This Republic of Suffering : Death and the American Civil War (National Book Award Finalist)

An illuminating study of the American struggle to comprehend the meaning and practicalities of death in the face of the unprecedented carnage of the Civil War. During the war, approximately 620,000 soldiers lost their lives. An equivalent proportion of today's population would be six million.This Republic of Sufferingexplores the impact of this enormous death toll from every angle: material, political, intellectual, and spiritual. The eminent historian Drew Gilpin Faust delineates the ways death changed not only individual lives but the life of the nation and its understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. She describes how survivors mourned and how a deeply religious culture struggled to reconcile the slaughter with its belief in a benevolent God, pondered who should die and under what circumstances, and reconceived its understanding of life after death. Faust details the logistical challenges involved when thousands were left dead, many with their identities unknown, on the fields of places like Bull Run, Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. She chronicles the efforts to identify, reclaim, preserve, and bury battlefield dead, the resulting rise of undertaking as a profession, the first widespread use of embalming, the gradual emergence of military graves registration procedures, the development of a federal system of national cemeteries for Union dead, and the creation of private cemeteries in the South that contributed to the cult of the Lost Cause. She shows, too, how the war victimized civilians through violence that extended beyond battlefieldsfrom disease, displacement, hardships, shortages, emotional wounds, and conflicts connected to the disintegration of slavery. Throughout, the voices of soldiers and their families, of statesmen, generals, preachers, poets, surgeons, and nurses, of northerners and southerners, slaveholders and freedpeople, of the most exalted and the most humble are brought together to give us a vivid understanding of the Civil War's most fundamental and widely shared reality. Were he alive today,This Republic of Sufferingwould compel Walt Whitman to abandon his certainty that the "real war will never get in the books." An illuminating study of the American struggle to comprehend the meaning and practicalities of death in the face of the unprecedented carnage of the Civil War. During the war, approximately 620,000 soldiers lost their lives. An equivalent proportion of today's population would be six million. This Republic of Suffering explores the impact of this enormous death toll from every angle: material, political, intellectual, and spiritual. The eminent historian Drew Gilpin Faust delineates the ways death changed not only individual lives but the life of the nation and its understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. She describes how survivors mourned and how a deeply religious culture struggled to reconcile the slaughter with its belief in a benevolent God, pondered who should die and under what circumstances, and reconceived its understanding of life after death. Faust details the logistical challenges involved when thousands were left dead, many with their identities unknown, on the fields of places like Bull Run, Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. She chronicles the efforts to identify, reclaim, preserve, and bury battlefield dead, the resulting rise of undertaking as a profession, the first widespread use of embalming, the gradual emergence of military graves registration procedures, the development of a federal system of national cemeteries for Union dead, and the creation of private cemeteries in the South that contributed to the cult of the Lost Cause. She shows, too, how the war victimized civilians through violence that extended beyond battlefields-from disease, displacement, hardships, shortages, emotional wounds, and conflicts connected to the disintegration of slavery. An illuminating study of the American struggle to comprehend the meaning and practicalities of death in the face of the unprecedented carnage of the Civil War.During the war, approximately 620,000 soldiers lost their lives. An equivalent proportion of today' s population would be six million. This Republic of Suffering explores the impact of this enormous death toll from every angle: material, political, intellectual, and spiritual. The eminent historian Drew Gilpin Faust delineates the ways death changed not only individual lives but the life of the nation and its understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. She describes how survivors mourned and how a deeply religious culture struggled to reconcile the slaughter with its belief in a benevolent God, pondered who should die and under what circumstances, and reconceived its understanding of life after death.Faust details the logistical challenges involved when thousands were left dead, many with their identities unknown, on the fields of places like Bull Run, Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. She chronicles the efforts to identify, reclaim, preserve, and bury battlefield dead, the resulting rise of undertaking as a profession, the first widespread use of embalming, the gradual emergence of military graves registration procedures, the development of a federal system of national cemeteries for Union dead, and the creation of private cemeteries in the South that contributed to the cult of the Lost Cause. She shows, too, how the war victimized civilians through violence that extended beyond battlefields-from disease, displacement, hardships, shortages, emotional wounds, and conflicts connected to the disintegration of slavery An Illuminating Study Of The American Struggle To Comprehend The Meaning And Practicalities Of Death In The Face Of The Unprecedented Carnage Of The Civil War. During The War, Approximately 620,000 Soldiers Lost Their Lives. An Equivalent Proportion Of Today's Population Would Be Six Million. This Book Explores The Impact Of This Enormous Death Toll From Every Angle: Material, Political, Intellectual, And Spiritual. Historian Faust Delineates The Ways Death Changed Not Only Individual Lives But The Life Of The Nation And Its Understanding Of The Rights And Responsibilities Of Citizenship. She Describes How Survivors Mourned And How A Deeply Religious Culture Struggled To Reconcile The Slaughter With Its Belief In A Benevolent God, And Reconceived Its Understanding Of Life After Death.