When Sherman Marched North from the Sea - (Civil War America) by Jacqueline Glass Campbell (Paperback)

About the Book

When Sherman Marched North from the Sea: Resistance on the Confederate Home Front

Book Synopsis

Home front and battle front merged in 1865 when General William T. Sherman occupied Savannah and then marched his armies north through the Carolinas. Although much has been written about the military aspects of Sherman's March, Jacqueline Campbell reveals a more complex story. Integrating evidence from Northern soldiers and from Southern civilians, black and white, male and female, Campbell demonstrates the importance of culture for determining the limits of war and how it is fought.

Sherman's March was an invasion of both geographical and psychological space. The Union army viewed the Southern landscape as military terrain. But when they brought war into Southern households, Northern soldiers were frequently astounded by the fierceness with which many white Southern women defended their homes. Campbell argues that in the household-centered South, Confederate women saw both ideological and material reasons to resist. While some Northern soldiers lauded this bravery, others regarded such behavior as inappropriate and unwomanly.

Campbell also investigates the complexities behind African Americans' decisions either to stay on the plantation or to flee with Union troops. Black Southerners' delight at the coming of the army of "emancipation" often turned to terror as Yankees plundered their homes and assaulted black women.

Ultimately, When Sherman Marched North from the Sea calls into question postwar rhetoric that represented the heroic defense of the South as a male prerogative and praised Confederate women for their "feminine" qualities of sentimentality, patience, and endurance. Campbell suggests that political considerations underlie this interpretation -- that Yankee depredations seemed more outrageous when portrayed as an attack on defenseless women and children. Campbell convincingly restores these women to their role as vital players in the fight for a Confederate nation, as models of self-assertion rather than passive self-sacrifice.

Review Quotes

"A worthy addition to the burgeoning literature focusing on the social and cultural aspects of the Civil War. Concise yet thoroughly researched, it contributes fresh, thought-provoking insights into a long-neglected area of study: the interaction between General William T. Sherman's soldiers and southern civilians, black and white, male and female, during his march through the Carolinas."
-- "The South Carolina Historical Magazine"

"Anyone interested in a well-researched account of Confederate women's responses to Sherman's march will find this study rewarding."
-- "American Historical Review"

"A well-written, well-argued, thought-provoking account of this less-remembered, but perhaps more important, part of Sherman's march across the South. Campbell convinces the reader that southern women did not react passively and that the presence of Union troops reinforced rather than destroyed their loyalty to the Confederacy. In accomplishing this goal, Campbell has deftly addressed and intertwined the fields of women's history, African-American history, military history, and public memory in a brief, accessible work. "Civil War Book Review""

"Both intellectually sophisticated and warmly human, it's a major work. Highly recommended. (Mark Grimsley, author of "The Hard Hand of War: Union Military Policy Toward Southern Civilians, 1861-1865")"

"One of those rare books that artfully weaves military and social history into one story while seamlessly analyzing the cultural assumptions of an era that should have ruled the behavior of both combatants and civilians, and later shaped the memory and interpretation of Sherman's March through the Carolinas. . . . A fascinating subject, meticulous research, and an eminently readable narration. "Georgia Historical Quarterly""

About the Author

Jacqueline Glass Campbell is assistant professor of history at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.