The Gentlemen and the Roughs

Lorien Foote

ISBN 10: 1479897841 / ISBN 13: 9781479897841

Published by New York University Press, US, 2013

About this Item

Finalist for the 2011 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize "A seminal work. . . . One of the best examples of new, sophisticated scholarship on the social history of Civil War soldiers." -The Journal of Southern History "Will undoubtedly, and properly, be read as the latest word on the role of manhood in the internal dynamics of the Union army." -Journal of the Civil War Era During the Civil War, the Union army appeared cohesive enough to withstand four years of grueling war against the Confederates and to claim victory in 1865. But fractiousness bubbled below the surface of the North's presumably united front. Internal fissures were rife within the Union army: class divisions, regional antagonisms, ideological differences, and conflicting personalities all distracted the army from quelling the Southern rebellion. In this highly original contribution to Civil War and gender history, Lorien Foote reveals that these internal battles were fought against the backdrop of manhood. Clashing ideals of manliness produced myriad conflicts, as when educated, refined, and wealthy officers ("gentlemen") found themselves commanding a hard-drinking group of fighters ("roughs")-a dynamic that often resulted in violence and even death. Based on extensive research into heretofore ignored primary sources, The Gentlemen and the Roughs uncovers holes in our understanding of the men who fought the Civil War and the society that produced them.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781479897841

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Gentlemen and the Roughs
• Publisher: New York University Press, US
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1479897841
• ISBN 13: 9781479897841
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 340 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Finalist for the 2011 Gilder
Lehrman Lincoln Prize




"A seminal work. . . . One of
the best examples of new, sophisticated scholarship on the social history of
Civil War soldiers."

—The Journal of Southern History



“Will undoubtedly, and properly, be
read as the latest word on the role of manhood in the internal dynamics of the
Union army."

—Journal of the Civil War Era


During the Civil War, the Union
army appeared cohesive enough to withstand four years of grueling war against
the Confederates and to claim victory in 1865. But fractiousness bubbled below
the surface of the North’s presumably united front. Internal fissures were rife
within the Union army: class divisions, regional antagonisms, ideological
differences, and conflicting personalities all distracted the army from
quelling the Southern rebellion.


In this highly original
contribution to Civil War and gender history, Lorien Foote reveals that these internal
battles were fought against the backdrop of manhood. Clashing ideals of
manliness produced myriad conflicts, as when educated, refined, and wealthy
officers (“gentlemen”) found themselves commanding a hard-drinking group of
fighters (“roughs”)—a dynamic that often resulted in violence and even death. Based
on extensive research into heretofore ignored primary sources, The Gentlemen and the Roughs uncovers
holes in our understanding of the men who fought the Civil War and the society
that produced them.

About the Author

Lorien Foote is Professor of History at Texas A&M and the author of Seeking the One Great Remedy: Francis George Shaw and Nineteenth-Century Reform.