Houses of Civil War America

"As a historian, I am acutely conscious of the importance of place as well as time in our understanding of the past. One must walk the battlefields of the Civil War to know and appreciate what happened there. The same is true of historic houses, which take on the character of the people who lived there. This splendid narrative and photographic tour of homes inhabited by obscure as well as important figures in the Civil War era offers enlightenment as well as entertainment."

"This book is a gem. Author Howard and photographer Straus provide an unusual perspective on the Civil War era by focusing on houses associated with some two dozen actors and actresses in that great drama. The famous - Lincoln, Davis, Grant, and Lee - are here, as are John Brown and Frederick Douglass, but also the little-known, like Rowland Robinson and Mary Moore. The writer and photographer weave houses and personal histories into a fascinating story of Americans caught up in a mighty conflict."

"The Civil War proved Lincoln's warning that a 'house divided against itself cannot stand.' However, many of the actual houses of that roiling period withstood not only the war, but the test of time since-and it is a revelation to see them as they look today, and learn about the families who then and since have dwelled in and preserved them. This book literally opens a window into nineteenth-century domestic and cultural history, and brings us a giant step closer to the life and times of the families who survived and endured."