The U.S. Civil War in the Eyes of German Immigrants

FAIN: RZ-20790-01

Texas A & M Research Foundation (College Station, TX 77843-0001)
Walter D. Kamphoefner (Project Director: September 2000 to April 2005)

To support the translation and annotation of an anthology of German-American Civil War letters from both Union and Confederate soldiers and civilians.

This is a translation of an annotated, book-length anthology (750 ms. pp.) of German-American Civil War letters, encompassing soldiers and civilians, men and women, North and South. It represents the full spectrum of German-Americans' opinion on the war, slavery, and race, illustrating not just how, but why they fought. It shows how the Civil War experience contributed to German-Americans' self-understanding, public image, and acculturation, and how opinions on American issues were related to immigrants; democratic aspirations for Germany and Europe.