333 340
334 341
335 342
336 343
337 344
338 345
339 346
340 347
341 348
342 349
343 350
344 351
345 352
346 353
347 354
348 355
349 356
350 357
351 358
352 359
353 360
354 361
355 362
356 363
357 364
358 365
359 366
360 367
361 368
362 369
363 370
364 371
365 372
366 373
367 374
368 375
369 376
370 377
371 378
372 379
373 380
374 381
375 382
376 383
377 384
378 385
379 386
380 387
381 388
382 389
383 391
384 392
385 393
386 394
387 395
388 396
389 397
390 399
391 400
392 401
393 402
394 403
395 404
396 405
397 406
398 407
399 408
400 409
401 410
402 411
403 412
404 413
405 414
406 415
407 416
408 417
409 418
410 419
411 420
412 421
413 422
414 423
415 425
416 426
417 427
418 428
419 429
420 431
421 432
422 433
423 434
424 435
425 437
426 438
427 439
428 440
429 441
430 442
431 443
432 444
433 445
434 446
435 447
436 448
437 449
438 450
439 451
440 452
441 453
442 454
443 456
444 457
Introduction
It is interesting that for over 150 years, in times of controversy, public discourse has always turned to the Civil War. Everyone, it seems, is compelled to return to the war to highlight some aspect of an argument. This should not be surprising because the Civil War created the modern United States and defined the people who called themselves Americans. The war was a fundamental watershed in our history — marked by a staggering cost of 620,000 Union and Confederate casualties and 50,000 civilian deaths — defining both who we are as a nation and who we are as Americans. It is therefore natural that we continue to return to the war as a starting point for any discussion today about what America is and what America means.
The Civil War is still very much with us for a number of reasons. America’s Civil War has epic dimensions, equal to Homer’s Iliad or Virgil’s Aeneid. Like any great epic, it has all the elements of tragedy and pathos; it has immortal heroes who control the destinies of nations. There are great battles on land and sea that stir deep emotions. The experiences of Army of the Potomac, the Army of Northern Virginia, the Army of the Cumberland, and the Army of the Tennessee marching across a vast landscape, each composed of free and self-reliant Americans joined together to strive in a common cause, surpasses Xenophon’s account of the Greek army in Anabasis.
This was a war that consumed the vital energies of an entire continent. We are still very much aware of the human dimension of the war: The passions, the sorrows, the hopes, joys, and despair