Virginians at War: The Civil War Experiences of Seven Young Confederates is a detailed examination of the lives of seven young Virginians who strongly supported the Confederacy from beginning to end. Their stories illustrate how devotion to the cause of independence, religious faith, family and community commitment to the struggle, and shared sacrifices tied these people to the flagging fortunes of the Confederacy. Taken together, their experiences begin to illuminate the challenges of the Civil War generation, especially those Southerners who formed the emotional core of the Confederacy. Included here are stories of both men and women, on the battlefield and on the homefront. Their seven intriguing lives are described in vivid prose through letters, diary entries and memoirs by the original writers and woven together by author John G. Selby’s own analysis. They reveal insights into the thoughts and motivations of Confederates loyal to the cause until the very end. The lives of these seven individuals are recreated in dramatic detail. Readers will meet struggling young mother Susan Caldwell, who weathered the war in her husband’s absence; Amanda Tee Edmonds, a typical Southern belle; Sergeant John Worsham, who was wounded at the Battle of Winchester and rendered homebound; and gloomy Private Henry Robin Berkeley, whose military career culminated in imprisonment. They will follow Alexander Fred Fleet’s transition from college freshman to first lieutenant and William Poague’s adjustment from law student to lieutenant colonel. Readers will also encounter the sober Lucy Buck, who prayed faithfully for a Confederate victory while enduring Union occupation and struggling with the death of a beloved relative. Using the life stories of seven people allows for more comparison than a biography, while limiting the number to seven offers the reader an opportunity to get to know a character quite well, without losing sight of that person in a sea of names as so often happens in a broad survey of the war. Professor John G. Selby clearly shows that despite modern beliefs that war transforms people, these seven individuals were shaped by the war, but their essential characters remained the same. Through the lives of these men and women, students will come to understand what the war meant to those who fought and survived it.
