Cultures in conflict--the American Civil War

"The American Civil War was primarily a conflict of cultures, and slavery was the largest single cultural factor separating North and South. This collection of carefully selected memoirs, diaries, letters, and reminiscences of ordinary Northerners and Southerners who experienced the war as soldiers or civilians brings to life the conflict in culture, principles, attitudes, hopes, courage, and suffering of both sides. Woodworth, a Civil War historian, has selected a wide variety of moving first-person accounts. Each account tells a story of a life and reveals the attitudes of ordinary people and the real conditions of war - both in the field and on the homefront."--BOOK JACKET.