Family War Stories
The Densmores' Fight to Save the Union and Destroy Slavery
- 336 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Based on an extensive collection of letters written from the home front and the battlefront, Family War Stories offers fresh insights into how the reciprocal nature of family correspondence can shape a family's understanding of the war.
Family War Stories examines the contribution of the Densmore family to the Northern Civil War effort. It extends the boundaries of research in two directions. First, by describing how members of this white family from Minnesota were mobilized to fight a family war on the home front and the battlefront, and second, by exploring how the war challenged the family's abolitionist beliefs and racial attitudes. Family War Stories argues that the totality of the family's Civil War experience was intricately shaped by the dynamics of family life and the reciprocal nature of family correÂspondence. Further, it argues that the serving sons' understanding of the war was shaped by their direct military experiences in the army camps and battlefields and how their loved ones at home interpreted these experiences.
With two sons serving as officers in the United States Colored Troops' regiments fighting in the Mississippi Valley, the Densmore family was heavily involved in destroying slavery. Family War Stories analyses how the sons' military experiences tested the family's abolitionist ideology and its commitment to white racial superiority. It also explains how the family sought to accommodate the presence of a refugee from slavery working in the family kitchen. In some ways, the presence of this worker in the household posed an even greater range of challenges to the family's racial beliefs than the sons' military service.
By examining one family's deep involvement in the war against slavery, Wilson analyses how the Civil War posed particular challenges to Northerners committed to abolitionism and white supremacy.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1. âMay his âsoldier lifeâ be as good as the cause he will representâ: Orrin Densmore and the Beginning of the Civil War
- 2. âI wish Old Abe had a son or some kin or kine up here in dangerâ: The Brothersâ War against the Dakota
- 3. âDont give up my Sonâ: Benjamin on Duty at Fort Halleck
- 4. âThe glorious, new temple of Libertyâ: Daniel Joins the United States Colored Troops at Benton Barracks
- 5. âKind acts went directly to their heartsâ: Martha Serves on the Home Front in Red Wing
- 6. âFaces of flintâ: Campaigning against Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest
- 7. âThe child was âright gladâ to get homeâ: Young Orrinâs Military Adventure
- 8. âMove the camp down to the grave yardâ: Camp Life in Memphis
- 9. âChristmas with us here promises to be quite a seasonâ: Rejoicing and Celebrating
- 10. âShe walks off with the workâ: Service and Friendship: Elizabeth, Mary, and Martha
- 11. âDo come up Marthaâ: Anna and Martha
- 12. âThey all fought like Minnesotiansâ: The Mobile Campaign
- 13. âThe curse of slaveryâ: Occupation Duty in Alabama
- 14. âTheyâve got money, let them buy their own biscuitâ: Departure and Homecoming
- Conclusion
- Characters
- Genealogical Tables
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
- About the Author