Confederates in the Attic

Rating:
Summary: Reflections on the "Red" States
Review: After completing James M. McPherson's _Battle Cry of Freedom_, I thought I'd seek out some reflections on what the Civil War/War Between the States means to Southerners today. Tony Horwitz's little gem fit the bill. Though the weft of the narrative comprises the author's adventures driving around the South, the warp is his humorous encounters with the hardcore reenactors--not the sort that participate in mock battles at the national historical sites (the "farbs" as the hardcore call them), but the kind of people that deliberately spill rancid grease on their clothes for the sheer authenticity (and fun) of it. Then again, the warp might be the Civil War panorama the author painted as a child in the attic of his house. This suggests, perhaps, that the book is a somewhat rambling travelogue, and to some extent it is: witness, for instance, the author tracking down the mythical Tara. But even in such digressions, there is poignancy.

Yes, the Civil War lives in the hearts of Southerners, yet it's not the facts that live so much as the mythology that's grown up around the War. The South laments the passing of a tradition, of a way of life, of a set of values. There's a pride among Southerners for their past as problematic as it is. For some that pride slips into a kind of creepy sentimentalism. For others there is, beyond admiration of forebears, a recognition of the destruction the War wrought and an acknowledgement of the injustices for which, ultimately, it was fought.

The book talks about the Southern white men with the Confederate flags on the back of their pickups, the same people that Howard Dean in recent times was criticized for having suggested he'd like to reach out to; that's a stereotype, his critics complained. The point is is that the South continues to appeal to some of the symbols and ideas of the War era, but its motivations are at times complex and contradictory and at other times painfully simple: like liking the way the flag looks on the truck, because it's cool.

In Horwitz's book you read about a different side of Shelby Foote, who became such a grandfatherly icon of the Civil War from his appearances in the Ken Burns documentary. You meet the reportedly oldest Confederate widow. You spend a restless night (illegally) camped out in the Sunken Road at Antietam. You join a small Southern town as it defends its problematic statue of a Yankee soldier, while his Confederate counterpart is said to stand watch in a town in Maine.

Horwitz also does a great job bringing in information about the War itself, shattering more myths and bringing life to old stories.

Perhaps, from our vantage point today, one might wonder about how much some of the perspectives shaped by the Civil War still have ramifications today in our political process. How much of this legacy has played a role in the nation's division into Red States and Blue States?

Rating:
Summary: It Didn't End With Appomattox
Review: Confederates in the Attic is simply outstanding. Entertaining and thought provoking, by turns disturbing and laugh out loud funny, it is by far the best book that I have read this year. Tony Horwitz has combined travel writing, a humorous look at an odd hobby, and an insightful examination of deep, sectional differences that still divide our nation nearly a century and a half after the end of our Civil War. Along the way, he shines light into some of the darker corners of our national psyche, and holds up a mirror for us all to examine ourselves and how we respond to these issues.
Civil War re-enactors served as Horwitz's launching point for this fine book. It was his encounter with a group of re-enactors that initially re-ignited his childhood fascination with the Civil War, and eventually led to this book. He joined a group of "hard-core" re-enactors, a fringe elite inside re-enactor circles that go to gargantuan lengths to achieve authenticity, and heap scorn on anyone who does not do the same. He marched with them in period costumes complete with authentic stench, ate their rancid food, and slept with them, huddled together in the bitter cold under the stars. He shows us their world, where achieving a connection with an imagined lost past, chasing after a transcendent state that some of them call ""wargasm", is more important, more real than anything else they do in their lives.
While with the re-enactors, Horwitz conceived the idea for this book. He writes, "the scheme I'd plotted while spooning in the night was to spend a year at war, searching out the places and people who kept memory of the conflict alive in the present day." As almost all of the war happened below the Mason and Dixon line, this meant spending a year travelling around the South. Throughout his travels, his discoveries ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime. He attended a celebration of Robert E. Lee's birthday, where throw -back believers still indoctrinate their children with an official Lost Cause catechism ("Q. What causes led to the War Between the States? A. The disregard of those in power for the rights of the Southern States. Q. What was the feeling of the slaves toward their masters? A. They were faithful and devoted and were always ready and willing to serve them."). He investigated conflicts, where Civil War symbols such as a Rebel mascot in a school or the Confederate battle flag were tearing communities apart, even when those involved had little or no knowledge of the actual history behind the symbols. (The battle flag incident actually prompted the murder of a young man.) And he visited a town in Georgia, where the streets are named after Civil War generals both North and South, and that was founded specifically in the hope of reconciliation and the healing of old wounds.
The greatest strength of Horwitz's book is the fascinating people that he introduces to us. No matter what their beliefs, he always manages to show us their humanity, and never reduces them to caricatures, no matter how fringe their ideas or practices may be. Because he refuses to patronize his subjects, his critique of them is all the more powerful.
With Confederates in the Attic, Tony Horwitz has written a first-rate book that is wonderfully entertaining and greatly informative. He raises questions about divisiveness in our nation that all of us should thoughtfully consider. It is a book that you will love to read, and hate to finish. It has my highest recommendation.


Rating:
Summary: Learn More About the Unfinished Civil War
Review: I have a good friend who grew up in Georgia and Alabama who listened to his relatives regale him about the Civil War ad nauseum. He learned thereby to have some disdain for history. Tony Horwitz, finding himself deep in the middle of Confederate Virginia, found himself in the embrace of the ongoing Civil War, the one that continues today and leads thousands of men to camp on hard, frozen ground to re-enact the important battles (and in many cases, the unimportant battles). There can be little doubt that the War of Northern Aggression continues, and that those who honor their heritage on both sides do so in earnest and with passion.

This book is a great window into an important part of the American landscape. I think it would appeal especially to the perplexed--those who know little of this history, or the current debates, for example, about the Confederate Battle Flag (it was square, not the rectangular Naval Jack so commonly seen and co-opted by racist groups).

There is great humor here, but one should not forget that many take this history and heritage very seriously. I recommend the book, particularly for the description of "the rush" (I will leave it to the interested reader to find out what this is). For that alone, I have high praise for Mr. Horwitz' insights.

If you want to REALLY experience the New South, read some of George Singleton's works.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and Disturbing, but a GREAT READ!
Review: This is an extremely entertaining book and very well written. The characters are real although sometimes you almost wonder and hope that they aren't. The Civil Wargasm with Robert Lee Hodge is, well, interesting. Each chapter tells the story of a different stop on Horwitz's journey across the south and there are colorful characters at each. It was very hard to put the book down at times and hard to keep reading it at others. I almost put it down for good with the chapter "Dying For Dixie" Sad! I'm glad that I kept with however. It was quite a ride, but well worth it!! Really a good read!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: My favorite history book
Review: Historically speaking, Horowitz's accounts of the southern ties to the Confederate States of America is accurate yet astonishing. Though a Civil War historian, I, similar to most Americans, believed the War of the Rebellion ended in 1865, but apparently it has not. The examples of Southern patriotism and its commitment to preserving its past is both admirable and scary.
Many ask why? Horowitz does it well revealing the different reasons for Southern remembrance. The simple fact that most of the War was fought in their backyards can, and does, justify their reasons.
What's more sickening, if I may say, is that Horowitz's book only covers a small percentage of the Southern patriotism. Even today, it is not uncommon to drive through a town in the South without seeing the "Rebel" flag or a Confederate banner. Southerners do have a hard time forgeting that War.