systems kept soldiers and families in contact across shifting battlelines
THE CIVIL WAR NAVIES: COTTONCLADS AND BLOCKADES – Whether they patrolled rivers or the South Pacific, a sailor’s life was far different than a soldier’s
THE NEW NAVAL WARFARE: LIFE ON IRONCLADS – Heavily armored ironclads offered unique advantages, and dangers, to their crews
MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH…! – From aseptic surgery to moon landings, the years after the Civil War were full of amazing changes
Order your copy of Life During the Civil War from Family Roots Publishing; Item #: MM001.