It was inevitable that the subject of environmental issues associated with the Civil War would emerge in the literature. Late 2010 saw Kelby Ouchley's
Flora and Fauna of the Civil War: An Environmental Reference Guide
(LSU), which I unfortunately never had the opportunity to read. This spring, University of Georgia Press will publish a pair of studies, Lisa Brady's
War upon the Land: Military Strategy and the Transformation of Southern Landscapes during the American Civil War
(April) and
Ruin Nation: Destruction and the American Civil War
by Megan Kate Nelson (May).
Kelby Ouchley's "Flora and Fauna of the Civil War: An Environmental Reference Guide" is extremely interesting and not nearly as dry as I was afraid it would be from the title.
ReplyDeleteThe social history of the Civil War is covered here in a unique fashion thru quotes from letters and diaries showing how plants and animals were used by both sides.
This would be a great resource for fiction writers wanting detail to flesh out their story lines (that's why I purchased it, and I have not been disappointed).