By Paul Carrier
It’s been two years or so since A History of the World in 100 Objects hit the shelves. Neil MacGregor’s book was a companion to a 100-part radio series produced by BBC Radio 4 and the British Museum.
Now comes The Civil War in 50 Objects, by noted historian Harold Holzer. This book’s scope is more limited. And there’s no radio tie-in. But that’s fine. Holzer’s captivating account of the Civil War, which features short essays on more than four dozen paintings, weapons, documents and other period artifacts belonging to the New-York Historical Society, is a fascinating excursion that holds its own quite well.
The relics that provide the framework for Holzer’s book range from the little-known, such as a prewar daguerreotype of a slave named Caesar, to the celebrated, such as Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s handwritten terms of surrender, addressed to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Some of the items are directly related to the conduct of the war; others are not. Some are military in nature; others, domestic or artistic. Holzer briefly examines each artifact and uses it as a springboard to explore larger, related aspects of the war.
“Not all the treasures presented on these pages constitute material that historians ordinarily call ‘important,’” Holzer says in the preface. The society’s “most extraordinary Civil War items” are on display here, such as an original model of the famed ironclad, USS Monitor. But the book also contains what Holzer calls “personal and unusual relics,” such as a newspaper created by Confederate prisoners of war.
Although the 50 topics appear roughly in chronological order, the book can be read by dipping into it at any point, depending on the reader’s interests. Despite its focus on material culture, The Civil War in 50 Objects is no museum catalog. While each object gets its due, Holzer is more interested in using the artifacts to tell a larger story than in detailing each item’s provenance and related minutia.
Thus, a chapter about the pikes that abolitionist John Brown obtained for his men when they attacked Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, reviews Brown's background and recounts the raid itself. And an 1861 painting of an African-American man reading a newspaper introduces a look at “colonization” - the 19th-century notion that slaves, once freed, should be relocated to Africa or somewhere else outside the United States.
Holzer covers a lot of familiar territory here, which may bore knowledgeable readers. But he also uncovers some wonderful nuggets that will surprise all but the most well-schooled Civil War buffs. He notes, for example, that when Kansas joined the Union on Jan. 29, 1861, after seven states had seceded, Northern flag makers added a star to the American flag while refusing to delete any stars for the missing Confederate states.
And when a sculptor convinced Lincoln to remove his shirt and undershirt for a sitting, the president was so embarrassed that he later fled the studio without realizing that he had failed to pull up the top half of his union suit. Once Lincoln was on the street, Holzer tells us, “a passerby pointed out that he was trailing (the union suit’s) two dangling sleeves behind him.”
The Civil War in 50 Objects isn’t a comprehensive history of the conflict by any means, but it doesn’t purport to be. This is not the place to turn if you want a blow-by-blow description of each battle and every major development. But it does offer an insightful glimpse of the war by shining a light on some of its many facets - major, minor and just plain offbeat.
Holzer’s writing is precise and, at times, riveting, as when he describes the New York draft riots of 1863 and the destruction that year of the city’s Colored Orphans Asylum by a racist mob. Some of the 50 relics are more interesting than others; if you’ve seen one Civil War snare drum, you’ve seen them all. But Holzer’s essays are consistently erudite.
As a historian, Holzer certainly is well-qualified to tackle the Civil War. Since 1984, he was written, co-authored or edited more than 40 books on Lincoln and the war. He also served as a consultant to the recent Steven Spielberg film Lincoln.
Now comes The Civil War in 50 Objects, by noted historian Harold Holzer. This book’s scope is more limited. And there’s no radio tie-in. But that’s fine. Holzer’s captivating account of the Civil War, which features short essays on more than four dozen paintings, weapons, documents and other period artifacts belonging to the New-York Historical Society, is a fascinating excursion that holds its own quite well.
The relics that provide the framework for Holzer’s book range from the little-known, such as a prewar daguerreotype of a slave named Caesar, to the celebrated, such as Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s handwritten terms of surrender, addressed to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Some of the items are directly related to the conduct of the war; others are not. Some are military in nature; others, domestic or artistic. Holzer briefly examines each artifact and uses it as a springboard to explore larger, related aspects of the war.
“Not all the treasures presented on these pages constitute material that historians ordinarily call ‘important,’” Holzer says in the preface. The society’s “most extraordinary Civil War items” are on display here, such as an original model of the famed ironclad, USS Monitor. But the book also contains what Holzer calls “personal and unusual relics,” such as a newspaper created by Confederate prisoners of war.
Although the 50 topics appear roughly in chronological order, the book can be read by dipping into it at any point, depending on the reader’s interests. Despite its focus on material culture, The Civil War in 50 Objects is no museum catalog. While each object gets its due, Holzer is more interested in using the artifacts to tell a larger story than in detailing each item’s provenance and related minutia.
Thus, a chapter about the pikes that abolitionist John Brown obtained for his men when they attacked Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, reviews Brown's background and recounts the raid itself. And an 1861 painting of an African-American man reading a newspaper introduces a look at “colonization” - the 19th-century notion that slaves, once freed, should be relocated to Africa or somewhere else outside the United States.
Holzer covers a lot of familiar territory here, which may bore knowledgeable readers. But he also uncovers some wonderful nuggets that will surprise all but the most well-schooled Civil War buffs. He notes, for example, that when Kansas joined the Union on Jan. 29, 1861, after seven states had seceded, Northern flag makers added a star to the American flag while refusing to delete any stars for the missing Confederate states.
And when a sculptor convinced Lincoln to remove his shirt and undershirt for a sitting, the president was so embarrassed that he later fled the studio without realizing that he had failed to pull up the top half of his union suit. Once Lincoln was on the street, Holzer tells us, “a passerby pointed out that he was trailing (the union suit’s) two dangling sleeves behind him.”
The Civil War in 50 Objects isn’t a comprehensive history of the conflict by any means, but it doesn’t purport to be. This is not the place to turn if you want a blow-by-blow description of each battle and every major development. But it does offer an insightful glimpse of the war by shining a light on some of its many facets - major, minor and just plain offbeat.
Holzer’s writing is precise and, at times, riveting, as when he describes the New York draft riots of 1863 and the destruction that year of the city’s Colored Orphans Asylum by a racist mob. Some of the 50 relics are more interesting than others; if you’ve seen one Civil War snare drum, you’ve seen them all. But Holzer’s essays are consistently erudite.
As a historian, Holzer certainly is well-qualified to tackle the Civil War. Since 1984, he was written, co-authored or edited more than 40 books on Lincoln and the war. He also served as a consultant to the recent Steven Spielberg film Lincoln.
