A Civil War Treasury of Tales, Legends and Folklore

Book cover of A Civil War Treasury of Tales, Legends and Folklore

Book description

B. A. Botkin was one of the greatest American folklorists. With his students he crisscrossed the country to record the stories we tell one another. From the most enduring of American events, the Civil War, come tales of bravery, cunning, pathos, humor, and faith. True or fanciful, these accounts endure…

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Why read it?

1 author picked A Civil War Treasury of Tales, Legends and Folklore as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

M. Carolyn Steele

Author

This tome (625 pages, including notes and index) is the perfect read to settle you in the Civil War era. It comprises true-life stories (usually a page long) garnered from many sources. One becomes immersed in the times, phraseology, morals, superstitions, and humor.

The stories cover the range of bravery and cowardice (preachers that turn tail at the sound of gunfire), of soldiers that stitch up their own wounds, and terrible privations, which made me glad I live in the twenty-first century.

Fortunately, there is enough humor to lighten the heart. For instance, my favorite story is about two veterans…

From M.'s list on civil war ordinary people blood guts.