Overview

Jacob D. Cox experienced more facets of the Civil War than most officers: by land and sea, in both Western and Eastern Theaters, among the inner political circles of Ohio and Washington, DC, in territories hostile and friendly, amidst legal conflicts both civilian and military, and in the last campaigns in Tennessee and North Carolina. The Union general capitalized on his experience by penning his two-volume Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, one of the war’s finest memoirs and arguably the best by a nonprofessional soldier, as well as Atlanta and The Battle of Franklin, both definitive studies for nearly a century. In 2012, Gene Schmiel, Cox’s biographer, learned of a cache in the Oberlin College archives of 213 letters Cox wrote to his wife, Helen, during the war. Schmiel recognized these documents as a ready resource for Cox as he wrote his histories, and many stand as first drafts of Cox’s analyses of the military and sociopolitical events of the day. Helen Finney Cox (her husband affectionately referred to her as “Lilla”) was a mother of six and the daughter of Oberlin College president Charles Finney. These intimate and insightful wartime letters show both the fondness Cox had for his spouse and his respect for her as an intellectual equal. To Helen, the stoic, introverted statesman revealed—as he did to no one else—his inner thoughts and concerns, presenting observant, lucid, and informative reports and analyses of the war, his changing life, and his ambitions. This collection illustrates the life of a Gilded Age Renaissance man as he made the transition from untested soldier to respected general and statesman.

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9781621907978

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“Jacob D. Cox’s Civil War letters to his beloved wife ‘Lilla’ capture how the war transformed the civilian Cox to corps commander as he withstood significant combat in both the Eastern and Western Theaters and maintained a strong relationship with Lilla whom he considered both a confidant and an intellectual equal. Cox’s letters provide a significant window into the intellectual, emotional, political, and military dynamics of the Civil War era.” —Angela Zombek, associate professor of history at University of North Carolina Wilmington, author of Penitentiaries, Punishment, and Military Prisons: Familiar Responses to an Extraordinary Crisis during the American Civil War “Cox’s wartime letters to his wife effectively package his first-hand personal observations on a variety of themes—military, socio-cultural, even a sort of travelogue—which form a basis for Cox’s historical work.”—Benjamin Franklin Cooling, author of To the Battles of Franklin and Nashville and Beyond: Stabilization and Reconstruction in Tennessee and Kentucky, 1864–1866 “Dr. Gene Schmiel has done a great service to Civil War scholars here. Jacob Cox's letters home provide insights into his thinking about the conduct of war, his own experiences in battle, and the nation's postwar future. Anyone interested in nearly any aspect of the Civil War will find this book invaluable.”—Benjamin T. Arrington, historian and author of The Last Lincoln Republican: The Presidential Election of 1880

Author Information

Gene Schmiel has a PhD in history from The Ohio State University. He was an assistant professor at St. Francis University, Pennsylvania, and a Department of State foreign service officer. His books include Citizen-General: Jacob Dolson Cox and the Civil War Era and Searching for Irvin McDowell: The Civil War’s Forgotten General.

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