Ghosts of Dixie: A Colored Narrative

Logan Hykes
HIS 422
Dr. Eric Miller

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 In December of 1860, after hearing of the election of Abraham Lincoln to the

Presidency, South Carolina held a convention. The reason, to discuss seceding from the Union

and forming a new country. The vote came and was passed. Other states joined South Carolina

in seceding from the Union. This new nation took inspiration from the United States’ original

governing document. The Articles of Confederacy and structured their government after it. It

called itself, The Confederate States of America. This rogue ‘nation’ lasted only four years and

was eventually reunited with the United States. History has looked at this rouge ‘nation’ in

multiple lights, some flattering, others anything but. The story of the Confederacy has been

written many ways over the past One-hundred and fifty-five years since it fell. The thesis of this

paper is that the historiography of the Confederate States of America originates from a

modernist narrative with regional variation and later splinters into multiple schools of thought

and styles of history. The historiography of the Confederacy also follows the secularization of

the Academy until the rise of a Christian Response to this secularization.

Regional Progressive Modernism Triumphant

The History of the Civil War in America Vol. I and II 1863

The History of the Civil War in America was written by John S. C. Abbott. It documents

the beginning of the American Civil War from someone who was experiencing it as it was

happening, which makes this book a rare contemporary history of the Civil War. At the

beginning of the book, Abbott says that, “[since] the commencement of our Government there

have been two antagonistic principles contending for the mastery [of our nation], Slavery and

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Freedom.”1 This sets this book in the framework of the abolitionist movement of the era. Just

a few lines later, Abbott states his thesis that he will prove throughout the rest of the book,

“We have here, simply the repetition of that great conflict, which, for ages, has agitated our

globe—the conflict between aristocratic usurpation and popular rights.” 2 Abbot supports this

by using the battles/groups of battles from the war at points.

It is also laid out throughout the book that the confederacy is evil, and the US is on the

side of God, liberating the slaves.3 Abbott writes this book in such a way that seems to be

reminiscent of the style of history written by the first great historian of the United States,

George Bancroft.4 This history is written in this same modernist style that embodies that of

legend. Abbott discusses democracy and its merits over that of the Confederate government. 5

He even says, “Christianity is the cornerstone of true democracy.” 6

Going off this idea, the book seems to be situated in a Romantic literary style. 7 The book

begins with a struggle between good and evil, describes the struggle between the north and

south, and contains a plea for the war to hopefully end soon and for war to end for the entire
1
John S.C. Abbott, The History of the Civil War in America;: Comprising a Full and Impartial Account of the Origin
and Progress of the Rebellion, of the Various Naval and Military Engagements, of the Heroic Deeds Performed by
Armies and Individuals, and of Touching Scenes in the Field, the Camp, the Hospital, and the Cabin. Google Books1.
Vol. 1. Springfield, Mass.: Gurdon Bill., 1863. https://books.google.com/books?
id=VBTVAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. iii.
2
Ibid., iii.

3
Ibid.,. Appleby, Joyce, Lynn Hunt, and Margaret C. Jacob. Telling the Truth About History. New York, New
York: Norton, 1995.

4
Ibid., iii.
5
John S.C. Abbott, The History of the Civil War in America;: Comprising a Full and Impartial Account of the Origin
and Progress of the Rebellion, of the Various Naval and Military Engagements, of the Heroic Deeds Performed by
Armies and Individuals, and of Touching Scenes in the Field, the Camp, the Hospital, and the Cabin. Google Books1.
Vol. 1. Springfield, Mass.: Gurdon Bill., 1863. https://books.google.com/books?
id=VBTVAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. 16-18.
6
Ibid., 17.
7
Ibid., iii.

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world.8 He obtained his information from primary sources such as military reports, newspaper

articles etc.9 This book is key part of the foundation of American Civil War History.

