Seeing the Elephant: Raw Recruits at the Battle of Shiloh
Editorial Reviews
Choice
"Frank and Reaves join a number of recent scholars who have used firsthand accounts to investigate the expectations and experiences of Civil War soldiers. Unlike other authors, Frank and Reaves concentrate on one general subject, the raw troops at Shiloh. They consulted a wide variety of primary sources to compile data and to analyze their findings by using the techniques of military sociology. The authors examine various reasons why these men enlisted, the realities they found in military life, and their first taste of battle. They compare the recruits' expectations prior to and after combat, and conclude with a discussion of factors that influenced the men's subsequent fighting spirit. Although the authors' conclusions are not as original as they claim, their methodology does contribute to a fuller understanding of the larger experience of war and its relationship to the daily existence of ordinary soldiers. Recommended for libraries that specialize in military and Civil War History."
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Book Description
One of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War, the two-day engagement near Shiloh, Tennessee, in April 1862 left more than 23,000 casualties. Fighting alongside seasoned veterans were more than 160 newly recruited regiments and other soldiers who had yet to encounter serious action. In the phrase of the time, these men came to Shiloh to "see the elephant."
Drawing on the letters, diaries, and other reminiscences of these raw recruits on both sides of the conflict, "Seeing the Elephant" gives a vivid and valuable primary account of the terrible struggle.
From the wide range of voices included in this volume emerges a nuanced picture of the psychology and motivations of the novice soldiers and the ways in which their attitudes toward the war were affected by their experiences at Shiloh.
Seeing the Elephant: Raw Recruits at the Battle of Shiloh
Seeing the Elephant: Raw Recruits at the Battle of Shiloh,Joseph Allan Frank,George A. Reaves,University of Illinois Press,0252071263,Civil War, 1861-1865,Combat,History,History - U.S.,History: American,Military - Other,Military History - U.S. Civil War,Psychological aspects,Shiloh, Battle of, Tenn., 1862,United States,United States - Civil War,American history,USA
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