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Full Description
Examining humor in depictions of the Civil War from the war years to the present, this review covers a wide range of literature, film and television in historical context. Wartime humor served as a form of propaganda to render the enemy and their cause laughable, but also to help people cope with the human costs of the conflict. After the war many authors and, later, movie and television producers employed humor to shape its legacy, perpetuating myths and stereotypes that became ingrained in American memory. Giving attention to the stories behind the stories, the author focuses on what people laughed at, who they laughed with and what it reveals about their view of events.
Contents
Table of Contents
Preface: What's So Funny About the Civil War?
Part I. "Crude partisan versifying on both sides": The Wartime Writers
The Crackerbox Philosophers
"Where are the women among ... the 'literary comedians' of the 1860s?"
The Biblical Satirists
The Scarlet Copperhead
"A period which produced so many good war songs, and so much bad war verse"
Two Fremantles, a Mule, and the Civil Wargasm
This Book Is Brought to You by the Committee to Elect George McClellan
Appendix (or Is That Appendage?)
"A delightful denunciation of Federal commanders"
Are "Two Federal Pens" Mightier Than Two Swords?
Part II. "The war was a draw game, and ... both sides were whipped": The Post-War Writers
How I Put Down the Rebellion
My Real Story Will Never Get into the Century's Battles and Leaders Books
After a While They All Sound the Same...
... But This One Looks Like a Comic Book
The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword (or Is That the Pin?)
The Many Lives of the Jordan Anderson Letter
Grant vs. Lee
A Tale of Two Kleggs
Uncle Remus Was White!
And Ambrose Bierce Was "an Equal-Opportunity Hater"
An Unrenowned Warrior
Postmodernism? We Haven't Even Done Modernism Yet!
Girls Will Be Boys and Boys Will Be Girls
Part III. "Those who still fight the last romantic war": The Next Generations
The Blue and Gray in Black and White, Then in Technicolor
What If Lincoln's Doctor's Dog Wrote a Biography?
Frankly, I Do Give a Damn
Happy Birthday, Gray and Blue
States' Rights of the Living Dead
Everything Old Is New Again
Conclusion
Chapter Notes
Works Cited
Index
