One More War to Fight by Stephen A. Goldman

I was very excited when I received my copy of Stephen Goldman’s One More War to Fight: Union Veterans’ Battle for Equality through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Lost Cause (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023). As you may know, years ago I published a book about Civil War veterans, Across the Bloody Chasm: The Culture of Commemoration Among Civil War Veterans, and I have remained interested in these guys ever since. In fact, I am currently working on a book on how Union veterans envisioned their fight in terms of American exceptionalism. So naturally, I was eager to dive into Goldman’s work.

I’ll start by saying that I very much enjoyed this book. Goldman, a psychiatrist rather than a trained historian, is nevertheless well versed in the literature and adept at reading the historical record. Indeed, his professional emphasis on the psyche of combat veterans helped me assess the worldview of these men and served to be a much-needed look at the lingering effects of psychological trauma. Those of you who have tuned in to the so-called “dark turn” niche in Civil War studies will feel right at home here.

Goldman focuses on the postwar attitudes of the men who enlisted in the fight to preserve the Union, but whose sentiments evolved over the course of the war and now embraced a sense of egalitarianism during the postwar years. This might come as a surprise to those who adhere to the idea that Union veterans (and everyone else, for that matter) turned their backs on the promises of Union victory and the proposition of a biracial democracy in the wake of the demise of slavery. Goldman makes a case for the opposite, suggesting that Union veterans recognized Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era as a reversal of the promises offered by Union victory and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. They saw unfinished work, as it were, and set out to finish it…investing in the postwar cause to ensure freedom and equality for all.

But of course Goldman does not paint a monolithic picture of Union veterans happily marching to the tune of Civil Rights across the board. There was contention in this regard as one might expect of 19th-century white men who would most certainly have held fast to the racist proclivities of the era. Still, what’s important here is that a significant number of Union veterans did see beyond preservation of the Union alone, to what Lincoln called a “new birth of freedom.”

I was particularly enthused by Goldman’s use of some previously untapped testimony from the Left-Armed Corp - a group of Union veterans who had all lost their right arm in service to their cause. This was the first time hearing of this group, which the author suggests is a collection of men representing a cross-section of Americans transcending such categories as region and race. As such, their testimony could very well be illustrative of a broader sentiment for those who remained loyal to the United States during the war. Also, as the majority of these men enlisted in the fight during the first two years of the war, their evolution in thought serves to support the idea that soldiers’ sentiments changed regarding enslaved people and freemen over time. Goldman further supports his case with nods to records from the Veteran Reserve Corp, the Grand Army of the Republic, and the United States Sanitary Commission.

In the end, though I would hesitate to suggest that all or even the majority of Union veterans worked actively for civil rights, enough did to make a difference. And as such, they merit our attention. Goldman does well to illuminate their actions in opposition to Reconstruction violence perpetrated by such extra-legal paramilitary groups like the Ku Klux Klan, as well as their rejection of racist Jim Crow legislation.

In my own work, I can recall the words of a Union veteran who proclaimed (and I am paraphrasing here…) the we fought not to save the Union alone, but for a Union worth saving. I believe Goldman’s veterans would agree. In the end, I think it is vastly important that we consider such sentiment during a period often noted for its reconciliatory tendencies promoted at the expense of black Americans. Reading this book one will quickly understand that the postwar historical narrative is not so simple, and that broader efforts to establish equality find their roots in the ashes of war.

One More War to Fight is a welcome addition to the growing collection of volumes on the subject of Civil War veterans and should be an enlightening source for a long time to come. Grab a copy and let me know what you think!

With compliments,

Keith