The Kentucky in the Civil War Message Board

Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?

Jack, if you can get hold of a copy of "The People's History of the Civil War" by David Williams, read chapter 5 "Come In Out of the Draft." I have been fascinated by the Civil War for many years but I have been caught up in romantic notions about how men behaved when facing combat in the 1860's. Williams calls a lot of those notions "lost cause mythology." Common sense will tell you that "joining up" was not a weekend camping trip and many men of that time very well knew of the hardships of the common soldier. Some bought their way out of the fight; some just dodged it. Of course all historians have a bias, whether it be to the romantic notion of bravery to combat the northern aggressor or the cause of a unified nation and the abolition of slavery. Williams may have an "anti-lost cause" bias. However, his book has had a profound effect on me. I feel like I have a more realistic, balanced view of this serious time in our nation's history.

Messages In This Thread

A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?
Re: A lot of men from Kentucky not in the war?