New Release: The Homefront in Civil War Missouri

Today's mail brought a copy of The Homefront in Civil War Missouri written by James W. Erwin. James W. Erwin is a Missouri native. He graduated from Missouri State University with a BA in mathematics. After service in the United States Army, he obtained an MA in history from the University of Missouri and a JD from the University of Missouri Law School. He practiced law in St. Louis for more than thirty-seven years.


From the publisher:  Over one thousand Civil War engagements were fought in Missouri, and the conflict could not be quarantined from civilian life. In the countryside, the wives and mothers of absent soldiers had to cope with marauders from both sides. Children saw their fathers and brothers beaten, hanged or shot. In the cities, a cheer for Jeff Davis could land a young boy in jail, and a letter to a sweetheart in the Confederate army could get a girl banished from the state. Women volunteered to care for the flood of wounded and sick soldiers. Slavery crumbled and created new opportunities for black men to serve in the Union army but left their families vulnerable to retaliation at home. The turbulence and bitterness of guerrilla war was everywhere.


The book is 124 pages with bibliography and index. There are no notes and during a quick look through I did not notice any maps. As with all History Press titles there are plenty of illustrations. This looks like it will be an interesting look at what it was like to live in a state with divided loyalties.