--from Publisher Description. The Work Of Death -- Dying: To Lay Down My Life -- Killing: The Harder Courage -- Burying: New Lessons Caring For The Dead -- Naming: The Significant Word Unknown -- Realizing: Civilians And The Work Of Mourning -- Believing And Doubting: What Means This Carnage? -- Accounting: Our Obligations To The Dead -- Numbering: How Many? How Many? -- Epilogue: Surviving. Drew Gilpin Faust. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [273]-322) And Index. A Study Of The American Struggle To Comprehend The Meaning And Practicalities Of Death In The Face Of The Carnage Of The Civil War. During The War, Approximately 620,000 Soldiers Lost Their Lives. An Equivalent Proportion Of Today's Population Would Be Six Million. This Book Explores The Impact Of This Death Toll From Every Angle: Material, Political, Intellectual, And Spiritual. Historian Faust Delineates The Ways Death Changed Not Only Individual Lives But The Life Of The Nation And Its Understanding Of The Rights And Responsibilities Of Citizenship. She Describes How Survivors Mourned And How A Deeply Religious Culture Struggled To Reconcile The Slaughter With Its Belief In A Benevolent God, And Reconceived Its Understanding Of Life After Death.--from Publisher Description. The Work Of Death -- Dying: To Lay Down My Life -- Killing: The Harder Courage -- Burying: New Lessons Caring For The Dead -- Naming: The Significant Word Unknown -- Realizing: Civilians And The Work Of Mourning -- Believing And Doubting: What Means This Carnage? -- Accounting: Our Obligations To The Dead -- Numbering: How Many? How Many? -- Epilogue: Surviving. Drew Gilpin Faust. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. National Book Award Finalist. The work of death -- Dying: "to lay down my life" -- Killing: "the harder courage" -- Burying: "new lessons caring for the dead" -- Naming: "the significant word UNKNOWN" -- Realizing: civilians and the work of mourning -- Believing and doubting: "what means this carnage?" -- Accounting: "our obligations to the dead" -- Numbering: "how many? how many?" -- Epilogue: Surviving.;An illuminating study of the American struggle to comprehend the meaning and practicalities of death in the face of the unprecedented carnage of the Civil War. During the war, approximately 620,000 soldiers lost their lives. An equivalent proportion of today's population would be six million. This book explores the impact of this enormous death toll from every angle: material, political, intellectual, and spiritual. Historian Faust delineates the ways death changed not only individual lives but the life of the nation and its understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. She describes how survivors mourned and how a deeply religious culture struggled to reconcile the slaughter with its belief in a benevolent God, and reconceived its understanding of life after death.--From publisher description. NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • An "extraordinary ... profoundly moving" history ( The New York Times Book Review ) of the American Civil War that reveals the ways that death on such a scale changed not only individual lives but the life of the nation. An estiated 750,000 soldiers lost their lives in the American Civil War. An equivalent proportion of today's population would be seven and a half million. In This Republic of Suffering , Drew Gilpin Faust describes how the survivors managed on a practical level and how a deeply religious culture struggled to reconcile the unprecedented carnage with its belief in a benevolent God. Throughout, the voices of soldiers and their families, of statesmen, generals, preachers, poets, surgeons, nurses, northerners and southerners come together to give us a vivid understanding of the Civil War's most fundamental and widely shared reality. With a new introduction by the author, and a new foreword by Mike Mullen, 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • An "extraordinary ... profoundly moving" history of the American Civil War that reveals the ways that death on such a scale changed not only individual lives but the life of the nation. More than 600,000 soldiers lost their lives in the American Civil War. An equivalent proportion of today's population would be six million. In This Republic of Suffering, Drew Gilpin Faust describes how the survivors managed on a practical level and how a deeply religious culture struggled to reconcile the unprecedented carnage with its belief in a benevolent God. Throughout, the voices of soldiers and their families, of statesmen, generals, preachers, poets, surgeons, nurses, northerners and southerners come together to give us a vivid understanding of the Civil War's most fundamental and widely shared reality. More than 600,000 soldiers lost their lives in the American Civil War. An equivalent proportion of today's population would be six million. In This Republic of Suffering , Drew Gilpin Faust reveals the ways that death on such a scale changed not only individual lives but the life of the nation, describing how the survivors managed on a practical level and how a deeply religious culture struggled to reconcile the unprecedented carnage with its belief in a benevolent God. Throughout, the voices of soldiers and their families, of statesmen, generals, preachers, poets, surgeons, nurses, northerners and southerners come together to give us a vivid understanding of the Civil War's most fundamental and widely shared reality. From the Trade Paperback edition Assesses the impact of the enormous carnage of the Civil War on every aspect of American life from a material, political, intellectual, cultural, social, and spiritual perspective.