The Lost Cause 1866

This book is one of the most important in the study of the Historiography of the

Confederacy. This book was the foundation for the Lost Cause narrative in historical

scholarship. Edward Pollard was not a historian, but his work has had an impact on

Confederate history in its entirety. Pollard gets right to the point and states that the reason he

is writing this book is to, “…place the history of the War above political misrepresentations, to

draw it from disguises and concealments, and to make it complete…”. 10 Pollard gives very

detailed accounts of the origin of the war, and the battles of the war in order to prove his

point .11 He also attacks the North to demonstrate that the current narrative or ‘Northern’

narrative was wrong, and that the point of view of the South was right. 12 For example, when

discussing Federalism, Pollard says, “…the American Union, as involving the Federal principle,

contained in itself an element ultimately fatal to its form of government....” 13

8
John S.C. Abbott, The History of the Civil War in America;: Comprising a Full and Impartial Account of the Origin
and Progress of the Rebellion, of the Various Naval and Military Engagements, of the Heroic Deeds Performed by
Armies and Individuals, and of Touching Scenes in the Field, the Camp, the Hospital, and the Cabin. Google Books1.
Vol. 1. Springfield, Mass.: Gurdon Bill., 1863. https://books.google.com/books?
id=VBTVAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
9
John S.C. Abbott, The History of the Civil War in America;: Comprising a Full and Impartial Account of the Origin
and Progress of the Rebellion, of the Various Naval and Military Engagements, of the Heroic Deeds Performed by
Armies and Individuals, and of Touching Scenes in the Field, the Camp, the Hospital, and the Cabin. Google Books1.
Vol. II. Springfield, Mass.: C.A. Nichols and Company., 1877. https://books.google.com/books?
id=VBTVAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
10
Edward Alfred Pollard. The Lost Cause: a New Southern History of the War of the Confederates. Comprising a Full
and Authentic Account of the Rise and Progress of the Late Southern Confederacy--the Campaigns, Battles,
Incidents, and Adventures of the Most Gigantic Struggle of the World's History. New York, New York: E. B. Treat and
Company, 1866. iii.
11
Ibid.
12
Ibid., iii.
13
Ibid., 45.

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 It is also clear when Pollard starts his book that he is clearly biased, just like Bancroft

and Abbot. For example, when Pollard discusses the institution of slavery, he says, “’slavery’…

did not rest on acts of debasement and disenfranchisement, but elevated the African, and was

in the interest of human improvement.”14 This book fits into the ‘Bancroft mold’ more than

Abbot’s books does, due to its references to the South as noble and the derision of the North. 15

Pollard ends his book with an appeal to the south. Saying that the south must never give up

their cause, and their individual culture, or they would truly have been defeated. 16 This book fits

into the Tragedy genre, due to Pollard’s lament over the loss of the old South. 17

A Popular History of the United States 1876

This book is very interesting because it is written specifically to be read by everyday

people. It was written by John Clark Ridpath for, “…the average American…”. 18 Ridpath wrote

this book so that the average American could have simplified yet accurate history of the United

States. He did not want people to have to, “…plod through ten or twenty volumes of historical

dissertation.”19 This can be seen when reading Ridpath’s history. It lacks much of the flowery

language that can be found in the histories of Abbot and Bancroft. Ridpath also has a Darwinian

14
Ibid., 49.
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid., 752.
17
Ibid.

18
John Clark Ridpath. A Popular History of the United States of America: From the Aboriginal Times to the Present
Day. Google Books. Cincinnati: Jones Bros., 1878.
https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Popular_History_of_the_United_States_o.html?id=dIdDAQAAMAAJ. iii.

19
Ibid., iii.

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underpinning. He makes this known through the subtitle of his book, “…from the Aboriginal

times…”20.

Ridpath’s thesis for his chapter on the Civil War is quite interesting, “In order to gain

power and keep it many unprincipled men in the South were anxious to destroy the Union,

while the demagogues of the North were willing to abuse the Union to accomplish their own

bad purposes.”21 Ridpath supports this thesis by walking through each year of the war and

describing, in detail, the events that happen. Ridpath’s history has a very scientific feel about it.

