This Republic of Suffering.

[rkg]

A book by Drew Gilpin Faust, This Republic of Suffering deals with death during the Civil War. It looks at the soldier's point of view, but more importantly, it shows how the death of soldiers impacted the home front and the loved ones it left behind. It also covers the post war reburial of Union soldiers and the founding of National Cemeteries. A great read, and I highly recommend it.

[CompanyWag]

Re: This Republic of Suffering.

Bob,
Did you see the PBS American Experience program that is based on this book? It is available on Netflix. Very well done, but rather long even for an interested viewer.

[rkg]

Re: This Republic of Suffering.

Paul, no I didn't but I will look for it, Thanks.

[Becky Morgan]

Re: This Republic of Suffering.

Thank you, Mr. McKee! I had no idea there was a series. The book is indeed excellent.

[BobRoeder]

Re: This Republic of Suffering.

For those interested, the PBS documentary (DVD) is titled "Death and the Civil War: How the Unthinkable Became Unforgettable", directed by Ric Burns, 120 minutes. IMHO an excellent effort.

[FootsoreFederal]

Re: This Republic of Suffering.

You can also watch the documentary online at the PBS website. If anyone's interested, here's the link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe.../death/player/

[BrandonEnglish]

Re: This Republic of Suffering.

This is an excellent book and understudied subject. As a bereavement professional, I can attest this is an excellent resource even now. Believe it or not the understanding of grief and mourning of the period was a lot better than current beliefs. Ever since the five stages of Death and Dying has been written it has been misinterpreted to the grief process. However, in the 19th century that was unknown and with such massive loss of life the communities and families had to find ways to cope in unison, which is something vastly lost today. Those of the period found solace in knowing they were not alone and that the scarlet letter "D" for death wasn't a horrible thing. I encourage anyone and everyone to read this book!

[Gallo de Cielo]

Re: This Republic of Suffering.

All,

A similar piece was authored by one of my undergraduate faculty members (I took six classes from the fellow). Dr. Mark Schantz's "Awaiting the Heavenly Country: The Civil War and America's Culture of Death" is a fine piece of scholarship. It was actually reviewed alongside Gilpin Faust's book in the NY Review of Books by James McPherson and, in his estimation, Schantz's piece was deemed the stronger of the two.

Schantz is no longer at Hendrix College (my alma mater and current employer) as he now serves as the provost at Birmingham Southern College.

Regards,

[rkg]

Re: This Republic of Suffering.

Thanks Fred, I would be very interested in reading his work. I think it is one area that really doesn't get the attention it should. I would love to see a a book or paper on just how many vets didn't make it to ten years after the war, there had to be a large number of men who died of wounds received during the war, or from lingering chronic disease they contracted while in the service. Anyone know of such a study?