DOC A Soldier's General: The Civil War Letters of Major General Lafayette McLaws by Lafayette McLaws; John C. Oeffinger in History

Description

Throughout the Civil War; soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict saw the hand of God in the terrible events of the day; but the standard narratives of the period pay scant attention to religion. Now; in God's Almost Chosen Peoples; Lincoln Prize-winning historian George C. Rable offers a groundbreaking account of how Americans of all political and religious persuasions used faith to interpret the course of the war.Examining a wide range of published and unpublished documents--including sermons; official statements from various churches; denominational papers and periodicals; and letters; diaries; and newspaper articles--Rable illuminates the broad role of religion during the Civil War; giving attention to often-neglected groups such as Mormons; Catholics; blacks; and people from the Trans-Mississippi region. The book underscores religion's presence in the everyday lives of Americans north and south struggling to understand the meaning of the conflict; from the tragedy of individual death to victory and defeat in battle and even the ultimate outcome of the war. Rable shows that themes of providence; sin; and judgment pervaded both public and private writings about the conflict. Perhaps most important; this volume--the only comprehensive religious history of the war--highlights the resilience of religious faith in the face of political and military storms the likes of which Americans had never before endured.