The Day of the Confederacy: A Chronicle of the Embattled SouthStephenson, Nathaniel W. (Nathaniel Wright)
History
The Day of the Confederacy: A Chronicle of the Embattled South
Stephenson, Nathaniel W. (Nathaniel Wright)
Confederate States of America -- History
There is no adequate history of the Confederacy. It is rumored that a
distinguished scholar has a great work approaching completion. It is
also rumored that another scholar, well equipped to do so, will soon
bring out a monumental life of Davis. But the fact remains that as yet
we lack a comprehensive review of the Confederate episode set in proper
perspective. Standard works such as the History of the United States
from the Compromise of 1850, by J. F. Rhodes (7 vols., 1893-1906), even
when otherwise as near a classic as is the work of Mr. Rhodes, treat the
Confederacy so externally as to have in this respect little value. The
one searching study of the subject, The Confederate States of America,
by J. C. Schwab (1901), though admirable in its way, is wholly
overshadowed by the point of view of the economist. The same is to be
said of the article by Professor Schwab in the 11th edition of The
Encyclopædia Britannica.
Two famous discussions of the episode by participants are: The Rise and
Fall of the Confederate Government, by the President of the Confederacy
(2 vols., 1881), and A Constitutional View of the Late War Between the
States, by Alexander H. Stephens (2 vols., 1870). Both works, though
invaluable to the student, are tinged with controversy, each of the
eminent authors aiming to refute the arguments of political antagonists.
The military history of the time has so overshadowed the civil, in the
minds of most students, that we are still sadly in need of careful,
disinterested studies of the great figures of Confederate civil affairs.
Jefferson Davis, by William E. Dodd (American Crisis Biographies, 1907),
is the standard life of the President, superseding older ones. Not so
satisfactory in the same series is Judah P. Benjamin, by Pierce Butler
(1907), and Alexander H. Stephens, by Louis Pendleton (1907). Older
works which are valuable for the material they contain are: Memoir of
Jefferson Davis, by his Wife (1890); The Life and Times of Alexander H.
Stephens, by R. M. Johnston and W. M. Browne (1878); The Life and Times
of William Lowndes Yancey, by J. W. Du Bose (1892); The Life, Times, and
Speeches of Joseph E. Brown, by Herbert Fielder (1883); Public Life and
Diplomatic Correspondence of James M. Mason, by his Daughter (1903); The
Life and Time of C. G. Memminger, by H. D. Capers (1893). The writings
of E. A. Pollard cannot be disregarded, but must be taken as the violent
expression of an extreme partizan. They include a Life of Jefferson
Davis (1869) and The Lost Cause (1867). A charming series of essays is
Confederate Portraits, by Gamaliel Bradford (1914). Among books on
special topics that are to be recommended are: The Diplomatic History of
the Southern Confederacy by J. M. Callahan (1901); France and the
Confederate Navy, by John Bigelow (1888); and The Secret Service of the
Confederate States in Europe, by J. D. Bulloch (2 vols., 1884). There is
a large number of contemporary accounts of life in the Confederacy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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