Animal Histories of the Civil War Era

Animal Histories of the Civil War Era
Author :
Publisher : LSU Press
Total Pages : 294
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780807177150
ISBN-13 : 0807177156
Rating : 4/5 (50 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Animal Histories of the Civil War Era by : Earl J. Hess

Download or read book Animal Histories of the Civil War Era written by Earl J. Hess and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2022-03-30 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Animals mattered in the Civil War. Horses and mules powered the Union and Confederate armies, providing mobility for wagons, pulling artillery pieces, and serving as fighting platforms for cavalrymen. Drafted to support the war effort, horses often died or suffered terrible wounds on the battlefield. Raging diseases also swept through army herds and killed tens of thousands of other equines. In addition to weaponized animals such as horses, pets of all kinds accompanied nearly every regiment during the war. Dogs commonly served as unit mascots and were also used in combat against the enemy. Living and fighting in the natural environment, soldiers often encountered a variety of wild animals. They were pestered by many types of insects, marveled at exotic fish while being transported along the coasts, and took shots at alligators in the swamps along the lower Mississippi River basin. Animal Histories of the Civil War Era charts a path to understanding how the animal world became deeply involved in the most divisive moment in American history. In addition to discussions on the dominant role of horses in the war, one essay describes the use of camels by individuals attempting to spread slavery in the American Southwest in the antebellum period. Another explores how smaller wildlife, including bees and other insects, affected soldiers and were in turn affected by them. One piece focuses on the congressional debate surrounding the creation of a national zoo, while another tells the story of how the famous show horse Beautiful Jim Key and his owner, a former slave, exposed sectional and racial fault lines after the war. Other topics include canines, hogs, vegetarianism, and animals as veterans in post–Civil War America. The contributors to this volume—scholars of animal history and Civil War historians—argue for an animal-centered narrative to complement the human-centered accounts of the war. Animal Histories of the Civil War Era reveals that warfare had a poignant effect on animals. It also argues that animals played a vital role as participants in the most consequential conflict in American history. It is time to recognize and appreciate the animal experience of the Civil War period.


Animal Histories of the Civil War Era Related Books

Animal Histories of the Civil War Era
Language: en
Pages: 294
Authors: Earl J. Hess
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-03-30 - Publisher: LSU Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Animals mattered in the Civil War. Horses and mules powered the Union and Confederate armies, providing mobility for wagons, pulling artillery pieces, and servi
The World the Civil War Made
Language: en
Pages: 393
Authors: Gregory P. Downs
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2015-07-22 - Publisher: UNC Press Books

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

At the close of the Civil War, it was clear that the military conflict that began in South Carolina and was fought largely east of the Mississippi River had cha
Why the Civil War Came
Language: en
Pages: 273
Authors: David W. Blight
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 1997-05-29 - Publisher: Oxford University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the early morning of April 12, 1861, Captain George S. James ordered the bombardment of Fort Sumter, beginning a war that would last four years and claim man
Rebecca Harding Davis's Stories of the Civil War Era
Language: en
Pages: 362
Authors: Rebecca Harding Davis
Categories: Literary Collections
Type: BOOK - Published: 2010 - Publisher: University of Georgia Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The ten stories gathered here show Rebecca Harding Davis to be an acute observer of the conflicts and ambiguities of a divided nation and position her as a majo
The American War
Language: en
Pages:
Authors: Gary Gallagher
Categories:
Type: BOOK - Published: 2016-02-01 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK