Synopses & Reviews
Exploring the history of Civil War commemorations from both sides of the color line, William Blair places the development of memorial holidays, Emancipation Day celebrations, and other remembrances in the context of Reconstruction politics and race relations in the South. His grassroots examination of these civic rituals demonstrates that the politics of commemoration remained far more contentious than has been previously acknowledged.
Commemorations by ex-Confederates were intended at first to maintain a separate identity from the U.S. government, Blair argues, not as a vehicle for promoting sectional healing. The burial grounds of fallen heroes, known as Cities of the Dead, often became contested ground, especially for Confederate women who were opposed to Reconstruction. And until the turn of the century, African Americans used freedom celebrations to lobby for greater political power and tried to create a national holiday to recognize emancipation.
Blair's analysis shows that some festive occasions that we celebrate even today have a divisive and sometimes violent past as various groups with conflicting political agendas attempted to define the meaning of the Civil War.
Review
"
Cities of the Dead ranks Blair among a growing group of scholars studying memory and the Civil War. [His] genius lies in his carefully reasoned explanations, of
how and
why these celebrations carried political meaning in particular historical moments."
-- Civil War Book Review
Review
"[An] excellent study. . . . [Blair] effectively highlights African American political struggle through the creation and use of public commemorative events."
-- Journal of African American History
Review
"Provocative. . . . A sophisticated and nuanced analysis."
-- Arkansas Historical Quarterly
Review
"A book worth reading, especially for those interested in questions of memory and commemoration."
-- American Historical Review
Synopsis
Blair examines Civil War commemorations of blacks and whites and shows how arguments over how the war would be remembered and memorialized were part of a larger competition over how society would be structured and power exercised.
Synopsis
"
Cities of the Dead ranks Blair among a growing group of scholars studying memory and the Civil War. [His] genius lies in his carefully reasoned explanations, of
how and
why these celebrations carried political meaning in particular historical moments."
-- Civil War Book Review "Provocative. . . . A sophisticated and nuanced analysis."
-- Arkansas Historical Quarterly "[An] excellent study. . . . [Blair] effectively highlights African American political struggle through the creation and use of public commemorative events."
-- Journal of African American History "A book worth reading, especially for those interested in questions of memory and commemoration."
-- American Historical Review
About the Author
William Blair is associate professor of history and director of the Richards Civil War Era Center at the Pennsylvania State University. He is author of Virginia's Private War: Feeding Body and Soul in the Confederacy and editor of the journal Civil War History.