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The Left-Armed Corps: Writings by Amputee Civil War Veterans

Name: The Left-Armed Corps: Writings by Amputee Civil War Veterans
Brand: LSU Press
SKU: 9780807177464
Price: 39.99 USD
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Contributors:

Allison M. Johnson (Editor)

Publisher:

LSU Press

Binding:

Paperback

Book Category:

History, Literary Collections, Literary Criticism

Book Subcategory:

United States, American, Subjects & Themes

Book Topic:

Civil War Period (1850-1877), Historical Events

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The product is eligible for a complimentary return within 30 days from the date of purchase. Furthermore, individual items are shipped within 24 hours of receiving the order.

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Specifications +

Release Date:

2022-05-11

ISBN 13:

9780807177464

Weight:

1.3 lbs

Size:

9.00 x 6.00 x 0.90 inches

Pages:

404

Mint Condition +

product description

Description

The Left-Armed Corps collects and annotates a unique and little-known body of Civil War literature: narrative sketches, accounts, and poetry by veterans who lost the use of their right arms due to wounds sustained during the conflict and who later competed in left-handed penmanship contests in 1865 and 1866.

Organized by William Oland Bourne, the contests called on men who lost limbs while fighting for the Union to submit "specimens" of their best left-handed "business" writing in the form of personal statements. Bourne hoped the contests would help veterans reenter the work force and become economically viable citizens. Following Bourne's aims, the contests commemorated the sacrifices made by veterans and created an archive of individual stories detailing the recently ended conflict. However, the contestants and their entries also present visible evidence--in the form of surprisingly elegant or understandably sloppy handwriting specimens--of the difficulties veterans faced in adapting to life after the war and recovering from its traumas. Their written accounts relate the chaos of the battlefield, the agony of amputation, and the highs and lows of recovery.

Editor Allison M. Johnson organizes the selections thematically in order to highlight issues crucial to the experiences of Civil War soldiers, veterans, and amputees, offering invaluable insights into the ways in which former fighting men understood and commemorated their service and sacrifice. A detailed introduction provides background information on the contests and comments on the literary and historical significance of the veterans and their writings. Chapter subjects include political and philosophical treatises by veterans, amateur but poignant poetic testaments, and graphic accounts of wounding and amputation. The Left-Armed Corps makes accessible this archive of powerful testimony and creative expression from Americans who fought to preserve the Union and end slavery.

About the Author

Allison M. Johnson is assistant professor of English at San Jos? State University. She is the author of The Scars We Carve: Bodies and Wounds in Civil War Print Culture and the coeditor of Religion and Its Reformation in America, Beginnings to 1730: An Anthology of Primary Sources.

The Left-Armed Corps: Writings by Amputee Civil War Veterans

Description

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