The State of Jones by Sally Jenkins and John Stauffer is interesting. Seems that during the Civil War there was one county in Mississippi, specifically Jones County, that housed individuals who withdrew from the Confederacy, hid out in swamps (when necessary), and fought for the Union. Newton Knight was the man who started it all. He was conscripted into the Confederate army and served until he realized that the Civil War—perhaps like all wars?—was being fought by the poor for the benefit of the wealthy. (Incidentally, our emmag is a member of Knight's family—at least I'm 95% sure it was emmag who led me to this book.).
For purposes of this review, we'll cover a statement I question, things-I-didn't-know, writing, general stuff, and unfamiliar words.
A statement I question: Early in the book the authors question most Americans' knowledge of the Civil War, one complaint being that many did not know "that the majority of white Southerners had
opposed secession …" (italics theirs) (page 4) They're right. I didn't know that. And I'm not sure I'll accept it at face value. Anyone out there ever run into a similar claim?
Things I didn't know:
1) "On October 11, 1862, the Confederate legislature passed its infamous Twenty Negro Law. The edict exempted the richest men from military service. 'One white man on every plantation with twenty or more slaves was allowed to stay home.'" (page 39) Wow! Poor men fighting for rich men was now the law of the land. The passage of this law was what led to Newton Knight's refusal to fight for the South.
2) "'How I do wish this war would end,' Anson (Hemmingway) wrote. 'This place is very strongly fortified and it will cost a man life to take it—but it must fall. We must take it.' Anson would survive to imbue his grandson Ernest with an obsession with physical courage and a penchant for war reporting." (page 105) Cool. Who woulda thunk Ernest Hemmingway any connection with the Civil War?
3) "The poet Walt Whitman, who was working as a hospital orderly, …" (page 190) Walt Whitman took part in the Civil War? Think he was bothered by don't-ask-don't-tell? (Relax. I know it wasn't part of that era. It's just a joke.)
Writing:
1) One primary source contains a description of the all the different types of men to be found in a prison run by Yankees and ends with: "Death is said to be the great leveler; the dungeon at Tupelo was a great leveler." (page 89) I like that.
2) "Shotgun explosions bleached the night and a squall of shotgun pellets blew into the camp. Amid iterating thunder, men screamed. Some of the teamsters fired back aimlessly at the vague enemies in the stygian dark. Musket fire and buckshot guttered, and cattle and oxen broke loose and bolted into the woods." (page 160) OK. The passage is description. And it's about war. In spite of both those things, I still like it.
General: "There were several dreaded punishments short of shooting or hanging to keep men in the ranks. There were public floggings, shaving of one side of the head, marching men through the countryside like slaves in a coffle, imprisonment with hand labor and of course branding." (page 94) My. Isn't that special. Aren't you glad to know it?
Unfamiliar Words:
1) coffle (used on page 94): "n. A group of animals, prisoners, or slaves chained together in a line." From
www.dictionary.com. That's what I figured from context, but I've never before been conscious of the word.
2) iterating (used on page 160): "to do (something) over again or repeatedly." From
www.dictionary.com. Again, context made it obvious, bit I'm growing amazed at the number of words for which I have only a general idea of what they may mean.
3) ravened ("badly ravened" on page 194): "to eat or feed voraciously or greedily: to raven like an animal." The particular scene describes enemy dogs attacking a man. There's also ravenous. Obviously they hAve a shared root. Dang! I could spend a lot of time on
www.dictionary.com. I find all this linguistic stuff cool.
Thumbs up? Thumbs down? Thumbs neutral, actually. The first two thirds of the book were good; the last dragged, but only in a few places.
