In the Presence of Mine Enemies: The Civil War in the Heart of America, 1859-1863

by Edward L. Ayers

Book Overview

Many histories of the American Civil War tell of the triumph of the dynamic, free-labour North over the traditional, slave-based South, vindicating the freedom principles built on the nation's foundations. charts the descent into war in the Great Valleyt spanning Pennsylvania and Virginia. Connected by strong ties of every kind, the people of this borderland sought alternatives to secession and war. It came to their doorsteps in hunger, disease and...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393057860
• ISBN13: 9780393057867
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 472 Pages
• Weight: 1.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

The Civil War on a personal level

Most Civil War books concentrate on the battles fought; Edward L. Ayers, in this superb account of the War in the eastern theatre from the election of 1860 to Gettysburg, focuses on the consequences of not only the major battles but also the politics and motivations of the citizens of two near-border counties - Augusta in Virginia and Franklin in Pennsylvania. Using contemporary newspapers and diaries, Ayers reveals how the border inhabitants from these two counties interpreted Lincoln's election, thought about slavery as the major issue of the war, supplied recruits, and responded to the results of battles and strategies waged by their leaders. It's interesting to see how many Augustans were Unionists at the time of the election, even after Lincoln was nominated, but had turned "Yankee haters" by the end of 1862 as they saw their property destroyed by Federal soldiers as the war raged on Virginia soil. Ayers writes extremely well and in the early pages is able to create a great deal of suspense: the book is a real page-turner. A couple of places he leaves the reader wondering, though: after spending over 30 pages on the 1860 election and revealing certain poll returns, he never says how many Augustans voted for Lincoln (any?) or how many Franklinites voted for Bell or Breckinridge, the two Southern candidates. Also he tells the story of a free black man named Frank Jones who is attacked by Union soldiers in Chambersburg and murdered in broad daylight, but not what, if anything, happened to the guilty soldiers afterwards. The book ends with the Battle of Gettysburg about to begin, and one wonders whether Ayers plans a second volume taking the reader to the end of the war. How Augustans and Franklinites responded to Sheridan's destructive 1864 Valley campaign and the burning of Chambersburg (also in 1864) would be of major interest. One hopes he does. In the meantime, this is an excellent account of how the earlier stages of the Civil War personally affected inhabitants of two border counties, North and South.

Social history at its best

Ayers is a well respected writer of Southern history, but I had not read any of his works until I came across this one at a local bookstore. I was not disappointed. Ayers' writing style is very readable and entertaining. I am usually a slow reader, but I made my way through this book relatively quickly because it was so interesting. The subject of the book are two bordering counties--one in Virginia and one in Pennsylvania. Ayers details the differing points of view of these counties as the sectional crisis unfold and as it devolves into Civil War. He uses countless letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, and other primary source materials that really bring this book to life. Ayers adds some of his own commentary, but so much of the book is primary sources that you really feel as if you just picked up a newspaper in 1859 or you are reading someone's diary, not a book. The book truly is social history at its best as it is well written, highly readable, and features some very interesting people. Highly recommended for casual students of history and Civil War buffs alike.

outstanding, emotionally-charged history.

The War between States remains one of the most important events in American history, not so much because of its impact on slavery (it substituted the exploitative feudal relationship of antebellum slavery with democratic hegemony), but because of the way it radically changed the conception of the United States. Rather than an agreement among states, Union was seen -- as a result of the war -- to be a compulsory membership organization under a strong national government. This event has been treated by many interpretations which I would regard as irrelevant or not worth quite the weight they are given. People and ideas in these times are regarded as abstractions and contorted to fit all kinds of bizarre theories. Ayers' strength is the intimacy of his ground-level account of the preceding year and outbreak of the war. By focusing on the common American, he tells a story of the conflict that is all the more vivid and convincing. His book centers around two counties, one in Pennsylvania, one in Virginia -- they are geographically close, they are culturally close -- the difference between them is slavery. Ayers book follows their lives and thoughts, taken from reams of letters. Reconstructed from myriad first-hand accounts of events, it reads much like a good story. Because of the nature of Ayers approach to his subject, his thesis is difficult to discern. But it is there to be found if one combines attentive reading with an understanding of the impact of war on people's lives. Ayers indicates, against politically correct orthodoxy, that the War between States was not inevitable, but the result of any emotions and ideologies swept up in the sectional conflict. Partly hidden is the implication that Republican ideas concerning Unionism and secession was the contingent factor in turning what might have been peaceful secession into nation-breaking bloodshed. John Imboden, an important Virginia slaveholder in Ayers' story, is illustrative. Imboden, like many others in the border south, opposed secession and would have preferred to stay in the Union. Yet when Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to crush the "rebels" in South Carolina, Imboden supported Virginia's secession because although he disagreed with the South's secession, he recognized their right to do it, and therefore opposed Lincoln's aggression. Professor Ayers is the chief of the Valley of the Shadow project, an excellent online resource for scholars on this subject. Also recommended is James McPherson's _What They Fought For_. McPherson studies thousands of letters written by soldiers on both sides of the conflict. It makes a good companion to this volume.

Classic compare and contrast...

Ayers offers a near flawless account of the initial years of the War for Southern Independence though a unique spotlight on two counties -Franklin (PA) and Augusta (VA). The "everyman" of each county is the focus of this tale -from the local newpaper editor to the local merchant to the nearby free-man-of-color. From the late 1850's to the opening of what would become the Gettysburg Campaign, Ayers examines, warts and all, the hopes, dreams and fears of Americans soon to be caught up in this dreadful conflict. Ayers is very adept at the many framing sequences which put the "smaller picture" of these respective counties into the "large" picture. This account is very reader friendly -Ayers assists the novice Civil War student with his framing sequences, yet those more versed in the history of the conflict will enjoy the micro-examination of Franklin County, PA, and Augusta County, VA. The focus is not Lee, or Grant, or Jackson -the interest is in the loves, the lives, and the sense of loss felt by the "little guy". This is not necessarily a story of war, but a story of "people". Well done, indeed.

Life in time of war.

This is the first book from The Valley of the Shadow Project and may become the classic Civil War home front book. Two counties, one in Pennsylvania one in Virginia were selected and life during the war closely documented. Very few of the people in this book are even minor players in the war, which is the books greatest strength. Without "important" figures, the story concentrates on what's in the newspapers, changes in prices and local problems, in other words the normal daily life of the people living in the counties.An excellent introduction tells us about counties and the people free, slave, white, black, rich, middle class or poor. We learn how they make a living, farmers for the most part, what industry and jobs are open to them. How they learned of the events beyond the county and how they reacted to them. We are taken through the election of 1860 and into war.We gain an understanding of a war that isn't generals and battles but separation, death and sadness. Battles are reported in terms of local men killed, wounded or missing and in letters that are printed in the paper or passed from house to house. Fear of the enemy army and invasion is very real and happens. Politics is very important and the divisions in the North contrast with the solidarity in the South. As Pennsylvania's Democrats and Republicans fight for power and over emancipation. While in Virginia, the papers report the problems as evidence the North's war effort is failing.This is a book for the serious student of the war and for a person who wants to learn about life in America 140 years ago. This is one of the most informative books on the Civil War that I've read and recommend it to you.