The weekend in April that A24 Studio’s Civil War came out I decided to go down to Stones River National Battlefield (if the South had won it would be called Murfreesboro Battlefield) in northern Tennessee and contemplate what ‘civil war’ really was.
one is Thomas Jefferson’s suggestion of ‘a little rebellion now and then’ as an aspect of the historical context for the 2d civil war (I agree with your numbering)…. and keeping in mind the difference between ‘rebellion’ and ‘revolution’, as the rebel barons expressed in the middle ages: they were not in revolt against but rather resisting monarchical pretensions. [I briefly discuss this in my book, citing Luke Sunderland, Rebel Barons: Resisting Royal Power in Medieval Culture (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017)]
two is a book suggestion: my friend Phoebe Sheldon uncovered a cache of letters held in her family for generations and discovered what seems an eyewitness account of Stonewall Jackson’s death. I won’t spoil the story, but here’s the book: Rufus: A Boy’s Extraordinary Experiences in the Civil War — http://www.brookhollowpress.org/publications/rufus/
Two things more:
one is Thomas Jefferson’s suggestion of ‘a little rebellion now and then’ as an aspect of the historical context for the 2d civil war (I agree with your numbering)…. and keeping in mind the difference between ‘rebellion’ and ‘revolution’, as the rebel barons expressed in the middle ages: they were not in revolt against but rather resisting monarchical pretensions. [I briefly discuss this in my book, citing Luke Sunderland, Rebel Barons: Resisting Royal Power in Medieval Culture (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017)]
two is a book suggestion: my friend Phoebe Sheldon uncovered a cache of letters held in her family for generations and discovered what seems an eyewitness account of Stonewall Jackson’s death. I won’t spoil the story, but here’s the book: Rufus: A Boy’s Extraordinary Experiences in the Civil War — http://www.brookhollowpress.org/publications/rufus/
Thanks for the Jeffersonian ruminations. Have ordered the ‘Rufus’ book: thanks much.
Thanks for this very thoughtful commentary and detailed look at a single battle!
I’ll have more to say when I get to my laptop.
Thanks Peter. Interested to hear what you have to say.