Quotes May 15, 2020

“The Civil War defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things… It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads.”
Shelby Foote, The Civil War: A Narrative
 
 
 
 
“The time for war has not yet come, but it will come, and that soon. And when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.”
S.C. Gwynne, Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson
 
 
 
 
“You must not suppose that I would like you to profess religion without possessing it. A hypocrite is in my opinion one of the most detestable of beings. my opinion is, that every one should honestly and carefully investigate the Bible; and if he can believe it to be the word of God, to follow its teachings.” – Brevet Major Thomas J. Jackson (1 March 1851)”
James I. Robertson Jr., Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, the Legend
 
 
 
 
“Both men lost speech in their last days and hours. Both died at age sixty-three, Lee long since weary of life, and Grant ready to live it again. Their war made them national icons, and their war reputations dictated the balance of their lives, careers, and posterity.”
William C. Davis, Crucible of Command: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee–The War They Fought, The Peace They Forged
 
 
 
 
“Most civil wars, in fact, end quite badly, and history is rife with lessons that how wars end is every bit as crucial as why they start and how they are waged.”
Jay Winik, April 1865: The Month That Saved America