IN THE PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES: War in the Heart of America, 1859–1863
Edward L. Ayers, . . Norton, $27.95 (480pp) ISBN 978-0-393-05786-7
Two counties, one in Virginia and one in Pennsylvania, are united by the vast Shenandoah Valley, but divided by the Mason-Dixon line. As late as 1859, these border counties, and by extension their respective states, saw themselves not on opposite sides of a divided nation but as the historic and contemporary heart of a country where such forces as a shared history and a common language made civil war inconceivable. The inhabitants of both counties initially prided themselves on resisting provocation by fire-eaters in the far North and the deep South. Ironically, they eventually committed themselves fully, sacrificing blood and wealth unstintingly to a conflict few of them welcomed. That process, however, was by no means straightforward, as Ayers (
Reviewed on: 05/26/2003
Genre: Nonfiction
Open Ebook - 496 pages - 978-0-393-24743-5
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