The Civil War in 50 Objects
by Harold Holzer; Viking
This acclaimed Lincoln scholar burrowed through the New-York Historical Society’s almost bottomless trove of Civil War memorabilia to cull 50 pieces he thought could encapsulate the Civil War. His selections traverse regions, race and gender; they are usually surprising, stamped with personality and often heartbreaking. The first stark image sets the tone: Its caption reads “Slave Shackles Intended for a Child, ca. 1800.” Among the others: a prewar daguerreotype of a striking old slave named Caesar; John Brown’s pike; a soldier’s diary; another soldier’s still-full footlocker; a prison newspaper started by Confederate POWs; Grant’s handwritten terms of surrender for Lee; the original model for the USS Monitor; leaves from Lincoln’s funeral bier. In individual miniessays, Holzer’s easy, expansive prose explores each object’s significance and illuminates how it refracts our country’s explosive try at self-destruction. But even without the words, the images’ aura of pain and loss is eerily palpable.
Originally published in the October 2013 issue of American History. To subscribe, click here.
