A South Divided: Portraits of Dissent in the Confederacy
by David C. Downing
Review by Thomas F. (hardtack)
This volume is actually a very good introduction to the many reasons why the Southern Confederacy really did not have a chance to succeed. And the sub-title, Portraits of Dissent, is especially fitting, in that numerous individuals, groups and events are described in just enough detail to satisfy your curiosity, but also hopefully whet your interest for further detail.
Probably all of the different chapters and sections in this book are covered in much greater detail in other books. There are entire books written on Confederate deserters, Elizabeth Van Lew and other active southern Unionists, North Carolina holdouts, escaped slaves enlisting in the Union Army, political unrest in the South, women’s riots and their ‘traitorous letters’ to the soldiers, and more. As an avid reader of Civil War history, I have read many of these books as I try to obtain a greater understanding of the political and social side of the War. Based on my reading of those books, the author did an amazing job of covering most of the reasons why the Confederacy failed due to dissent within. He also covers the executions of those Southerners who were caught in active conspiracies against the Confederacy, and even those just suspected of ‘treason’ or simply just trying to escape the Confederacy.
During the current 150th anniversary of the Civil War, it is fitting that Americans understand that the Confederacy was destroyed just as much from within as from its battles against Union Forces.
David Downing is a professor of English in Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania, and his background helped him write a very readable book in this area of Civil War history. So much so that A South Divided was nominated for the Lincoln Prize, which is sponsored by the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College.