It seems very objective and to the point. This book is an excellent example of the beginning of

the transition between the modernist and progressive narratives. 22 As stated earlier, much of

Bancroft’s and Abbot’s flowery language has faded here. Ridpath also says he uses charts,

pictures, etc. to help demonstrate his talking points. 23 This book takes a Romantic look at

American history, but with villains on both sides.24 It says in the introduction that the nation

has been preserved for ourselves and posterity.25

A Brief History of the United States 1885

This book was co-written by Joel Dorman Steel and Esther Baker Steele. It is a school

history textbook published in 1885.26 It demonstrates in its first chapter the impact that
20
Ibid., iii.
21
Ibid., iii.
22
Ibid.
23
Ibid., iii.
24
Ibid.
25
John Clark Ridpath. A Popular History of the United States of America: From the Aboriginal Times to the Present
Day. Google Books. Cincinnati: Jones Bros., 1878.
https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Popular_History_of_the_United_States_o.html?id=dIdDAQAAMAAJ.
xxxviii.

26
Joel Dorman Steele, and Esther Baker Steele. A Brief History of the United States. Google Books. New York, New York : A
merican Book Co., 1885. https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Brief_History_of_the_United_States.html?
id=ddJMAAAAYAAJ

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Darwinian thinking has had on the Academy at the time. It applies the Darwinian concept of

survival of the fittest to the Native Americans, “Unless he can be induced to give up his roving

habits and cultivate the soil, he is doomed to destruction.” 27 Joel and Esther Steele place US

history into 6 “epochs”. The Civil War is the fifth.28 Just like a textbook today, the authors

organize their material under headings such as “The Situation”, “The War in the West”, etc. 29

These headings are placed in a way as to introduce the topic to the students, explain it, and

summarize it. It is a well laid out textbook that thoroughly explains the material.

As with the last book discussed, the authors give a seemingly even-handed take on the

Confederacy.30 The Confederates are still painted as the enemy though, which is implied when

the authors discuss Confederate General Jubal Early’s raid of the North, “Hunter’s retreat 31

having laid open the Shenandoah Valley, Lee took advantage of it to threaten Washington…” 32

This book does seem to humanize the Confederates in its conclusion of the topic, “…the

remains of the Virginia army laid down their arms near Appomattox Court House, and then

turned homeward, no longer Confederate Soldiers, but has American Citizens.” 33 The style of

this book also falls into the Romantic Category of literature.34 An final noteworthy aspect of

the book is that the authors do not say how they researched their book and what primary

sources they used.35 This is most likely due to its nature of being an early school textbook.

27
Ibid., 15.
28
Ibid., 16.
29
Ibid., 224.
30
Ibid.
31
This note is from the text itself.
32
Ibid., 263.
33
Ibid., 275.
34
Ibid.
35
Ibid.

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A Financial and Industrial History of the South During the Civil War 1901

This book by John Christopher Schwab is unique among the books to be looked at in this

paper. This book, unlike the others, takes a distinctly economic look at the Confederacy to

create an Economic history.36 When this book was published in 1901, the Progressive

movement was just about to step into overdrive due to the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.

The book’s thesis is such, “[This book] aims to treat the war primarily as a chapter in the

economic history of our country, as four years which the financial and industrial phenomena…

were peculiar and worthy of study…the working of social forces under similar and also under

normal circumstances.”37 Another key term in this thesis is “social forces”, which is another

focus of the progressive narrative.38 Schwab backs up this claim by taking most of the book to

talk about the economic events of the Confederacy, while still taking the time to discuss some

social aspects as well, such as the “Military Despotism” 39 in the South. Schwab’s history is also

based on primary sources, and in the manner he describes studying them, it can be seen his

history still contains Modernist influence.40 He used all primary source materials available to

36
John Christopher Schwab. The Confederate States of America, 1861-1865: A Financial and Industrial History of
the South during the Civil War. Google Books. Cambridge , MA: University Press John Wilson and Sons, 1901.
https://books.google.com/books?
id=4TEOAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. 1.

37
Ibid., 1.

38
Ibid., Joyce Appleby, Lynn Hunt, and Margaret C. Jacob. Telling the Truth About History. New York, New
York: Norton, 1995.

