History Of The Civil War

Class Purpose

The less sophisticated purpose of the course is to learn the basics of the American Civil War—its origins, course, and consequences. The course’s more sophisticated, and more interesting, purpose is to reflect on the political, cultural, psychological and spiritual meanings of the war.

War is at best barbarism…. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.

– William Tecumseh Sherman

Class Grade

The students’ grades will be based on performance on 6 quizzes (5% each), 3 exams (10% each), 2 papers (10% each), and a final exam (20%).

Students should keep track of their own grades and file all quizzes, exams, and papers. If there is a question about the grade at the end of the semester, it will be difficult to resolve the question unless the students have their work saved.

Exams

The first exam will focus on material covered since the beginning of the class; the second and third exams will focus on material covered since the most recent exam, though students should expect also to see some questions on material covered in previous exams.

For the first exam students also need to know the following about the battles listed below: chronological order (month and year); casualties* (rounded to the nearest 100); strategic or tactical significance; victor. Draw on the civilwar.com and the class text, The American Civil War.

Battles: First Bull Run*; Pea Ridge*; Hampton Roads; Shiloh*; Seven Days; Second Bull Run; Antietam*; Fredericksburg; Chancellorsville; Gettysburg*; Vicksburg; Chickamauga; Wilderness*; Cold Harbor; Franklin; Nashville.

It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.

– Robert E. Lee

Papers

Students will pick two paper topics from one of the four following options. It is up to the student which topic to take up first and second.

• The phrase “war is hell” means, in its most basic sense, that war is really terrible. But can the phrase be taken more literally? If people can participate in the kingdom of heaven and, in some way, bring an element of heaven to earth, can they do the same with the realm of hell? This will involve a serious engagement with the Christian tradition’s theological reflection on the concept of hell. Bring what you learn to bear on your reading of All for the Union, Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove, and, especially, Co. Aytch. The work of at least three major figures in Christian tradition—e.g. Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Jonathan Edwards—should be consulted.
• War veterans often say that, for the combatant, war is about survival, the well-being of the comrade close to you, and the security of one’s immediate environment. In war zones, soldiers do not indulge in philosophy or idealism; they do not contemplate the big picture or grand strategy. To what extent is this view of combatants’ place in war borne outin All for the Union and Co. Aytch?
• All for the Union, a diary, reveals the tedium that comprises much of a soldier’s life; andit reports combat in a matter-of-fact kind of way. Co. Aytch, a memoir, eliminates much detail and reveals the horrors of combat. In this memoir, memory has done its work—a story has been wrenched from innumerable details. Reflect on these Civil War sources drawing on what psychologists tell us about memory. How does memory work? What gets left out and what sticks, and why? What is the process whereby memory creates stories from myriad confusing details? And so on. This will involve reading serious psychological literature on memory and bringing what you learn from it to bear on your thinking about history. The work of Daniel Schacter and Elizabeth Loftus (and their citations/bibliographies) might be a good place to start. Also see chapters on memory in psychology textbooks for resources. At least four serious, published psychological sources should be consulted.
• All for the Union seems almost emotionless; Co. Aytch is sometimes humorous, sometimes wrenching. It is hard not to think that Watkins is describing some emotions he felt but, probably like Rhodes, would not have shared in the combat zone. Read at least two serious works on the psychological effects of combat on warriors and bring what you learn from this reading to bear on a discussion of the books by Rhodes and Watkins. Examples of the kinds of works you can consult are: Joanna Bourke, An Intimate History of Killing: Face-to-Face Killing in the Twentieth Century (1999); and Richard

Holmes, Acts of War: The Behavior of Men in Battle (1985)
Paper due dates: February 15 and April 2.
Papers should be 4-5 pages in length.

Aretē (areth): This is the classical Greek word for excellence. Make areth your goal. Areth can’t be achieved if the paper is a rush job, or if the sources are weak, if the research is superficial, or if serious thought hasn’t gone into the paper, or if the writing is full of problems.

In addition to judging the papers’ content, the professor will assess the quality of the papers as written works. Students must pay attention to grammar, syntax, and so on. Papers that are exceptionally well done will receive extra credit at the professor’s discretion.

Staple the papers. Do not email them. An unstapled paper = 3% deducted from the student’s final grade.

Papers are due at the beginning of class on the assigned dates. Please do not email the professor questions about the papers. Ask questions about the papers in class, so others can benefit from the question and the answer.

For the first exam students also need to know the following about the battles listed below: chronological order (month and year); casualties* (rounded to the nearest 100); strategic or tactical significance; victor. Draw on the civilwar.com and the class text, The American Civil War.

Sleep

Living in a constant state of sleep deprivation is self-defeating; it diminishes one’s quality of life and academic work. You’re not as busy as you think you are. Organize your life and get the sleep you need.

Laptops

Students wishing to use laptops must sit in the front row and use the laptops in class only for things directly related to the class.

Make-Up Policy

In the rare event that a student will need to miss an examination for a legitimate reason, the student will be allowed to make up the exam.

Disabilities

The university’s policy on disabilities can be found on page 13 of the 2007-2009 catalog.

Spring Break:

Friday, March 14 is a regular class day. Students should not make travel plans for Spring Break until after their regularly scheduled classes have ended.

The Final Examination:

The final examination is comprehensive. Students must sit for the final exam at the specified time. Obvious exceptions are death or serious illness of a member of the student’s immediate family, or illness of the student as certified by the university nurse or other responsible person.

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