| Description |
1 online resource (xvi, 578 pages) : illustrations, maps |
| Contents |
The White folks and their lives -- Hierarchy and harmony? -- A transportation and economic center -- Growing political tensions -- 1861: Germantown goes to war -- 1862: the war comes to Germantown -- 1863: Germantown occupied -- 1864: Germantown returns to anarchy -- 1865: winding down the war -- Reconstruction -- Social and economic recovery -- The troubled rebirth of a community |
| Summary |
"Germantown's Civil War experience mirrored that of many small towns across the South: It ardently supported secession through 1861 only to undergo serious disruption in 1862 as Federal forces and Confederate raiders contested control of the area. Then, during 1863 and early 1864, the Tennessee town felt the mixed benefits of an obdurate Federal occupation as guerrilla warfare continued throughout the countryside surrounding the town. And although it began to recover shortly after the close of the Civil War, Germantown's fortunes changed again as Reconstruction took hold and emerging economic inequality mixed with racist fears of a newly freed slave population. Browder recounts the history of what is now a large suburb of Memphis, how it fared during the Civil War, and how its current demographic makeup began shortly after the close of the war"-- Provided by publisher |
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"Germantown during the Civil War Era recounts the rise and fall of a nineteenth-century Tennessee town, a community that was not a typical antebellum town in the cotton belt. It's a case study in how social, economic, and political changes affected them, Black and White. Before the Civil War, Germantown had become a thriving cultural, commercial, and political center. Its elite and middle-class White families had full access to the cultural and social life of Memphis, as well as local private academies and collegiate institutions that hosted enriching events. Its appealing inns, taverns, and mineral springs allowed for festive social mixing of all classes. As an emerging industrial and commercial center of a rich cotton-growing district in the 1850s, Germantown's decline after the war would have been unimaginable before the war. Thus, this monograph paints a picture of a vibrant community whose brilliancy was extinguished and almost entirely forgotten. Yet, Germantown's economic and political decline, caused by a number of factors, is not the most interesting part of its story. Meticulously documented and richly illustrated with maps and data, this book reveals the impacts of surviving a theater of guerrilla war, of emancipation, of social and political Reconstruction, and a disastrous Yellow Fever epidemic on all of Germantown's people-psychologically, socially, and culturally. The damage struck far deeper than economic destruction and loss of life. A peaceful and harmonious society crumbled. Germantown during the Civil War Era is sure to be of interest not just to Shelby County residents, or students of the Civil War, but also to anyone interested in the racial and social history of the Volunteer state"-- Provided by publisher |
| Notes |
"This book was originally published in a different form as A Tennessee Town during the Civil War Era: Germantown's Reversal of Fortune by Heritage Press, 2015."--Title page verso |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and indexes |
| Notes |
Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on September 04, 2024) |
| Subject |
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) -- Tennessee -- Germantown
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HISTORY / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877)
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HISTORY / United States / State & Local / South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
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HISTORY / General
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Germantown (Tenn.) -- History -- 19th century
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Tennessee -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
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| Genre/Form |
Electronic books
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| LC no. |
2023058441 |
| ISBN |
9781621908159 |
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1621908151 |
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