39
Ibid., x.

40
Joyce Appleby, Lynn Hunt, and Margaret C. Jacob. Telling the Truth About History. New York, New York:
Norton, 1995.

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him and commented on their rareness, “The following pages are based on an examination of all

the accessible material.”41

Overall, Schwab paints the Confederate government as incapable of governing the

economy well and being very inept with handling money. This would make this book a Satire of

the South, which contrasts with the preceding sources all coming from a Romantic, or Tragic,

point of view.42 This can also be seen later in the book, for example, when discussing the

Confederate’s ability to manage their own finances with an at passed in 1864. Here, Schwab

says, “It is evident that, just as in the case of the Act of March 18, 1780, the Confederate Act of

February 17, 1864, wrecked the government’s finances beyond the hope of saving them from

utter ruin.”43

In conclusion, Schwab says that the Confederates should have managed their money

better, and that had they done so, they might have won the war that they fought. Instead,

Schwab notes, “[Southerners] lost everything in their desperate effort to protract the war and

avoid its inevitable conclusion; it is probably of little comfort to them to read that something

might have been saved from the wreck if the government had adopted other fiscal measures.” 44

The Day of the Confederacy 1919

41
John Christopher, Schwab. The Confederate States of America, 1861-1865: A Financial and Industrial History of
the South during the Civil War. Google Books. Cambridge , MA: University Press John Wilson and Sons, 1901.
https://books.google.com/books?
id=4TEOAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. 2.
42

43
John Christopher Schwab. The Confederate States of America, 1861-1865: A Financial and Industrial History of
the South during the Civil War. Google Books. Cambridge , MA: University Press John Wilson and Sons, 1901.
https://books.google.com/books?
id=4TEOAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. 69.
44
Ibid., 312.

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 Written by Nathaniel W. Stephenson in 1919, this book is a perfect example of

Modernist and Progressive influences working together. 45 This book was published when the

Progressive movement was in full swing. Women would get the right to vote the following year

and Prohibition started the same year the book was published. One aspect that makes this

book stand out as written with Progressive influences can be found in a footnote on page 10 of

the book where Stephenson comments on the United States Constitution saying, “Like the

framers of the Constitution of 1787, who omitted from their document certain principles which

they took for granted…”46 Though these principles are not enumerated, it definitely gives a clue

as to what the author’s influences were.

The book is a criticism of the Confederate Government and the rogue ‘nation’ in its

entirety.47 For example, when looking at the table of contents, chapter titles that can be found

are, “The Fall of King Cotton…A Game of Chance…Desperate Remedies…An Attempted

Revolution.”48 Stephenson spends much time in the book criticizing Jefferson Davis.49 He even

opens his chapter on the Davis’ administration as such, “It has never been explained why

Jefferson Davis was chosen President of the Confederacy.” 50 This book also fits into the satire

category due its treatment of the Confederate government.

45
Joyce Appleby, Lynn Hunt, and Margaret C. Jacob. Telling the Truth About History. New York, New York: Norton,
1995.

46
Nathaniel W. Stephenson. The Day of the Confederacy: A Chronicle of the Embattled South. The Chronicles
of America. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press, 1920. 10.

47
Ibid.
48
Ibid., Table of Contents.
49
Ibid.
50
Ibid., 24.

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 Stephenson leaves an interesting note at the end of the book saying, “There is no

adequate history of the Confederacy.”51 He even comments of Schwab’s history but says that

it, “…is wholly overshadowed by the point of view of the economist.” 52 Stephenson gathered

his sources from newspapers, other histories of the Confederacy available at the time, and even

the Encyclopedia Britannica.53

Stephenson concludes his work by saying, with Robert E. Lee, that the South must not

despair in the past but find a new identity in the future, “The Southern spirit must not perish…

but must find a new form of expression, must become part of the new world that was to be,

must look to a new birth under new conditions.”54

The Confederate States of America 1861-1865 1950

In 1950, E. Merton Coulter wrote a history of the South that is unusual for its time. The

goal of the book is to tell a total history of the South. He says that he wrote this book to,

“[place] the war itself to its proper relative position.” 55 He says that many historians have not

focused on the South and gave the Civil War a full study until recently. He is saying that

studying the history of the south is key to fully understanding the importance of the war. 56

51
Ibid., 205.
52
Ibid., 205.
53
Ibid., 207.
54
Ibid., 203.

55
E. Merton Coulter. The Confederate States of America: 1861-1865. Edited by Wendell Holmes. Stephenson.
Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State Univ. Press, 1950. ix.

