A brief snapshot of a rural community caught up in the drama of a big war this volume shows us the human side of the conflict Along the way we meet several individuals from Spartanburg who had an enormous local effect on the war effort This book was an easy quick read that kept my attention and even though the author took forty years to compile the manuscript it was still a timely and pertinent effort Very good Living a Big War in a Small Place Spartanburg South Carolina During the Confederacy
A history of life in one South Carolina city during the American Civil War featuring personal stories from those who were there. Most of what we know about how the Civil War affected life in the Confederacy is related to cities troop movements battles and prominent political economic or military leaders Far less is known about the people who lived in small Southern towns remote from marching armies or battles Philip N Racine explores life in one such place Spartanburg South Carolina in an effort to reshape the contours of that great conflict. By 1864 life in most of the Confederacy but especially in rural towns was characterized by scarcity high prices uncertainty fear and bad tempered neighbors Shortages of food were common People lived with constant anxiety that a soldiering father or son would be killed or wounded Taxes were high inflation was rampant good news was scarce and seemed to always be followed by bad The slave population was growing restive as their masters bad news was their good news Army deserters were threatening lawlessness accusations and vindictiveness colored the atmosphere and added to the anxiety fear and feeling of helplessness Often people blamed their troubles on the Confederate government in faraway Richmond Virginia. Racine provides insight into these events through personal the plight of a slave the struggles of a war widow managing her husband s farm ten slaves and seven children and the trauma of a lowcountry refugee s having to forfeit a wealthy aristocratic way of life and being thrust into relative poverty and an alien social world All were part of the complexity of wartime Spartanburg District. A well written account that not only captures the plight of both the black and white population but also offers some amazing cameos especially the life of Emily Lyle Harris who struggled to keep her large family in tact while her husband went off to war This is a lively read and a perfect book to assign for classes covering the Carolina Upstate during the American Civil War Edmund L Drago professor of history The College of Charleston and author of Confederate Rebel Children and Their Families in South Carolina Living a Big War offers a fascinating unflinching look at the toll the Civil War took on Spartanburg clearly showing divisions that emerged and deftly employing stories of slaves women and other individuals to reveal the experiences of people on the home front Gaines M Foster dean College of Humanities and Social Sciences Louisiana State University and author of Ghosts of the Defeat the Lost Cause and the Emergence of the New South 1865 1913 Living a Big War in a Small Place Spartanburg South Carolina During the Confederacy.
