Germantown During the Civil War Era : A Reversal of Fortune / George C. Browder.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Browder, George C., 1939- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)--Tennessee--Germantown.

Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877).

Germantown (Tenn.)--History--19th century.

Germantown (Tenn.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (597 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Knoxville : The University of Tennessee Press, [2024]

Summary:

Germantown during the Civil War Era recounts the rise and fall of a nineteenth-century Tennessee town, a community that was not a typical antebellum town in the cotton belt. It's a case study in how social, economic, and political changes affected them, Black and White.Before the Civil War, Germantown had become a thriving cultural, commercial, and political center. Its elite and middle-class White families had full access to the cultural and social life of Memphis, as well as local private academies and collegiate institutions that hosted enriching events. Its appealing inns, taverns, and mineral springs allowed for festive social mixing of all classes. As an emerging industrial and commercial center of a rich cotton-growing district in the 1850s, Germantown's decline after the war would have been unimaginable before the war. Thus, this monograph paints a picture of a vibrant community whose brilliancy was extinguished and almost entirely forgotten.Yet, Germantown's economic and political decline, caused by a number of factors, is not the most interesting part of its story. Meticulously documented and richly illustrated with maps and data, this book reveals the impacts of surviving a theater of guerrilla war, of emancipation, of social and political Reconstruction, and a disastrous Yellow Fever epidemic on all of Germantown's people-psychologically, socially, and culturally. The damage struck far deeper than economic destruction and loss of life. A peaceful and harmonious society crumbled. Germantown during the Civil War Era is sure to be of interest not just to Shelby County residents, or students of the Civil War, but also to anyone interested in the racial and social history of the Volunteer state.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

Part 1: Antebellum Germantown

1. The White Folks and Their Lives

2. Hierarchy and Harmony?

3. A Transportation and Economic Center

4. Growing Political Tensions

Part Summary

Part 2: The War Years

5. 1861: Germantown Goes to War

6. 1862: The War Comes to Germantown

7. 1863: Germantown Occupied

8. 1864: Germantown Returns to Anarchy

9. 1865: Winding Down the War

Part 3: The Aftermath

10. Reconstruction

11. Social and Economic Recovery

12. The Troubled Rebirth of a Community

Conclusion

Postscript

Appendix 1 Defining Germantown and Its People

Appendix 2 Identifying Men Who Served in the War

Appendix 3 Assessing Population, Wealth, and Property

Notes

Bibliography

Names Index

Subject Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Browder, George C. Germantown During the Civil War Era

ISBN:

9781621908159

OCLC:

1416961873