War Matters

Material objects lie at the crux of understanding individual and social relationships in history and the Civil War era is no exception. Before during and after the war Americans from all walks of life created used revered exploited discarded mocked and destroyed objects for countless reasons. These objects had symbolic significance for millions of people. The essays in this volume consider a wide range of material objects including weapons Revolutionary artifacts landscapes books vaccine matter human bodies houses clothing and documents. Together the contributors argue that an examination of the meaning of material objects can shed new light on the social economic and cultural history of the conflict. This book will fundamentally reshape our understanding of the war.<br/><br/>In addition to the editor contributors include Lisa M. Brady Peter S. Carmichael Earl J. Hess Robert D. Hicks Victoria E. Ott Jason Phillips Timothy Silver Yael A. Sternhell Sarah Jones Weicksel Mary Saracino Zboray and Ronald J. Zboray.