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One More War to Fight: Union Veterans' Battle for Equality through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Lost Cause
This book will captivate readers interested in the legacy of the Civil War, the role of military veterans after they return to civilian life, and the fight against racism in America. Stephen A. Goldman looks at the contentious post-Civil War era from the perspective of that special breed, Union soldiers who lived by the bayonet and survived to carry on the fight for equality in the decades to come. He explores the root causes of this historic contest, the changing attitudes of northern servicemen with respect to the Civil War’s purpose, and the psychological effect of involvement in what, from hindsight, was an unfinished work in the cause of freedom and equality for all Americans. Relying on unpublished letters and other primary sources, Goldman uses the veterans’ words and actions to depict their steadfast struggle to preserve the memory and understanding of why the war was fought, and to confront the implications of remembrance, commemoration and reconciliation for America's future.
448 pages, Hardcover
Published July 1, 2023
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April 6, 2023Stephen A Goldman
ΦBK, Ohio University, 1978
Author
From the publisher: This book will captivate readers interested in the legacy of the Civil War, the role of military veterans after they return to civilian life, and the fight against racism in America. Steven A. Goldman looks at the contentious post-Civil War era from the perspective of that special breed, Union soldiers who lived by the bayonet and survived to carry on the fight for equality in the decades to come. He explores the root causes of this historic contest, the changing attitudes of northern servicemen with respect to the Civil War's purpose, and the psychological effect of involvement in what, from hindsight, was an unfinished work in the cause of freedom and equality for all Americans. Relying on unpublished letters and other primary sources, Goldman uses the veterans' words and actions to depict their steadfast struggle to preserve the memory and understanding of why the war was fought, and to confront the implications of remembrance, commemoration and reconciliation for America's future.
ΦBK, Ohio University, 1978
Author
From the publisher: This book will captivate readers interested in the legacy of the Civil War, the role of military veterans after they return to civilian life, and the fight against racism in America. Steven A. Goldman looks at the contentious post-Civil War era from the perspective of that special breed, Union soldiers who lived by the bayonet and survived to carry on the fight for equality in the decades to come. He explores the root causes of this historic contest, the changing attitudes of northern servicemen with respect to the Civil War's purpose, and the psychological effect of involvement in what, from hindsight, was an unfinished work in the cause of freedom and equality for all Americans. Relying on unpublished letters and other primary sources, Goldman uses the veterans' words and actions to depict their steadfast struggle to preserve the memory and understanding of why the war was fought, and to confront the implications of remembrance, commemoration and reconciliation for America's future.
November 11, 2023
With Union Veterans After The Civil War
In downtown Washington, D.C., across the street from the National Archives, stands a large Civil War memorial, the Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial, dedicated in 1909. The Memorial commemorates the Grand Army of the Republic, (GAR) a large order of Civil War veterans and its founder, Benjamin Stephenson, M.D. The inscriptions on the Monument include the words "Fraternity", "Loyalty", "Charity" and "Who Knew No Glory But His Country's Good".
I was reminded of the GAR Memorial in reading this new book by Stephen A. Goldman, "One More War to Fight: Union Veterans' Battle for Equality Through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Lost Cause" (2023). Dr. Goldman is a psychiatrist who has devoted much of his professional life to the treatment of veterans. He has combined his medical career with a lifelong passion for history, particularly of the Civil War era. This is his first published book. I have come to know Goldman personally through our participation in Lincoln and Civil War groups. I admire his determination, commitment, and scholarship in seeing his writing through to publication over the course of years.
"One More War To Fight" examines the activities of Union veterans, particularly those in the GAR, from the end of the Civil War through the early years of the 20th Century. Goldman finds two broad themes in the activities of the veterans. The first theme is patriotism. The troops had fought a terrible long. bloody war through love of the United States. This feeling of patriotism for our country drove the activities of the veterans in the years following the war. The second theme is justice. The Union had fought to establish a just society, to end slavery, and to find liberty and equality for all. The GAR was unique in its day because it was integrated an open to all veterans who served in the Civil War with an Honorable Discharge, both white and black.
In addition to discussing the activities of the GAR, Goldman discusses other related veterans' groups. He discusses the "Left-Armed Corps" a group of some 268 Union veterans who had lost the use of their right arm in combat. Following the War, the veterans were asked to submit writing samples with their left hand, and many, on their own initiative, wrote essays about the Civil War and about why they fought. Prior to Goldman's work, the documents involving the Left-Armed Corps had been little examined. Goldman uses them in depth and follows the history of the veterans.
The book is a work of scholarship and is also highly personal. Goldman has unearthed a great deal of material about Civil War veterans and their activities which, without his efforts, might have been lost. He also shows a great deal of knowledge of American history from the Reconstruction Era forward. Still, the most notable part of the book is the passion Goldman brings to his subject. He loves the Union veterans while retaining the ability to look at them critically. He is candid to the point of bluntness about his views of the events he describes. In short, he is engaged with his history, probably to a more visceral degree than most professional historians. The goals of the book transcend the history, crucial as that history is. Goldman wants Americans to share the twin goals of patriotism and justice he develops in his study. In our troubled country, many Americans have difficulty with one or the other of these goals and with putting them together.
The book is relatively short but it covers a great deal. In its successive chapters, it weaves together the history of post-Civil War America beginning with the Civil War Amendments through Reconstruction, the Freedman's Bureau, the end of Reconstruction in 1876 and the rise of Jim Crow, the violence and the racism in both North and South, and the rise of segregation. Throughout the history, Goldman focuses upon the activities of the GAR and its members and of the Left-Armed Corps. The picture that emerges is of Union veterans who, with some qualifications, remain remarkably committed to the goals for which they fought: patriotism and racial justice. The book combines broad components with detailed stories of individuals and their efforts.
