Ahead of Veterans’ Day tomorrow, we’re reflecting on the experience of soldiers. A century and a half after the Civil War, our attempts to understand it may lead us to visit a preserved battlefield, which is now a park. Or we may engage in a re-enactment, and get the feel of a rough wool uniform on a hot summer. Historian Michael Adams argues nothing we can experience today takes us anywhere close to the horror of the Civil War.
The manicured battlefield doesn’t show the mud, the pools of blood, the piles of manure and attendant insects that surrounded the soldiers. Our fellow re-enactors look pretty healthy and well-adjusted – they’re not barefoot, not fighting disease, hunger and shell shock. Adams, retired Regents Professor of History at Northern Kentucky University, will be in Baltimore tomorrow to discuss his book, "Living Hell: The Dark Side of the Civil War." He joins Sheilah to talk about it.
Adams and two other Civil War historians, Claudia Floyd and Ron Coddington, will discuss new perspectives on that war on Tuesday, November 11th, at 7 p.m. at the Ivy Bookshop. More information about the event here.
