Confederate
Mississippi:
The
People
and
Policies
of
a
Cotton
State
in
Wartime.
By John K. Bettersworth. Baton Rouge
University Press) 1943. Pp. xii+386.
Illustrations. $3.00.
This book bridges the gap between the works of Percy L
Rainwater on the secession movement in Mississippi and of the
late James W. Garner on reconstruction. It is a valuable addi-
tion to the steadily growing literature on the Confederacy that
is being published, and it carries forward vigorously that newer
slant which scholars have given to their studies of this period
of the history of the South. The laudatory style of treatment
which made the Confederate era heroic and dared mention
little that was derogatory came to an end with Nathaniel W
Stephenson's The
Day
of
the
Confederacy,
which appeared in
1919. Since that time the attempt to restore the balance has
been steadily going on through the monographic studies of
Albert B. Moore's Conscription
and
Conflict
in
the
Confederacy,
Frank L. Owsley's State
Rights
in
the
Confederacy,
Ella Lonn's
Desertion
during
the
Civil
War,
Bessie Martin's Desertion
of
Alabama
Troops
from
the
Confederate
Army,
Louise B. Hill's
Joseph
E.
Brown
and
the
Confederacy,
and through the works
of various other scholars. Realism has pushed out romance, and
as all new brooms sweep clean, there is the evident danger that
in the zeal of wielding that new broom too much may be swept
out.
Professor Bettersworth has in this instance written a highly
readable and scholarly account of Mississippi in the Civil War,
and the only adverse criticism this reviewer would make is that
the author has overbalanced his work with the seamy side. It
should not be corrected by eliminating anything but rather by
adding to the account of the positive accomplishments and sac-
rifices made in carrying on the war and in maintaining life in
those terrible years. Such subjects as relief of soldiers' families
and other sacrifices for the war, though mentioned, receive only
meagre attention. But this is not to belittle the solid worth of
the content of the book.
Professor Bettersworth has given a vivid account of the
troubles Mississippi made for the Confederate administration
by insisting on local defense, by unsound financial measures,
by trading through the lines with the enemy, by opposing the
suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, by desertions from the
army, and by various other activities common to the other Con-
federate states. Religion, education, newspapers, and literary
pursuits also receive attention. As seems proper, military ac-
tivities find no further mention than is necessary for clarifying
general developments; yet a whole chapter on military cam-
paigns within the state would have fitted well into a complete
picture of Confederate Mississippi. The book deals effectively
with the well-known myth that the "Free State of Jones" se-
ceded from Mississippi and set itself up as an independent
republic.
The author has based his work on the use of practically every
available source--an unusually large amount of manuscript
material, newspapers, official documents, much other primary
printed material, and the worth while secondary accounts. A
map of the state with the counties as they existed in 1860 is
used as end-papers, and a number of well-chosen contemporary
illustrations add interest. An extensive bibliography and an
effective index are also included.
The University of Texas
E. M. Coulter
How to cite:
"Confederate Mississippi", Volume 47, Number 3, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v047/n3/review_DIVL6032.html
[Accessed Tue Dec 2 6:11:13 CST 2008]
