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Full Description
Cavalry units from Midwestern states remain largely absent from Civil War literature, and what little has been written largely overlooks the individual men who served. The Fifth Illinois Cavalry has thus remained obscure despite participating in some of the most important campaigns in Arkansas and Mississippi. In this pioneering examination of that understudied regiment, Rhonda M. Kohl offers the only modern, comprehensive analysis of a southern Illinois regiment during the Civil War and combines well-documented military history with a cultural analysis of the men who served in the Fifth Illinois.
The regiment's history unfolds around major events in the Western Theater from 1861 to September 1865, including campaigns at Helena, Vicksburg, Jackson, and Meridian, as well as numerous little-known skirmishes. Although they were led almost exclusively by Northern-born Republicans, the majority of the soldiers in the Fifth Illinois remained Democrats. As Kohl demonstrates, politics, economics, education, social values, and racism separated the line officers from the common soldiers, and the internal friction caused by these cultural disparities led to poor leadership, low morale, disciplinary problems, and rampant alcoholism.
The narrative pulls the Fifth Illinois out of historical oblivion, elucidating the highs and lows of the soldiers' service as well as their changing attitudes toward war goals, religion, liberty, commanding generals, Copperheads, and alcoholism. By reconstructing the cultural context of Fifth Illinois soldiers, Prairie Boys Go to War reveals how social and economic traditions can shape the wartime experience.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
Abbreviations
1. The Politics of War, August 1861 to February 1862
2. The Springtime of War, March to July 1862
3. This Godforsaken Town, July to October 1862
4. Under Grant's Command, November 1862 to May 1863
5. Redemption at Vicksburg, June to August 1863
6. Winslow's Cavalry, August 1863 to January 1864
7. The Grand Raid, February to March 1864
8. Garrison Duty, March to December 1864
9. Soon This Cruel War Will Close, January to October 1865
Notes
Bibliography
Index
