Lessons and Memories of Tony Horwitz on Confederates in the Attic

REVIEW OF CONFEDERATES IN THE ATTIC
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The Civil War is considered one of the major defining moments in the history of America. The war shaped the social, political, and economic landscape of the country. More than a century later, the war still lives on in the minds of many Americans. Over the years, diverse groups of people have sought to explore the literature and regalia of this war. Published in 1998, Confederates in the Attic is a non-fiction work by Tony Horwitz. In this book, the Pulitzer Prize winner deeply explores the American civil war and also investigates the ties between the country’s citizens and war more than a century since the end of the civil war. Moreover, he looks at the attitudes that the citizens have concerning civil war, how it is discussed as well as the nation’s attitudes towards race. Upon its release, the book became a best seller and was described as honest and humorous. The book mainly focusses on the findings of a two-year tour across the country that the author embarked on. The travels saw him visit various battle sites as well as visits to various people who hold important information regarding the war. The author himself had been affected by the war in his childhood. This might explain why the topic was such a close companion to him. Rather than bedtime stories, his grandfather told him stories of the war and showed him sketches from the dark period. The author soon began drawing similar sketches on the walls of his bedroom. This shows that beyond documenting the memories of this period, the author seeks to explore a critical part of his life, as well as the lives of various other people. From the book, we learn that people are obsessed with the war. For instance, the retired postman has a collection of memorabilia. On arrival at the Shiloh battlefield, he meets other people retracing the steps of their kin who were involved in the war. Such encounters show that though the war is more than 100 years behind us, it is still alive among many Americans (Horwitz 1999). This paper seeks to explore the various lessons and memories that the author learned on his travels.
The memories of the Civil War are more alive in the minds of the Southerners as compared to any other Americans. In his tour of the south, Horwitz meets various people who spur the Civil War narrative in a way that his life as a journalist had failed to. He joins a group of re-enactors who replicate the details of rebel soldiers’ lives during the war. All members of the society seem obsessed with the happenings of that period. There is even a real-life Scarlett O’Hara. Through Charleston, Richmond, Andersonville, and Shiloh, Horwitz explores the landscape of the war, both historically and in the modern times. He also interviews various scholars to bare the myths and misconceptions that cloud our understanding of this important moment in our country’s history. From his travels and discoveries, the reader gets introduced to the South as a mythological and geographical place of origin. The author also uneart...