Week 9: Civil War and Mobile History

Courtesy of Quia. Civil War Battle.

            The reading is from Tony Horwitz’s book “Confederates in the Attic” from chapter 7 to chapter 11.  Chapter 7 At the Foote of the Master, Horwitz visits Shelby Foote and discusses the Civil War.  Shelby Foote is well known for his three-volume narrative history of the Civil War.  Foote shares his own personal history and his limited experience during World War II and how “the embodiment of gallantry and chivalry” that was the standard for southerners made it his duty to fight for his country. (149) At the end of the visit, Foote tells Horwitz why he frequently visits the battlefield at Shiloh on the anniversary of the battle.  Foote said, “For me, something emanates from that ground…the way memory sometimes leaps up at you unexpectedly.” (154)

Courtesy of Mrkash.com. Minie ball.

            Chapter 8 The Ghost Marks of Shiloh is about Horwitz’s experience when he visits the battlefield at Shiloh arriving in the early morning hours just like Foote did when he visited.  Horwitz meets several people during his visit to the Shiloh battle, some people whose ancestors had fought in the battle and another who explored the different aspects of the battle every year.  Horwitz talks to the park historian, Stacey Allen, who has a different view of the battle based on the evidence found in the ground rather than solely on the writings of those who had fought there.  “Shiloh had two pasts: the actual battle, and its remembrance by those who fought there.” (171).  Towards the end of the day Horwitz meets Wolfgang Hochbruck, a German professor whose interest in the Civil War developed from a childhood fascination.  Hochbruck also formed a reenacting group in Stuttgart, Germany, modeled after the German-American unit the 3^rd Missouri. 

            Horwitz then heads to Vicksburg in chapter 9 The Minié Ball Pregnancy, and stops at a drug store that was filled with Civil War items and many were items that surgeons would have used during the war.  The owner of the store was Joe Garache and he collected all the weapons and artifacts since he was a child and he found a 9,000-pound Parrott Gun, which was a Confederacy riverside cannon.  Horwitz visits the Vicksburg museum, noting one exhibit was about a minié ball that went through a young rebel soldier’s reproductive organs then hit a young lady resulting in her pregnancy. 

Courtesy of sonofthesouth.net. Stonewall Jackson

            In chapter 10 The Civil Wargasm Horwitz goes on an extreme tour of must-see sites in the south with Robert Lee Hodge.  This tour covers all the years of the war and they hit many sites where battles were fought, famous Confederate leaders died, and other important areas.  The two men travelled in Civil War garb, visiting each site quickly, and sleeping outside on battlefields, historical sites, and wherever they could find shelter.  As they travelled and before they went to bed, they would read passages from diaries and writings of men who either fought in the war or wrote about it.  Hodge keep a diary of every place that they visited and how much they were able to pack into a single day, “by the second or third day it all starts to blur, so you have to keep a tight record before you get totally tapped.” (214).