56
Ibid., ix.

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 This can be clearly seen in the chapters that he uses in the book. One chapter partly

discusses women in the south, another discusses the impact on the fine arts, and another partly

discusses anti-confederate sentiment in certain regions of the South. 57 The author arranges his

information by starting at the beginning of the war and talking about multiple aspects of the

Confederacy as the war progresses and ends with the end of the Confederacy and

Reconstruction.58

This book seems to have a Scientific History or Modernist influence in it and it also

seems Progressive by touching on social issues in the Confederacy as well. 59 It seems to give a

mainly, though not entirely, even-handed telling of southern history (cite). For example, on

page 57, when discussing why the south seceded, Coulter says, “By this time, the South had

come to look upon the North as little less than a millstone around its neck…”. 60

In the conclusion Coulter also hints that maybe reunification with the United States was

not the best option for the South, “The fall of the Confederacy was an example of might making

right; but in the light of subsequent history, including…Reconstruction…, who is there today to

argue that in this instance might was not ultimately to prove right in the preservation of the

country.”61

57
Ibid., Table of contents.
58
Ibid., table of contents.

59
Appleby, Joyce, Lynn Hunt, and Margaret C. Jacob. Telling the Truth About History. New York, New York:
Norton, 1995.

60
E. Merton Coulter. The Confederate States of America: 1861-1865. Edited by Wendell Holmes. Stephenson.
Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State Univ. Press, 1950. 57.
61
Ibid., 568.

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 Coulter used many primary sources to write this book. He made use of government

documents, newspaper accounts, even physical sites such as battlefields in his research. 62 This

book also fits into the tragedy genre, though it is subtle. This book’s lack of blatant Southern

bias is understandable due to it being written in 1950, which was a few years before the Civil

Rights Movement kicked into full gear. It also comes on the heels of the FDR and Truman

administrations, both which tried to downplay racism.

II. The Great Schismatic Splinter

The Confederate Nation: 1861-1865 1979

This book, written by Emory M. Thomas, has been influenced by two schools of

historiographical thought that had not been seen in major force up to this point in Confederate

Historiography. These are key ideas related to the French Annales school and Post-Modern

school of thought respectively.63 This book tries to tell a total history of the south and partly

focuses on nationality in the South. Thomas states right away that the purpose of his book is to

write a history of the South that focuses on “…new and fresh ideas..”. 64 This can be seen just by

looking at the table of contents. Thomas’ book focuses largely on Confederate Nationalism,

something that had not been largely studied at this point in the past. Thomas begins the book

by discussing the South’s “Social Economy”65, then spends most of the book discussing

62
Ibid., 569, 575,583.

63
Joyce Appleby, Lynn Hunt, and Margaret C. Jacob. Telling the Truth About History. New York, New York:
Norton, 1995.

64
Emory M. Thomas. The Confederate Nation 1861-1865. New York, New York: Harper Colophon Books, 1979, xv.
65
Ibid., table of contents.

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Confederate Nationalism and how Southern Identity was formed. He then ends with the fall of

the Confederacy.66

When discussing his theme of identity, Thomas makes an interesting note about slavery

in the south, “Slavery in the American South tended to be more personal than institutional.

While the authoritarian features…tended to destroy black identity and personality,

investigations of the human reality reveal the presence of a strong black identity and

community.”67 The historical context surrounding this book may also play into what it is

discussing. When this book was published, Iran had just had its Revolution and the Iranian

Hostage Crisis was taking place. Nationalism was on everybody’s minds at the time this book

was written. This books discussion of Confederate Nationalism would have been a very

appropriate topic at the time.

