A republic in the ranks : loyalty and dissent in the Army of the Potomac / Zachery A. Fry.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fry, Zachery A., author.

Series:

Civil War America.

North Carolina scholarship online.

Civil War America

North Carolina scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Soldiers--Political activity--United States.

Soldiers.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Regimental histories.

United States.

United States. Army of the Potomac.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, 2021.

Summary:

The Union Army of the Potomac was a hotbed of political activity during the Civil War. It proved a source of constant frustration for Abraham Lincoln, and its commander, George B. McClellan, even secured the Democratic nomination for president in 1864. This book uses untapped sources to recast our understanding of soldier ideology and presents the most comprehensive view yet of the army's political story. It recounts the struggle between Republicans and Democrats for political allegiance among the army's rank and file, in the process showing that the army's captains, majors, and colonels spurred a pro-Republican political awakening among the enlisted men that burst onto the public stage through newspaper editorials, unit resolutions, and letters to home front politicians.

Contents:

The hope of the nation

A devotion almost idolatry

We can no longer keep silent

Erase every devil of them

Copperheads and half-loyal regular officers

What the sentiment of the army really is

Epilogue

Appendix A. Bibliography of 1863 unit political resolutions

Appendix B. 1864 reenlistment analysis methodology

Appendix C. Participation by regiment in the Philadelphia Free Military School

Appendix D. Unit voting returns for 1863 elections

Appendix E. Unit voting returns for 1864 Pennsylvania congressional elections

Appendix F. Unit voting returns for 1864 presidential election.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Previously issued in print: 2020.

ISBN:

979-88-908569-9-9

1-4696-5447-4

OCLC:

1141734313