Thanks to Dr. Lesley Gordon for taking the time to talk with me about her fabulous new book, Dread Danger: Cowardice and Combat in the American Civil War. She teaches history at the University of Alabama and is currently a visiting professor at West Point.
Dread Danger is the first book-length study to explore how performance on the battlefield and accusations of cowardice shaped the performance and reputations of Civil War regiments.
Lesley takes a comparative approach in this book by examining the 11th New York Regiment, more commonly known as “The Fire Zouaves” and the 2nd Texas Regiment. This comparative approach yields some very important insights and serves as a reminder that the combat readiness and level of morale of these regiments was shaped as much by their performance on the battlefield as it was by outside influences from newspapers to the home front.
I am pleased to see that Dread Danger is a finalist for the prestigious Lincoln Prize, which speaks to the book’s importance to the field. Much of our popular perception of Civil War soldiers is still influenced by a ‘reconciliationist’ narrative that assumes that the men on both sides were equally brave in fighting for their respective cause. Whether its the men of the 54th Massachusetts running toward their destiny at Fort Wagner in Glory or George Pickett’s Virginians marching in close formation toward Cemetery Ridge in Gettysburg, we still think of these men as largely brave and fearless.
Lesley’s book reminds us that Civil War soldiers often failed to live up to their own expectations and that of their families and community. The goal of fully understanding the experiences of these men over the course of the Civil War demands that we remember this as well.
Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this fascinating study.
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