In March 2019, the University of North Carolina Press will release Civil War Places: Seeing the Conflict through the Eyes of Its Leading Historians. Edited by the Nau Center's founding director, Gary W. Gallagher, and historian J. Matthew Gallman, the book features leading historians writing about significant Civil War locations and the events that took place there. From the publisher's page:
"Much has been written about place and Civil War memory, but how do we personally remember and commemorate this part of our collective past? How do battlefields and other historic places help us understand our own history? What kinds of places are worth remembering and why? In this collection of essays, some of the most esteemed historians of the Civil War select a single meaningful place related to the war and narrate its significance. Included here are meditations on a wide assortment of places--Devil's Den at Gettysburg, Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, the statue of William T. Sherman in New York's Central Park, Burnside Bridge at Antietam, the McLean House in Appomattox, and more. Paired with a contemporary photograph commissioned specifically for this book, each essay offers an unusual and accessible glimpse into how historians think about their subjects."
The book features essays by many UVA or Nau Center historians, including Gary W. Gallagher, Elizabeth R. Varon, Stephen Cushman, and Caroline E. Janney. Please watch the book's official trailer below and visit UNC Press's website for more information. The book will be featured at this year's Virginia Festival of the Book. Please see our Events Page for full details.