Champions of the Union: Lincoln’s Southern Commanders and the American Civil War Era

FAIN: FT-291102-23

Barton Alan Myers
Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA 24450-2116)

Research and writing leading to a book on southern-born military officers who fought to preserve the Union during the Civil War. 

In his spirited first inaugural address, President Abraham Lincoln implored listeners to remember that the vital purpose of adopting the United States Constitution was “to form a more perfect Union.” For more than one-hundred and fifty years, Americans have often seen the Civil War era portrayed through neat dichotomies and simplistic identities: blue vs. gray, North vs. South, slavery vs. freedom, and treason vs. loyalty. This project challenges those neat categorizations by examining a diverse collection of Civil War participants who provide new insight into the meaning and definition of “Union” in practice. This book project takes as its central focus the political loyalty and the wartime contributions of Abraham Lincoln’s southern-born generals and admirals. This diverse group of more than one-hundred officers strove to protect and defend Lincoln’s vision of a “more perfect Union,” but it has never been systematically examined.

Media Coverage

A Pair of W&L Professors Awarded Grants by the National Endowment for the Humanities (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Brian Laubscher
Publication: The Columns, Washington and Lee University
Date: 5/2/2023
URL: https://columns.wlu.edu/a-pair-of-wl-professors-awarded-grants-by-the-national-endowment-for-the-humanities/