I just finished reading Randall C. Jimerson’s The Private Civil War: Popular Thought During the Sectional Conflict. Jimerson’s book is a tour de force in Civil War social history. The hearts and minds of civilians and soldiers during the war is keenly covered in this wonderful book that is probably one of the best social history books of the war. Using personal letters and diaries Jimerson builds a character sketch of Northern and Southern civilians and soldiers during the war, as well as African Americans.
I will also soon be reading:
Kwando Mbiassi Kinshasa’s Black Resistance to the Ku Klux Klan in the Wake of Civil War, focuses on the years of the Reconstruction, this volume examines the actions of the Ku Klux Klan between the years of 1865 and 1899.
It explores how the organization sponsored and promoted violence against former slaves, and how that violence eventually led to the formation of armed defensive units, which in some instances engaged in retaliatory action. The author considers both the history and the sociology behind these events, recognizing the attempts of both sides to build a society that reflected their own sense of justice and morality. Appendices provide excerpts from a variety of primary sources including contemporary newspaper articles, correspondence and personal diaries.
I am also looking forward to reading John G. Zinn’s The Mutinous Regiment: The Thirty-Third New Jersey in the Civil War, which lost 25 percent of its recruits to desertion even before leaving their home state.
