
The Making of a Confederate
Walter Lenoir's Civil War
William L. Barney(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 26. June 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-0-19-531434-2 (ISBN)
Description
Despite the advances of the civil rights movement, many white southerners cling to the faded glory of a romanticized Confederate past. In The Making of a Confederate, William L. Barney focuses on the life of one man, Walter Lenoir of North Carolina, to examine the origins of southern white identity alongside its myriad ambiguities and complexities. Born into a wealthy slaveholding family, Lenoir abhorred the institution, opposed secession, and planned to leave his family to move to Minnesota, in the free North. But when the war erupted in 1860, Lenoir found another escape route-he joined the Confederate army, an experience that would radically transform his ideals. After the war, Lenoir, like many others, embraced the cult of the Lost Cause, refashioning his memory and beliefs in an attempt to make sense of the war, its causes, and its consequences. While some Southerners sank into depression, aligned with the victors, or fiercely opposed the new order, Lenoir withdrew to his acreage in the North Carolina mountains. There, he pursued his own vision of the South's future, one that called for greater self-sufficiency and a more efficient use of the land.
For Lenoir and many fellow Confederates, the war never really ended. As he tells this compelling story, Barney offers new insights into the ways that (selective) memory informs history; through Lenoir's life, readers learn how individual choices can transform abstract historical processes into concrete actions.
For Lenoir and many fellow Confederates, the war never really ended. As he tells this compelling story, Barney offers new insights into the ways that (selective) memory informs history; through Lenoir's life, readers learn how individual choices can transform abstract historical processes into concrete actions.
Reviews / Votes
In this fascinating and beautifully written portrait ... William L. Barney breathes life into many key aspects of the Civil War era as it was experienced in the Upper South. A major achievement. Bruce Levine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, author of Confederate Emancipation: Southern Plans to Free and Arm Slaves during the Civil War An enormously intelligent, sensitive, interesting, [and] significant biography of a minor character that takes us inside one white Southerner's life, family, and mind. Mina Carson, Oregon State UniversityMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Adult education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
30 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 171 mm
Width: 125 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
209 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-531434-2 (9780195314342)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
11/2007
Oxford University Press Inc
€48.00
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E-Book
11/2007
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€11.99
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E-Book
11/2007
1st Edition
OUP eBook
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Person
William L. Barney is Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is author of The Civil War and Reconstruction: A Student Companion (OUP, 2001), The Passage of the Republic, Battleground for the Union, Flawed Victory, The Secessionist Impulse, and The Road to Secession. He is coauthor of The American Journey, Second Edition, and editor of A Companion to 19th-Century America.
Author
Professor of HistoryProfessor of History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Content
Foreword
Acknowledgments
The Lenoir Families
Prologue
1. Dutiful Sons and a Wavering Southerner
2. Confederate Soldier
3. Agony at Ox Hill
4. Mountain Farmer
5. Unreconstructed Confederate
6. Land Promoter and Dreamer
Afterword
Recommendations for Further Reading
Index
Acknowledgments
The Lenoir Families
Prologue
1. Dutiful Sons and a Wavering Southerner
2. Confederate Soldier
3. Agony at Ox Hill
4. Mountain Farmer
5. Unreconstructed Confederate
6. Land Promoter and Dreamer
Afterword
Recommendations for Further Reading
Index