A Jewish Colonel in the Civil War: Marcus M. Spiegel of the Ohio Volunteers

by Marcus M. Spiegel

Book Overview

Marcus Spiegel, a German Jewish immigrant, served with the 67th and 120th Ohio Volunteer regiments during the Civil War. He saw action in Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, where he was fatally wounded in May 1864. These letters to Caroline, his wife, reveal the traumatizing experience of a soldier and the constant concern of a husband and father. Jean Powers Soman is a great-great-granddaughter of Marcus Spiegel. Her coeditor, Frank...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803292325
• ISBN13: 9780803292321
• Release Date: May 1995
• Publisher: Bison
• Length: 353 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A great account of one man's War experience in letters

Marcus Spiegel may have been atypical in that he was Jewish, but his experiences in the war are much more universal. This is a great book for highlighting the changing views of the purpose of the war, and the personal struggles many Union soldiers went through--in particular those who were northern Democrats--as the aims of the wat changed from restoration of the Union to also include ending the institution of slavery. Spiegel's story is the story of a loyal Democract--a Democrat who is loyal to his commander-in-chief, Republican Abraham Lincoln, and wh serves his country faithfully nonetheless. His story also highlights his slow transformation in his own wordl view. At the outset Spiegel shared the racist views of most of his white neighbors, and disliked abolitionists. By the end of the war, however, he considers himself an abolitionist of a sort. If you want to begin to understand the complexity of northern attitudes toward slaves and slavery, this is a good place to start.