The Gentlemen and the Roughs

Finalist for the 2011 Gilder

Lehrman Lincoln Prize



"A seminal work. . . . One of

the best examples of new, sophisticated scholarship on the social history of

Civil War soldiers."

—The Journal of Southern History

“Will undoubtedly, and properly, be

read as the latest word on the role of manhood in the internal dynamics of the

Union army."

—Journal of the Civil War Era

During the Civil War, the Union

army appeared cohesive enough to withstand four years of grueling war against

the Confederates and to claim victory in 1865. But fractiousness bubbled below

the surface of the North’s presumably united front. Internal fissures were rife

within the Union army: class divisions, regional antagonisms, ideological

differences, and conflicting personalities all distracted the army from

quelling the Southern rebellion.

In this highly original

contribution to Civil War and gender history, Lorien Foote reveals that these internal

battles were fought against the backdrop of manhood. Clashing ideals of

manliness produced myriad conflicts, as when educated, refined, and wealthy

officers (“gentlemen”) found themselves commanding a hard-drinking group of

fighters (“roughs”)—a dynamic that often resulted in violence and even death. Based

on extensive research into heretofore ignored primary sources, The Gentlemen and the Roughs uncovers

holes in our understanding of the men who fought the Civil War and the society

that produced them.