“If I Get Home Safe”: William C. White’s Experiences in the American Civil War
Even though his journey to the Capitol may not have been the culmination of his experiences in the American Civil War, it certainly left a lasting impression. Like many other Irish-Catholic Philadelphians, White’s actions in the Civil War allowed him to proudly identify as an Irish-American. While thousands of letters from Union and Confederate soldiers exist, William C. White’s Letters, 1861-1869 provides an intriguing new perspective on the war. As an Irish-Catholic Philadelphian, White was raised in a tradition and culture that has not received much attention from scholars. White’s upbringing in the tough ethnic districts of Philadelphia was marked by prejudice, poverty, and outright violence. Despite Philadelphia’s standing as a cultural, economic, and political power, waves of ethnically focused violence periodically occurred. This violence climaxed with the destructive and deadly Nativist Riots of 1844. Irish men, women, and children were physically and verbally assaulted, Irish-Catholic churches burned, and Irish laborers forced to work for the lowest paying, most menial jobs available. White grew up in this highly charged ethnic context, and it helped to shape the ways in which he
For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War
James M. McPherson is acclaimed as one of the finest historians writing today and a preeminent commentator on the Civil War. Battle Cry of Freedom, his Pulitzer Prize-winning account of that conflict, was a national bestseller that Hugh Brogan, in The New York Times, called 'history writing of the highest order.' Now, McPherson has brilliantly recreated the war and battle experience of that war from the point of view of the soldiers themselves, drawing on at least 25,000 letters written by over 1000 soldiers, both Union and Confederate. He shows that, contrary to what many scholars believe, these men remained highly motivated and idealistic about the cause for which they fought, regardless of the obstacles and deprivation that they faced.
For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War
I encourage you to ask questions and make comments in class and/or during office hours. If these times are not convenient, please feel free to make an appointment with me. This is particularly important in this course, for the mid-nineteenth century represents one of the most complex periods in United States history. If you don’t understand something in class, please ask me to explain it. You’ll be doing yourself (and undoubtedly some other bewildered classmate) a favor.