Drew Faust Summary

In Drew Faust book, This republic of suffering, Faust attempted to depict the social impact the Civil War had on the American people. In decribing individual stories, and going beyond the tactial information about the battles fought, this retelling of the Civil war pays homage to the individual lives that sacraficed and persevered during one of the most trying times in the nation. The act of dying is described in nine different acts, dying and killing,burying, naming, realizing, believeing and doubting, and accounting. Amongst the many differences between Union and Confederate soilders, the unifying sting of death united them, as well as the mothers, widows and orphans that the deceased left behind. The combined stress of fatalities, the economic

In total, over 600,000 soldiers lost their lives in battle and to disease. While many soldiers anticipated the honorable death of dying on the field, there were twice as many soldiers that died from disease in the camp as that that died in battle. During the 19th century, medicine was relatively primative, and the lack of the germ theory or knowledge of antiseptic resulted in rapid disease spreading. Lack of general resources such as adequate clothes, nutrition, clean water, and santitary stations also contributed to the spread of common diseases like measles, typhoid fever, and malaria. Most commonly, soldiers suffered from diarheia and disentary, which combined with lack of clean water resulted in many cruel deaths. Outside of the disease, the battle field offered for a truamatic stage for the actors of death. Many of the soldiers in the war were very young and "in the morning of life"; as a result, many of them had never been without the care of loved ones. In order to prepare themselves for the hardships of war, soldiers leaned to cultural values that asserted the values of masculinity, patiotism, and religion. In accepting these values, soldiers attempted to welcome the possibility of dying, and look forward to the glory that would be reaped in the afterlife. From religious values, the concept of the "Good death" in which a person died for "morally sound" reason, helped to galvinized young soldiers to look forward

In fact, there were more execution of soldiers for crimes like desertion, unmerited murder and rape during the Civil War than in any other war. In forcing soldiers to gather around and watch their former comrade be killed, it re-established the emphasis on the "Good Death" theory, in which it was better to die an honorable death "for God and Country", than it was to attempt to escape.It also served as a warning for anyone who wanted to determine their fate off of the battle field. For many African Americans in the war, the act of killing was directly connected to their quest for collective and individual freedom. For many African Americans who did not participate in the war saw the mass casualties of white men as an just act of God. "Until every drop of blood that has been drawn by the lash is repayed with blood drawn by the