James Marten - Sing Not War. The Lives of Union and Confederate Veterans in Gilded Age America Civil War America [2011][A]

Book Description
After the Civil War, white Confederate and Union army veterans reentered--or struggled to reenter--the lives and communities they had left behind. In Sing Not War, James Marten explores how the nineteenth century's "Greatest Generation" attempted to blend back into society and how their experiences were treated by non-veterans.
Many soldiers, Marten reveals, had a much harder time reintegrating into their communities and returning to their civilian lives than has been previously understood. Although Civil War veterans were generally well taken care of during the Gilded Age, Marten argues that veterans lost control of their legacies, becoming best remembered as others wanted to remember them--for their service in the war and their postwar political activities. Marten finds that while southern veterans were venerated for their service to the Confederacy, Union veterans often encountered resentment and even outright hostility as they aged and made greater demands on the public purse. Drawing on letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, newspapers, and other sources, Sing Not War illustrates that during the Gilded Age "veteran" conjured up several conflicting images and invoked contradicting reactions. Deeply researched and vividly narrated, Marten's book counters the romanticized vision of the lives of Civil War veterans, bringing forth new information about how white veterans were treated and how they lived out their lives.

Reviews
"[An] insightful work. . . . Highly recommended. All levels/libraries."--Choice

"Deeply researched and vividly narrated, Marten's book counters the romanticized vision of the lives of Civil War veterans, bringing forth new information about how white veterans were treated and how they lived out their lives."--McCormick Messenger

"Marten's book is powerful in its presentation and is a must read for those historians who want to proceed further into the postwar era of the conflict."--The Journal of the North Carolina Association of Historians

"A rich narrative. . . . Marten's well-researched study draws together a deep analysis of competing themes."--West Virginia History

"A splendid synthesis in the emerging field of postwar studies."--Journal of Social History

"A strong contribution in exploring the mental impact of the war on veterans."--Arkansas Historical Quarterly

"A first rate study. . . . Well-written with well-placed illustrations and photographs, this will become a definitive work on the subject."--American Nineteenth Century History

"Sing Not War is a first-rate scholarly model of historical research and elegant writing that is sure to reshape studies of veteran culture, social welfare, Civil War memory, and the Gilded Age."--Journal of the Civil War Era

"Marten's own engaging and pithy prose makes this work highly readable. . . . [This book] should appeal to a wide readership."--Alabama Review

"This volume is profoundly moving."--The Historian

"Engaging, well written, and exhaustive. . . . A timely and relevant account of the consequences of war on soldiers and civilians alike."--Southwestern Historical Quarterly

"A worthy addition to the growing body of scholarship on Civil War veterans. For readers new to the topic, it represents a well-written introduction to the world of the men that served in and survived the Civil War. For scholars knowledgeable on this topic, Marten's study pulls together many familiar threads and adds some new ones, thoughtfully weaving both."--Civil War Book

"Elegantly written . . . . Sing Not War has given admirable shape and definition to an anemic subfield of Civil War history."--Civil War Monitor

"A remarkable book with significance far beyond the post-Civil War era."--Kansas History

"[Marten's] scholarship is wide ranging, and his prose is excellent . . . . For anyone interested in the postwar lives of Civil War soldiers, Sing Not War is highly recommended."--The Annals of Iowa

"Adds much to a growing literature on the Civil War soldier as veteran."--Journal of Illinois History

"No other book combines the cultural and social history of Civil War veterans, North and South, like Marten's Sing Not War. Beautifully written and deeply researched, this book captures a fresh perspective of veterans' lives, revealing their personal and distinctive experiences as they returned home after the war. A vivid, compelling, and original study that provides surprising new information about 'Johnny Reb' and 'Billy Yank.'"--Joan Waugh, author of U. S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth

About the Author
James Marten is professor of history at Marquette University.