Defend the Valley: A Shenandoah Family in the Civil War [Paperback]

Margaretta Barton Colt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 1999

Located in a strategic position in the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester, Virginia, witnessed the Civil War in a way unlike any other town in America. In Defend the Valley, the story of the war is told through the letters and private papers of the Barton and Jones clans--two great limbs of one family tree with roots in Winchester. By collecting her ancestors' papers, Margaretta Barton Colt has done far more than provide a record of the Civil War. She has brought it to life with astounding clarity through the voices of those who experienced it. The Bartons and Joneses collectively sent eleven men into battle, most in the brigade led by Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Culled from the private papers of twenty family members, the material presented here includes many vivid recollections found in the soldiers' first-hand descriptions of the battles, as well as responses from the home front. The result is a fully rounded picture of the daily struggles of the Civil War, and a documentation of the passing of a way of life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1861 the Bartons and the Joneses, related by marriage, lived in Virginia's Shenandoah valley. The extended family was prominent, prosperous and loyal to the Southern cause. Twelve of the men served in the Confederate army, and everyone else worked the farms that fed the Army of Northern Virginia. Freelance historian Colt, a descendant of the clan, integrates material from two memoirs, a diary, two firsthand battle accounts and more than 200 letters in a vivid portrait conveying the human costs of war. The town of Winchester changed hands 13 times, and by 1865 the Shenandoah was a wasteland. The author explains the Confederacy's endurance more successfully than many academic treatises. Illustrations.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In this work, Colt, a direct descendant of the Bartons, shows how one Virginia family was affected by the Civil War. The Bartons were a sizable family living in Winchester; they sent eight sons into battle, losing four. Using family letters, journals, and memoirs, Colt reveals the effects of battle on those who went to war and, for those left behind, the struggle to survive under wartime conditions and military occupation. She also shows the various acts of subversion against the Union occupiers of Winchester, bent on exacting submission. As this book views the war from an uncommon perspective, it is a worthy addition to any Civil War collection.
Robert A. Curtis, Taylor Memorial P.L., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Trade edition (October 14, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195132378
• ISBN-13: 978-0195132373
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,488,624 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Local Impact of Civil War, March 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Defend the Valley: A Shenandoah Family in the Civil War (Paperback)

A superb blend of contemporary first-person accounts (memoirs, letters, diaries, etc.) that captures the impact of the Civil War on the home front in the Winchester, Virginia, area, as well as life as part of the armed forces of the Confederacy. The principals were present at some of the major events of the Civil War, but the strength of the book is its ability to relate the feel of the times.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new perspective to civil war history, May 16, 2009

By 

nd2ski - See all my reviews

This review is from: Defend the Valley: A Shenandoah Family in the Civil War (Paperback)

This is the first civil war book I have read that gives a bottom up view of the war from the perspective of soldiers and civilians caught up in a conflict they did not ask for but willingly supported. The author is a military historian and a descendant of the central characters, and an excellent writer. The power of the book comes from the first person accounts from letters and memoirs. The author provides context and structure. An excellent read, and very thought provoking.