Through an examination of memoirs, personal papers, and postwar Confederate rituals, this book explores how white southerners interpreted the Civil War, accepted defeat, and readily embraced reunion and a New South. It reveals that while the Lost Cause was a central force in shaping late 19th-century southern culture, the legacy of defeat ultimately had little impact on southern behavior.

Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy is a history of the Confederate guerrillas who—under the ruthless command of such men as William C. Quantrill and “Bloody Bill” Anderson—plunged Missouri into a bloody, vicious conflict of an intensity unequaled in any other theater of the Civil War. Among their numbers were Frank and Jesse James and Cole and James Younger, who would later become infamous by extending the tactics they had learned during the war into civilian life.

After Lee and Grant met at Appomatox Court House in 1865 to sign the document ending the long and bloody Civil War, the South at last had to face defeat as the dream of a Confederate nation melted into the Lost Cause. Through an examination of memoirs, personal papers, and postwar Confederate rituals such as memorial day observances, monument unveilings, and veterans' reunions, Ghosts of the Confederacy probes into how white southerners adjusted to and interpreted their defeat and explores the cultural implications of a central event in American history. Foster argues that, contrary to southern folklore, southerners actually accepted their loss, rapidly embraced both reunion and a New South, and helped to foster sectional reconciliation and an emerging social order. He traces southerners' fascination with the Lost Cause--showing that it was rooted as much in social tensions resulting from rapid change as it was in the legacy of defeat--and demonstrates that the public celebration of the war helped to make the South a deferential and conservative society. Although the ghosts of the Confederacy still haunted the New South, Foster concludes that they did little to shape behavior in it--white southerners, in celebrating the war, ultimately trivialized its memory, reduced its cultural power, and failed to derive any special wisdom from defeat.

A history of the Confederate guerrillas who -- under the ruthless command of such men as William C. Quantrill and "Bloody Bill" Anderson -- plunged Missouri into a bloody, vicious conflict of an intensity unequaled in any other theater of the Civil War. Among their numbers were Frank and Jesse James and Cole and James Younger, who would later become infamous by extending the tactic they had learned during the war into civilian life.

In this collection of 13 stories combining solid history with spooky ghost lore, children are introduced to the ghostly visions of famous people who fought in Civil War battles. Includes 8-page photo insert and information about visiting the historic sites.

Join author Troy Taylor as he takes you on a spell-binding journey through the historic events of the Civil War! This is a fascinating guide to both the strange history and ghostly locations of the war, including tales that are told here for the first time.