The primary sources used by Thomas in the writing of this book are numerous. For

example, Thomas used the 1860 Census, newspapers, and physical places in his research. He

used archived and manuscript materials, along with personal narratives in his research. These

are all key to researching nationalism in the American South during the Civil War. 68

The book ends on a note that seems to categorize it as a tragedy, but with satire mixed

in. The book looks at the South and criticizes many parts of it, but the ending also gives the

Southerners a sense of humanness to them.69 Thomas does this by simply saying, “[Since

Reconstruction] …the Confederacy, real and imagined, as experience and myth, [has] since
66
Ibid., table of contents.
67
Ibid., 12.
68
Ibid., 326-331.
69
Ibid.

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defined Southern identity and made of Southerners a peculiar people.” Thomas says that the

Lost Cause narrative arose out of this feeling of loss of what could not be rebuilt, and that it still

plagues the South today.70 He says that this eventually led to Jimmy Carter being able to say

that he saw a different version of the film “Gone with the Wind”, one where Schenectady, NY is

burned and President Grant surrendered to Robert E. Lee. 71

The Confederate War 1997

The Confederate War was written by Gary W. Gallagher in the late 90s. At this time,

Post-Modernism dominated the Historical field. Gallagher is bold with his thesis, he starts out

by saying, “Scholarship on the Confederacy over the past several decades has yielded a

paradoxical result.”72 Gallagher continues by saying that historians at first focused too much on

the usual things to be studied, i.e. battles, leaders, and the politics of the era. Gallagher also

notes that other historians get the wrong idea by trying to show from the end to the beginning

why the South failed. He says that there was strong nationalism popular acceptance of the

regime among the people.73 He also says that military events were linked directly with citizen

morale during the war, which is a topic that is not often studied.74 He concisely provides

evidence for his point by laying out three chapters, one for nationalism, one for popular will,

and the other for military strategy. 75 The primary sources he used were letters from the time

70
Ibid., 306.
71
Ibid., 306.

72

73
Ibid., 3,7.
74
Ibid., 9.
75
Ibid., Table of Contents.

15 | P a g e
period, publications, newspapers, and diary excerpts.76 He seems to use more primary sources

in the introduction than in the rest of the book, though they can still be found there. 77

This book also reads like a tragedy, but not in the same sense as the other books that

have been discussed. It seems to be a tragedy of the Historical profession’s past work on the

Confederacy. Gallagher is trying to rewrite how the history of the South is written by saying

that most, if not all of Confederate Historiography is wrong, and that we really need to focus on

the will of the people, the importance battles held to those people, and how those people felt

about their nation.78

Gallagher ends his book on a similar note. First by stating how it is impossible for us to

comprehend how the Confederates fought a war that had been so intertwined with the evil of

slavery, especially since most did not own slaves.79 After saying this, he leaves a suggestion for

current and future historians, “Until Historians can explain more fully why they did, the story of

the Civil War will remain woefully incomplete.”80

There are other authors of Confederate History during this time that wrote in styles

other than Post-Modern style or other influences. For example, in 1954, A History of the

Southern Confederacy was written in a Modernist style by Clement Eaton. 81 Another is The

76
Ibid., 175-210.
77
Ibid.
78
Ibid., 3.
79
Ibid., 172.
80
Ibid., 172.

81
Clement Eaton. A History of the Southern Confederacy. Unknown: Eaton, 1954.

16 | P a g e
Confederacy by James P. Roland.82 These were some of the last distantly Modernist histories of

the Confederacy as Post-Modernism began to gain influence in the world.

III. The Christian Response

Among all histories being published by the end of the twentieth century, there arose a

group of people who wanted to change what it meant to write history. Christian historians.

They wrote books about American history in a distinctly Christian manner. Of course, what that

way is can and has taken multiple forms.83 The two books that will be examined here are

Steven J. Keillor’s This Rebellious House, and Harry S. Stout’s Upon the Altar of The Nation. Both

take a distinctly different look at the Civil War than any of the works formerly examined in this

paper.

This Rebellious House 1996

Steven J. Keillor is writing this book to prove that Christianity is true based on what can

be found in the history of the United States. This book is a Providential History, is not used by

many in the field of Christian Historiography. 84 In it, Keillor argues that God’s Hand can be seen

in American History and throughout the book states where God intervened. He calls his

chapter on the Civil War “The Great Duel”.85 He says that the Civil War was a sin against God

82
Charles P. Roland. The Confederacy. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 1960.

83
Jay D. Green. CHRISTIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY: Five Rival Versions. Waco, Texas: BAYLOR UNIVERSITY PRESS,
2015.

