Bibliograph

A worse place than hell, how the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg changed a nation, John Matteson

Type

Label

A worse place than hell, how the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg changed a nation, John Matteson

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

resource.biographical

contains biographical information

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

A worse place than hell

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1156994284

Responsibility statement

John Matteson

Sub title

how the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg changed a nation

Summary

"Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Matteson illuminates three harrowing months of the Civil War and their ineradicable legacy for America. In December 1862, the Battle of Fredericksburg shattered Union forces and threatened to break apart Abraham Lincoln's government. Five extraordinary individuals experienced Fredericksburg's cataclysmic repercussions - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Walt Whitman, Louisa May Alcott, John Pelham, and Arthur Fuller. Guided by duty, driven by desire, they moved toward lofty destinies: a young Harvard intellectual steeped in courageous ideals, a gay Brooklyn poet condemned by guardians of propriety, a struggling writer desperate to serve the cause and gain her philosopher father's admiration, a West Point cadet from Alabama excelling in artillery tactics, and a one-eyed minister seeking to prove his manhood. Because of what they saw and suffered, America, too, would never be the same. In A Worse Place Than Hell, John Matteson creates a gripping tale of the Civil War and profound cultural transformation. He etches an exquisite portrait, revealing through these lives how America was redefined by its most tragic conflict"--, Provided by publisher

Table Of Contents

The poet's son -- The blond artillerist -- Burnside's bridge and a Broadway bar -- An army in crisis -- A man of God -- "The most beautiful girl runner" -- "Beauty" and "Sallie" -- "Believe me, we shall never lick 'em" -- Caroline Street -- Pelham does first rate -- The stone wall -- Southbound trains -- "A worse place than hell" -- The prince of patients -- "Death itself has lost all its terrors" -- "Our fearful journey home" -- The song of the hermit thrush -- St. Patrick's Day, 1863 -- "The duty of fighting has ceased for me" -- "To act with enthusiasm and faith."

Classification