Why read Marching Masters?

Book cover of Marching Masters: Slavery, Race, and the Confederate Army During the Civil War

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The Confederate army went to war to defend a nation of slaveholding states, and although men rushed to recruiting stations for many reasons, they understood that the fundamental political issue at stake in the conflict was the future of slavery. Most Confederate soldiers were not slaveholders themselves, but they were…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Marching Masters as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Kevin M. Levin

Author

Most Confederate soldiers were not slaveholders, but as historian Colin Woodward argues, all of them were products of a slaveholding culture and, as a result, fought to maintain the rigid racial hierarchy that had come to define their respective communities. Appreciating the central place that the defense of slavery occupied for most Confederates helps us to better understand why the war lasted as long as it did. Some of the most interesting chapters in this book explore the roles played by thousands of body servants that accompanied officers from the slaveholding class. Enslaved men performed a wide range of jobs,…

From Kevin's list on The best books about slavery and the confederacy.