Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Turner Ashby's image forms the basis in this very original analysis of the concepts of chivalry and honor current in his lifetime. More information than we have heretofore known about Ashby's life, exploits, and self-image is combined with new information on the the image Ashby generated in the minds of his contemporaries. The combination reveals a great deal about the evolution of local, regional, and national consciousness of right and wrong and the consequences of choices based upon such images and ideals. It is a remarkably fresh view of the sources and anomalous processes of human judgement and violence and the manner in which social anxieties are codified into imperfect and dangerous codes of behavior. It is a very sober and intelligent look at some of the darker aspects of human nature, but it is also an analysis that is as colorful and engaging as the complex individual upon whose life and career it is based. Anderson's views should powerfully influence future analysis of the mind and the culture of the South before, during, and after the Civil War, particularly formulations of the causes and course of the War and of the post-war 'lost cause' mentality. This study also enlarges our understanding of the horrifying and unexpected shock that war produces upon those who subscribe to the 'necessity' of solving social problems with this expedient and the varied ways in which individuals compensate for that shock." Reviewed by Gary Gallagher, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Synopsis
With Blood Image, Paul Anderson shows that the symbol of a man can be just as important as the man himself. Turner Ashby was one of the most famous fighting men of the Civil War. Rising to colonel of the 7th Virginia Cavalry, Ashby fought brilliantly under Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson during the 1862 Shenandoah Valley campaign until he died in battle. Anderson demonstrates that Ashby's image -- a catalytic, mesmerizing, and often contradictory combination of southern antebellum cultural ideals and wartime hopes and fears -- emerged during his own lifetime and was not a later creation of the Lost Cause. The stylistic synergy of Anderson's startling narrative design fuels a poignant irony: men like Ashby -- a chivalrous, charismatic "knight" who had difficulty complying with Stonewall Jackson's authority -- become trapped by the desire to have their real lives reflect their imagined ones.