History Corner: Book Review: I Used to Know That Civil War , Stuff You Forgot From Schoolby Fred Dubose

Ok, donl't go a-hatin'! Yes, I know the Civil War (or as THE War as we refer to it down South) is a heated issue. BUT you can not forget the fact that 150 years ago if tore the country into 2 and separated families over ideology. For those of us whose ancestors fought, it also meant injury and death, be it from great great grandparents or other family members. 


We want to politically correct nowadays and forget what has taken place, so we don't have to 'think about it'. But like the Holocaust, there are lessons to be LEARNED from the Civil War, and no matter what your views, you have to admire the men who fought, on BOTH sides. There was no huge pay incentives, college pay, housing, etc like today's modern military. They fought for what they believed in and that should be admired as a noble cause (even if you don't believe in what their cause was). And many people forget that there was not just ONE issue that divided the states- it was the issues involving states' rights, and there were many things that dominoed to lead us to the war.


Would our country be as it is today WITHOUT the War? I don't think so personally. Our experiences make us different- they shape and mold our character. I'd like to think the same of our country- every war/conflict we've been through has shaped us as a whole and made us what we are now. So don't let the Civil War be erased from our history books. We must teach our kids about our history HONESTLY- no sugar coating, no altering to make it 'better', just the facts ma'am. When we stop understanding our past, will be the day that we stop being who we are. 


To quote Mississippi poet Shelby Foote:
"This country was into its adolescence at the time of the Civil War. It ...hadn't formulated itself really as an adult nation, and the Civil War did that. Like all traumatic experiences that you might have had in your adolescence, it stays with you the rest of your life, ... in your subconscious, most likely in your conscience, too....the Civil War had the nature of that kind of experience for the country...it truly is the outstanding event in American history insofar as making us what we are. The kind of country we are emerged from the Civil War, not from the Revolution. The Revolution provided us with a constitution; it broke us loose from England; it made us free. But the Civil War really defined us. It said what we were going to be, and it said what we're not going to be."

I Used to Know That: Civil War brings you back to the classroom and reveals surprising stories, anecdotes, and accounts of colorful people. Brush up (and learn what you might not have been taught) on a variety of topics, including:

• Shock and Awe:  casualities at the Battle of Shiloh equaled those at Napoleon's Waterloo, signaling to Americans they were in for a long bloody fight. 
• Things aren't what they seem: Varina Davis' (wife of Jefferson Davis, aka the First Lady of the Confederacy) grandfather was the governor of New Jersey, twice! Plus she went to boarding school in Philadelphia!
• Granny Lee: Robert E. Lee performed so hesitantly -- and poorly -- in his first military engagement that his detractors dubbed him "Granny Lee." 
• New Orleans contribution: When the local high class NO ladies began harassing Union soldiers, even dumping their chamber pots on their heads, Union Mjr. Gen. Benjamin Butler ordered a decree that "any female who shows contempt or show insult to an Union soldier shall be treated as a woman of town plying her avocation (aka a prostitute". The harassment stopped, but the ladies began calling Butler "the Beast". And you thought he earned the nickname in the War's battlefields!
• Writers on the Scene: Both poet Walt Whitman and novelist Louisa May Alcott tended to the sick and wounded, and translated their experiences into their writings. 
• Eerie Foretelling: The first officer to die in the War was Elmer Elsworth, who was a friend to Abraham and Mary Lincoln, having read law at Lincoln's Springfield office. he even laid in state at the White House!
• Comforts of Home: Pets were not allowed, but compassionate officers, on BOTH sides, frequently looked the other way, and dogs became mascots for the regiments. The 11th Pennsylvania's terrier Sallie is even memoralized on their monument at the Gettysburg National Park!
• The "would it have changed the War?" moment: Mjr. Gen. Patrick Claiborne, in charge of the Army of Tennessee in 1864 suggested that the Confederates enlist slaves to fill the Reb's depleted ranks, and in turn win their freedom. He felt the slavery issue was the Confederates' weakest point, and should be eliminated to they could focus on the states' rights issues.
• Last Man Not Standing: John Williams, of Company B, 34th Indiana, was the last man to die in the war, at the Battle of Palmito Ranch in Texas. Louisiana note: he is buried at Alexandria National Cemetery in Pineville, LA.
• Relive the story of the men and women who forged a path to freedom, the people who fought the battles, and the volunteers who came to their aid. 

Now see? Not what you thought, weren't those little bon mots! 


The book is full book is full of them and I can guarantee that you will learn more than you were probably taught about the Civil War in school! As always, Readers Digest has excelled at compiling a great amount of info into a handy dandy little volume. I LOVE these blackboard books!I definitely recommend this book for all history and military buffs!




About the Author: Fred DuBose is a native Texan, is a writer, editor, and book developer based in New York City. He is the author of an eclectic collection of books with subjects as varied as tomatoes, grandparents, cooking, and wine. Fred DuBose is the author of Oh, Say Did You Know? 


 For more information on the book and the Blackboard Books, please visit www.rdtradepublishing.com

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book for review purposes on this blog, free of charge, from FSB Associates. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.