By Rhonda M. Kohl
Cavalry units from Midwestern states remain largely absent
from Civil War literature, and what little has been written largely overlooks
the individual men who served. The Fifth Illinois Cavalry has thus remained
obscure despite participating in some of the most important campaigns in
Arkansas and Mississippi. In this pioneering examination of that understudied
regiment, Rhonda M. Kohl offers the only modern, comprehensive analysis of a southern
Illinois regiment during the Civil War and combines well-documented military
history with a cultural analysis of the men who served in the Fifth Illinois.
The regiment’s history unfolds around major events in the
Western Theater from 1861 to September 1865, including campaigns at Helena,
Vicksburg, Jackson, and Meridian, as well as numerous little-known skirmishes.
Although they were led almost exclusively by Northern-born Republicans, the
majority of the soldiers in the Fifth Illinois remained Democrats. As Kohl
demonstrates, politics, economics, education, social values, and racism
separated the line officers from the common soldiers, and the internal friction
caused by these cultural disparities led to poor leadership, low morale,
disciplinary problems, and rampant alcoholism.
The narrative pulls the Fifth Illinois out of historical
oblivion, elucidating the highs and lows of the soldiers’ service as well as
their changing attitudes toward war goals, religion, liberty, commanding
generals, Copperheads, and alcoholism. By reconstructing the cultural context
of Fifth Illinois soldiers, Prairie Boys Go to War reveals how social
and economic traditions can shape the wartime experience.
About the Author
Rhonda M. Kohl is a historian and writer in
Jeffersonville, Indiana. Her articles have appeared in the Journal of the
Illinois State Historical Society, Arkansas Historical Quarterly,
Civil War History, and Illinois Historical Journal.
ISBN 978-0809332038, Southern Illinois University Press, ©
2013, Hardcover, 328 pages, Photographs, Maps, End Notes, Bibliography & Index.
$39.95. To purchase a copy of this book click HERE.
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