84
Ibid., 125.

17 | P a g e
and that romanticizing it is idolatry.86 He also discusses how neither side in the war was right,

which is like how Stout frames the war in his book. For example, in conclusion, Keillor notes,

[The war] was not an antislavery crusade but a Great Duel of men similarly obsessed with

dissimilar concepts of honor.”87 Keillor also notes that the war was meant to end slavery. God

redeemed the fight for his purpose according to Keillor.88 Also like Stout, Keillor frames the war

as a tragedy because of the great sin that it represents.89

The primary sources used by Keillor are Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, and

newspapers.90 There are not as many primary sources to be found in this chapter on the Civil

War compared those found in other sources. Keillor’s history is also written at the tail-end of

Post-Modernism’s influence. He was trying to react against Post-Modernism by writing this

history. He wanted to put something out there that was distinctly different than most people

had read before in the field of professional history.

Upon the Altar of the Nation 2006

Harry Stout’s history of the Civil War takes an entirely different take on Christian

historiography. Stout’s main idea is that the Civil War violated the Just War Theory. He argues

85
Steven J. Keillor. This Rebellious House: American History & the Truth of Christianity. Downers Grove,
Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1996. 127.

86
Ibid., 127, 130.
87
Ibid., 149.
88
Ibid., 149.
89
Ibid.
90
Ibid., 330-335.

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this by laying out his book with chapters on how the war impacted different groups of people,

and ideas, and ends with how this impacted reconstruction. 91 (whole book)

Stout also argues that the war was fought by people on both sides who believed they

were doing the will of God. For example, Stout says, “Ecclesiastical reports invoked the

battlefield successes to proclaim the divine truth of the southern jeremiad’s message. The

Presbyterian Synod of Virginia’s annual report in 1862 would identify the public fast as the

cause of victory at Manassas…”92 This is an unusual look at the South. We typically do not see

this study of their religion during this time period. Stout also argues that Northern disregard for

Christianity and Just War theory led to the development of Civil Religion, “Ultimately, the

tensions would only be resolved by a total war for abolition and the creation of a non-

denominational civil religion, existing alongside of and equal in power to Christian and Jewish

denominations.”93 This leads to Stout’s conclusion, that it is important to study to morality of

the war because it upholds moral ideals.94 Stout says that the nation needs moral ideals

because they help us to guide ourselves as human beings.95

Stout uses a plethora of primary sources in his book. They include music from the time,

personal papers, manuscripts, newspapers, articles, and books.96 Stout writes his book in a

tragedy approach to the writing of this book. As stated before, he describes the war as a

91
Harry S. Stout. Upon the Altar of the Nation: A Moral History of the American Civil War. New York, New
York: Penguin Books, 2007.

92
Ibid., 66.
93
Ibid., 72.
94
Ibid., 461.
95
Ibid., 461.
96
Ibid., 513-521.

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tragedy against morality and how the war must not be made out as something Holy and Just

when it was neither of those things.

The Colored Narrative

Confederate Historiography has taken many forms over the past one hundred and fifty-

five years since the fall of the Confederacy. From regional modernism/progressivism, to a

splintering of histories and the rise of a Christian response to that splintering, the South has

been placed in many lights. All of these perspectives come together to form the Colored

Narrative. The word Colored here has multiple meanings. One, it means a past that has many

different parts that are related to each other yet make up a whole. Two, it means that the

narrative also has its black spots. There have been very morally questionable things done in the

writing of Confederate History, or any history for that matter. The Colored Narrative also

hearkens back to the days of slavery in the South. These works of historical scholarship are

representations of our past and the past of our ancestors. They linger like ghosts in our world.

Reminders of what once was. If we are aware of the underpinnings behind their writing and

how the story of the past they describe has changed over time, we will be better equipped to

write our own history of the past. And as we write our histories, we must be constantly aware,

as these histories remind us, that those who chronicle the past, change the future.

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