Whether it was planter patriarchs struggling to maintain authority, or Jewish families coerced by Christian evangelicalism, the Civil War took a terrible toll. This volume of twelve essays provides an insight into this watershed in American history,through the prism of the southern family.

Whether it was planter patriarchs struggling to maintain authority, or Jewish families coerced by Christian evangelicalism, or wives and mothers left behind to care for slaves and children, the Civil War took a terrible toll. From the bustling sidewalks of Richmond to the parched plains of the Texas frontier, from the rich Alabama black belt to the Tennessee woodlands, no corner of the South went unscathed. Through the prism of the southern family, this volume of twelve original essays provides fresh insights into this watershed in American history.

Scholars of the Civil War era and of the family will appreciate Clinton's effort to encourage new research on the home front.