© 2013 ed. Kenneth Noe
University of Alabama press
320 pages
First home of the Confederacy's
government, and site of some of its final battles, Alabama's involvement in the
Civil War was intense from the beginning-- and given its diverse geology,
loyalties were mixed from the Union-sympathizing hill folk to the secessionist
plantation owners living in the coastal plains. The Yellowhammer War collects
articles from southern historians that delve into how Alabamians experienced
the war's strife and Reconstruction's havoc. Most are domestic, with only two
pieces centered on combat. The detail throughout is considerable, and
well-documented, making it an absolute boon to students of Alabaman
history. It is valuable, too, in
presenting so many thoughtful voices, working from the letters from a diverse
set of southerners.
An opening section examines the motives of
the most stereotypical secessionist – the elite lawyer-plantation master – but
the articles which follow give repeated attention to the role of women in
supporting the rebellion, and the waxing and waning of support for the
Confederacy among the poor laborers. Reconstruction, often ignored, is given
special attention here, and the author opines that compared to the experience
of other defeated nations by the victors, the south’s treatment was
comparatively mild – not a trace of ethnic cleansing followed, for instance. (Still-grumpy southerners will no doubt appreciate the basis for comparison: "Well, it wasn't as bad as an ethnic cleansing...") Especially
of interest are essays examining the roots of white Republicans in the postwar
period, and a history of the Freedman’s Bureau, which attempted to convert
ex-slaves into citizens of the republic with mixed results. What all of the
essays convey is a sense that Alabamians played no simple role in the story
of the Confederacy; loyalties were mixed, and even some ardent secessionists did not believe themselves to be leaving the Union voluntarily Students of southern history, and especially Alabamians, will find this a treasure.
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