This collection of essays explores some of the ways people monumented and memorialised the war - and how those markers have impacted our understanding of it. It is designed to shed new light and insight on the monuments and memorials that give us some of our most iconic and powerful connections to the battlefields and the men who fought there. The American Civil War left indelible marks on the country. In the century and a half since the war, Americans have remembered the war in different ways. Veterans placed monuments to commemorate their deeds on the battlefield. In doing so, they often set in stone and bronze specific images that may have conflicted with the factual historical record. Erecting monuments and memorials became a way to commemorate the past, but they also became important tools for remembering that past in particular ways. Monuments honour, but they also embody the very real tension between history and the way we remember that history - what we now today call memory.
Civil War Monuments and Memory: Favorite Stories and Fresh Perspectives from the Historians at Emerging Civil War explores some of the ways people monumented and memorialised the war - and how those markers have impacted our understanding of it. This collection of essays brings together the best scholarship from Emerging Civil War’s blog, symposia, and podcast - all of it revised and updated - coupled with original pieces, designed to shed new light and insight on the monuments and memorials that give us some of our most iconic and powerful connections to the battlefields and the men who fought there. AUTHORS: Chris Mackowski, Ph.D., is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of the online resource Emerging Civil War. A writing professor in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, NY, Chris is also historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, a historic property on the Spotsylvania battlefield in central Virginia. The series editor of the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series, he has authored or co-authored a dozen books on the Civil War, and his articles have appeared in major Civil War magazines. Jon Tracey is a public historian focused on soldier experience, memory, and veteran life in the Civil War era. He holds a BA in History from Gettysburg College and an MA from West Virginia University in Public History with a Certificate in Cultural Resource Management. He currently serves as the chair of Emerging Civil War’s Editorial Board, and he works for the National Park Service. 100 images, 6 maps