Spring Break
Book Review: "This Republic of Suffering"
Issue date: 3/13/08
Drew Gilpin Faust
This Republic of Suffering
Knopf
Jan. 8, 2008
368 pages
Six-hundred and twenty-thousand Americans died in the Civil War. That is more than the American death toll in all other wars between the Revolutionary War and the Korean War. Based on the percentage of our population, if the war was fought today, there would be 6 million deaths, certainly an irreparable loss to the nation. In her new book, This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War, Harvard President and Lincoln Professor of History Drew Gilpin Faust writes about these tragic losses of life.
The book is divided into eight chapters, each one dealing with a different aspect of death in the war: Dying, Killing, Burying, Naming, Realizing, Believing and Doubting, Accounting, and Numbering. Each chapter contains a unique perspective on death, each one taking into account the political, emotional and mental consequences of loss. The most interesting chapter is perhaps the most brutal: "Killing."
As the chapter's title suggests, "Killing" deals with the literal act of killing fellow Americans in the course of battle. Even though the majority of the war's casualties were unrelated to combat, hundreds of thousands were killed or killed others on battlefields across the United States. One section of note deals with the experience of African-American soldiers fighting for the United States. Faust writes of atrocities (such as the massacre of surrendering black troops at Fort Pillow) perpetrated by rebels against the buffalo soldiers and of the acts of revenge by African-Americans, motivated by the shame and anger from slavery. According to Faust, many saw fighting and killing as the only way to finally gain freedom from the white oppressors. Faust uses a quote from a young African-American solider that is indicative of the general feeling that, "Those who would be free must strike the blow."
The final section of the chapter deals with how men came to terms with their grisly work in the aftermath of a battle. Some wept while others hardened their hearts. Faust details how these men attempted to come to terms with their actions. Although fascinating, and perhaps due to this fascination, the chapter is highly disturbing. Faust shows the ways in which many soldiers overcame their initial aversion to killing. According to her, many were motivated to seek vengeance for the deaths of their comrades. She also deals with the horrifying fact, that as in all wars, some came to enjoy combat.
This Republic of Suffering
Knopf
Jan. 8, 2008
368 pages
Six-hundred and twenty-thousand Americans died in the Civil War. That is more than the American death toll in all other wars between the Revolutionary War and the Korean War. Based on the percentage of our population, if the war was fought today, there would be 6 million deaths, certainly an irreparable loss to the nation. In her new book, This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War, Harvard President and Lincoln Professor of History Drew Gilpin Faust writes about these tragic losses of life.
The book is divided into eight chapters, each one dealing with a different aspect of death in the war: Dying, Killing, Burying, Naming, Realizing, Believing and Doubting, Accounting, and Numbering. Each chapter contains a unique perspective on death, each one taking into account the political, emotional and mental consequences of loss. The most interesting chapter is perhaps the most brutal: "Killing."
As the chapter's title suggests, "Killing" deals with the literal act of killing fellow Americans in the course of battle. Even though the majority of the war's casualties were unrelated to combat, hundreds of thousands were killed or killed others on battlefields across the United States. One section of note deals with the experience of African-American soldiers fighting for the United States. Faust writes of atrocities (such as the massacre of surrendering black troops at Fort Pillow) perpetrated by rebels against the buffalo soldiers and of the acts of revenge by African-Americans, motivated by the shame and anger from slavery. According to Faust, many saw fighting and killing as the only way to finally gain freedom from the white oppressors. Faust uses a quote from a young African-American solider that is indicative of the general feeling that, "Those who would be free must strike the blow."
The final section of the chapter deals with how men came to terms with their grisly work in the aftermath of a battle. Some wept while others hardened their hearts. Faust details how these men attempted to come to terms with their actions. Although fascinating, and perhaps due to this fascination, the chapter is highly disturbing. Faust shows the ways in which many soldiers overcame their initial aversion to killing. According to her, many were motivated to seek vengeance for the deaths of their comrades. She also deals with the horrifying fact, that as in all wars, some came to enjoy combat.
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