Complete Schedule

Painted in Blood: Exploring the Landscape and the Romanticism of Combat During the American Civil War

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Abstract

A look at Landscape, and the Romanticism of battle, during the American Civil War This paper aimed to delve into the thoughts of soldiers fighting in the Civil War on the nature of battle. Diaries and memoires reveal the universal accounts of hardships, terror, and death. Yet amidst the bloodshed there was an appreciation of the “landscape” that the men fought in. This landscape served as an ascetic for glory, and a certain level of romantic air to survive the intense carnage of combat. The landscape became a spiritual context in which to fight, in which men enmeshed their fears, hope, and exultations during battle. My paper explores this relationship men had with their environment, and how in turn it began a strange pseudo conservation effort to maintain these battlefields, as to not lose the memory that they ingrained on the men who fought in them. I sought to explore this spiritual relationship beyond the physical nature previously and avidly studied by historians when researching the environment and the Civil War.

Start Date

25-4-2015 1:30 PM

End Date

25-4-2015 2:30 PM

Faculty Advisor

Brian Roberts

Comments

Moderator: Anne Woodrick, Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology

Location: Sabin Hall, Room 25

File Format

application/pdf

Electronic copy is not available through UNI ScholarWorks.

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Apr 25th, 1:30 PM Apr 25th, 2:30 PM

Painted in Blood: Exploring the Landscape and the Romanticism of Combat During the American Civil War

A look at Landscape, and the Romanticism of battle, during the American Civil War This paper aimed to delve into the thoughts of soldiers fighting in the Civil War on the nature of battle. Diaries and memoires reveal the universal accounts of hardships, terror, and death. Yet amidst the bloodshed there was an appreciation of the “landscape” that the men fought in. This landscape served as an ascetic for glory, and a certain level of romantic air to survive the intense carnage of combat. The landscape became a spiritual context in which to fight, in which men enmeshed their fears, hope, and exultations during battle. My paper explores this relationship men had with their environment, and how in turn it began a strange pseudo conservation effort to maintain these battlefields, as to not lose the memory that they ingrained on the men who fought in them. I sought to explore this spiritual relationship beyond the physical nature previously and avidly studied by historians when researching the environment and the Civil War.