Upon the Altar of the Nation
by Harry S. Stout
A moral history of the American Civil War
According to Stout, the type of literature that surrounds the Civil War contains either romanticized and glamorized military conquests, or political histories focused on slavery and emancipation. But was the war right? Was it moral? These questions often remain unasked because the drama of this war was too compelling or the evil of slavery was too great.
One item that Stout drew out was the unchanging military tactics with advanced weaponry. Prior to the Civil War, the large frontal assault was key to removing your opponent from the field, but by the Civil War, the weaponry had advanced so that such assaults led to piles and piles of dead bodies. Even though the death tolls were enormous, it still took some time for the West Point trained generals to change their battle strategies. Remember, over 620,000 men died in the Civil War.
Another point made by Stout is that the religious leaders of the time often reflected the feelings (and moral evaluation) of their people. Stout observes that “in 1865 no less than 1860, [Southerners] believed that abolitionism was the ultimate sin such that, ‘all who love the Lord Jesus Christ must and will oppose this monster heresy unto death.’” (409) Northern pulpits cheered Sherman’s savagery in Georgia and South Carolina and jeered at his gracious offered of peace to the surrendered armies of the South.
In a side note, Stout takes a brief look ahead to the Federal government’s dealings with the Native Americans (1868-1883). The US generals employed the same ‘total war’ tactics that were used in the Civil War – attacks upon personal property and upon non-combatants. Stout then closes the book with this consideration:
“Why is it important to finally write the moral history of the Civil War? It’s important because we are its legates, and if we question nothing from that costly conflict, then we need question nothing in conflicts of the present and future. Issues of discrimination and proportionality recur in every war. The Civil War does not provide an especially encouraging model in this regard, especially if the crimes go largely unnoticed beneath the natural urge to forget and move on. But as with the holocaust, if we forget, we do so at great peril to our own humanity.” (461)
For those interested in politics and following Christ, this book is a great read. It is thick, but Stout does a good job piecing this information together. While this is not a comprehensive overview of the Civil War, the battles, the politics, or the personalities, it does live up to the claim of being a moral history of this dark time.