In his Introduction, Goldman states: "this book's raison d'etre lies in the intertwined , previously untold stories of how Northern veterans, black and white, fought a second war seeking equality for all Americans, thereby creating the model of civic responsibility based on military service that American citizen soldiers, sailors and marines have emulated in modern times."
Similarly, Goldman concludes his study as follows: "as the country followed a path of reconciliation that stripped the Civil War of its underlying ideology and racial foundation, those who defeated the Confederacy remembered the truth, and enhanced their victory by continuing to battle for freedom and equality for all Americans. Knowing time was running out, they sought to keep that obligation alive by inspiring new generations to take on the fight they had taken on as young men, and remained dedicated to for the rest of their days."
This review began with a discussion of the Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial and Goldman's book concludes with a discussion of the Lee Memorial placed in Congress by the State of Virginia in 1911. The Lee Memorial provoked great controversy within the GAR, which was unable to reach a definitive position on the matter. In December 2020, Virginia removed the Lee statue from Congress.
"One More War to Fight" is an impressive, moving book that commemorates American Civil War veterans and the causes of Patriotism and Justice for which they lived.
Robin Friedman
In downtown Washington, D.C., across the street from the National Archives, stands a large Civil War memorial, the Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial, dedicated in 1909. The Memorial commemorates the Grand Army of the Republic, (GAR) a large order of Civil War veterans and its founder, Benjamin Stephenson, M.D. The inscriptions on the Monument include the words "Fraternity", "Loyalty", "Charity" and "Who Knew No Glory But His Country's Good".
I was reminded of the GAR Memorial in reading this new book by Stephen A. Goldman, "One More War to Fight: Union Veterans' Battle for Equality Through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Lost Cause" (2023). Dr. Goldman is a psychiatrist who has devoted much of his professional life to the treatment of veterans. He has combined his medical career with a lifelong passion for history, particularly of the Civil War era. This is his first published book. I have come to know Goldman personally through our participation in Lincoln and Civil War groups. I admire his determination, commitment, and scholarship in seeing his writing through to publication over the course of years.
"One More War To Fight" examines the activities of Union veterans, particularly those in the GAR, from the end of the Civil War through the early years of the 20th Century. Goldman finds two broad themes in the activities of the veterans. The first theme is patriotism. The troops had fought a terrible long. bloody war through love of the United States. This feeling of patriotism for our country drove the activities of the veterans in the years following the war. The second theme is justice. The Union had fought to establish a just society, to end slavery, and to find liberty and equality for all. The GAR was unique in its day because it was integrated an open to all veterans who served in the Civil War with an Honorable Discharge, both white and black.
In addition to discussing the activities of the GAR, Goldman discusses other related veterans' groups. He discusses the "Left-Armed Corps" a group of some 268 Union veterans who had lost the use of their right arm in combat. Following the War, the veterans were asked to submit writing samples with their left hand, and many, on their own initiative, wrote essays about the Civil War and about why they fought. Prior to Goldman's work, the documents involving the Left-Armed Corps had been little examined. Goldman uses them in depth and follows the history of the veterans.
The book is a work of scholarship and is also highly personal. Goldman has unearthed a great deal of material about Civil War veterans and their activities which, without his efforts, might have been lost. He also shows a great deal of knowledge of American history from the Reconstruction Era forward. Still, the most notable part of the book is the passion Goldman brings to his subject. He loves the Union veterans while retaining the ability to look at them critically. He is candid to the point of bluntness about his views of the events he describes. In short, he is engaged with his history, probably to a more visceral degree than most professional historians. The goals of the book transcend the history, crucial as that history is. Goldman wants Americans to share the twin goals of patriotism and justice he develops in his study. In our troubled country, many Americans have difficulty with one or the other of these goals and with putting them together.
The book is relatively short but it covers a great deal. In its successive chapters, it weaves together the history of post-Civil War America beginning with the Civil War Amendments through Reconstruction, the Freedman's Bureau, the end of Reconstruction in 1876 and the rise of Jim Crow, the violence and the racism in both North and South, and the rise of segregation. Throughout the history, Goldman focuses upon the activities of the GAR and its members and of the Left-Armed Corps. The picture that emerges is of Union veterans who, with some qualifications, remain remarkably committed to the goals for which they fought: patriotism and racial justice. The book combines broad components with detailed stories of individuals and their efforts.
In his Introduction, Goldman states: "this book's raison d'etre lies in the intertwined , previously untold stories of how Northern veterans, black and white, fought a second war seeking equality for all Americans, thereby creating the model of civic responsibility based on military service that American citizen soldiers, sailors and marines have emulated in modern times."
Similarly, Goldman concludes his study as follows: "as the country followed a path of reconciliation that stripped the Civil War of its underlying ideology and racial foundation, those who defeated the Confederacy remembered the truth, and enhanced their victory by continuing to battle for freedom and equality for all Americans. Knowing time was running out, they sought to keep that obligation alive by inspiring new generations to take on the fight they had taken on as young men, and remained dedicated to for the rest of their days."
This review began with a discussion of the Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial and Goldman's book concludes with a discussion of the Lee Memorial placed in Congress by the State of Virginia in 1911. The Lee Memorial provoked great controversy within the GAR, which was unable to reach a definitive position on the matter. In December 2020, Virginia removed the Lee statue from Congress.
"One More War to Fight" is an impressive, moving book that commemorates American Civil War veterans and the causes of Patriotism and Justice for which they lived.
Robin Friedman
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews