Home
Marching for Union: A Civil War Soldier's Walk across the Reconstruction South
Barnes and Noble
Marching for Union: A Civil War Soldier's Walk across the Reconstruction South
Current price: $29.95
Barnes and Noble
Marching for Union: A Civil War Soldier's Walk across the Reconstruction South
Current price: $29.95
Size: Hardcover
Loading Inventory...
*Product information may vary - to confirm product availability, pricing, shipping and return information please contact Barnes and Noble
Starting from Vicksburg, Bates walked 1,400 miles through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, through places where Federal soldiers shattered Confederate arms and Sherman’s men razed the land. He was never harmed—and almost always greeted with hospitality, generosity, and celebration. En route, Bates planned to sell photos of himself with the Stars and Stripes to raise money for widows and orphans and eventually called off the bet, which he would’ve lost on a technicality: even though he successfully traveled the South unharmed and reached Washington, DC, in the agreed-upon timeframe, he was not allowed to raise his flag above the U.S. Capitol and had to settle for the unfinished Washington Monument.
This is a deeply researched book that taps into big- and small-town newspaper coverage that described Bates’s journey across the American South and his reception. It recounts the courage of a former soldier who believed strongly in the bonds of Union and Lincoln’s “mystic chords of memory” and underscores the missed opportunities for a more perfect union.