Tag Archives: American Civil War

The South since the War

Posted on May 16, 2015 by smellincoffee

The South Since the War: As Shown by Fourteen Weeks of Travel and Observation in Georgia and the Carolinas© 1866 Sidney Andrews400 pages In the autumn of 1865, as the dust and ashes were still settling over the graves of … Continue reading →

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The Copperhead

Posted on May 5, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Copperhead© 1893 Harold Frederic108 pages War can destroy a city without the first shell falling on it. Such was nearly the fate of Four Corners, New York, a small farming community in its upper reaches. Far removed from the … Continue reading →

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Born Fighting

Posted on March 25, 2015 by smellincoffee

Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America© 2004 Jim Webb384 pages Born Fighting is a family story of the Scots-Irish, a clan of forgotten men. Beginning with the Celts, author Jim Webb moves swiftly through British history to the establishment … Continue reading →

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Casualties

Posted on January 22, 2015 by smellincoffee

Casualties: A Novel of the Civil War© 2010 David Rothstein465 pages The year is 1863, and Tom Connor just survived the Battle of Gettysburg. His kid brother didn’t, though, and agonized emotionally he is looking forward to a Christmas furlough … Continue reading →

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The Smoke at Dawn

Posted on June 5, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Smoke at Dawn© 2014 Jeff Shaara528 pages The bells of the South in 1863 rang death knells, not peals of joyous victory. In July, on the same day that Lee’s army suffered a staggering loss at Gettysburg,  General Grant … Continue reading →

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Away Down South

Posted on May 31, 2014 by smellincoffee

Away Down South: A History of Southern Identity © 2007 James C. Cobb 416 pages             What does it mean to be southern, beyond a fondness for turnip greens and cornbread?  The answer is an evolving one, as the South’s … Continue reading →

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The Yellowhammer War

Posted on April 18, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Yellowhammer War: The Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama© 2013 ed. Kenneth NoeUniversity of Alabama press320 pages First home of the Confederacy’s government, and site of some of its final battles, Alabama’s involvement in the Civil War was intense … Continue reading →

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Fire on the Waters

Posted on April 15, 2014 by smellincoffee

Fire on the Waters© David Poyer 2003448 pages When Eli Eaker volunteered his services to the USS Owanee, his chief intention was to get away from his domineering father and an arranged marriage to his beautiful but sisterly cousin Araminta. … Continue reading →

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Confederates in the Attic

Posted on April 3, 2014 by smellincoffee

Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War© 1999 Tony Hortwitz432 pages           For most of the United States, the Civil War is like any other entry in the history books, of interest but not very consequential. . … Continue reading →

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A reading from "Confederates in the Attic"

Posted on March 31, 2014 by smellincoffee

Awakening the next morning in a $27 room at Salisbury’s EconLodge, I recognized the appeal of dwelling on the South’s past rather than its present. Stepping from my room into the motel parking lot, I gazed out a low-slung horseshoe … Continue reading →

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