In the end, America sent men ill-suited for war to face unimaginable trauma before abandoning them to be haunted by dreams and memories of action witnessed and committed, soul wounds that would never heal. After 4 years of war, nearly 660,000 Americans lay dead, over 600,000 slaves and civilians with them, while over 400,000 walked away wounded and scarred forever.[5] America followed that cataclysmic event with an ongoing struggle to recognize what she owed to her wounded soldiers.[6] The wounded’s legacy served as an eerie predictor of America’s ongoing failure to prepare for war, anticipate how it might change, and accept the long-term consequences on her fighting men and women.[7] The traumatized often faced ridicule and belittlement of their wounds in the face of visible losses of limb and similar injuries.[8] This happened despite the efforts by medical professionals to identify Combat Trauma or what is now referred to as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).[9]

Despite a century of history’s bloodiest conflicts, America’s ongoing conflicts against terror and tyranny in the 21st century and the adaptations and improvements in war-fighting capabilities, to include precision strikes and remote drone warfare, demonstrate a continuation of American unpreparedness for war.[10] The nation charged into war after war without fully considering the consequences on the people asked to fight or how the care system established to help during and after their profession-of-arms remained wholly inadequate to the task.[11] Despite increased awareness and improvements in mental health care, the American peoples’ treatment of veterans carrying invisible wounds has changed very little, a problem this historian, a veteran of the modern wars, has experienced repeatedly.[12]

America’s fratricidal conflict continues to educate in ways unlike any other conflict in recorded history.[13] The most literate generation to fight a war produced letters, journals, medical reports, government documents, and news reports, many being revealed only as technological improvements broadened access beyond academia’s often-dusty and sequestered walls.[14] Families, veterans’ organizations, the government, and lay-scholars fastidiously gathered and saved those records, combining them with post-war memoirs to reveal who they were and how they suffered.[15] Most historians refused to acknowledge PTSD’s existence in Civil War veterans, revealing the same biases that guaranteed it happened.[16] They argued that who those men were, how they carried themselves, and their character protected them.[17] They emphasized a lack of diagnoses, leaning on a general distrust of the oft-intangible field of mental health.[18] They perpetuated certain myths about those soldiers versus those that followed, built on a culture distrustful of private correspondence when diagnosing medical conditions and underpinned by a warrior culture that, in reality, was wholly unprepared for the consequences of traumatic events.[19]

This dissertation aims, by examining historical records, historiography, and studies on sociology, gender, religion, and mental health, to show that PTSD not only existed in Civil War veterans, but that they proved specifically vulnerable to developing the disorder because of their upbringing, culture, faith, societal roles and expectations, and more.[20]

[1] John Whiteclay Chambers and Fred Anderson, eds., The Oxford Companion to American Military History (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 849.

[2] James Marten, “How Technology Shaped the Civil War,” Scientific American (Springer Nature America, Inc., September 7, 2012), https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-technology-shaped-the-civil-war-classics/.

[3] Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 613, 658, 701, 744; James M Mcpherson, The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (1989; repr., New York, N.Y.: Tess Press, 2003), 7-8, 65-66, 93-94; James M. McPherson, For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 3, 14, 163.

[4] Richard White, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017), 5, 395, 450, 532.

[5] White, The Republic for Which It Stands, 28; Defense Manpower Data Center, “U.S. Military Casualties: Principal Wars in Which the United States Participated - U.S. Military Personnel Serving and Casualties (1775 - 1991),” Defense Casualty Analysis System (United States Government, July 14, 2022), https://dcas.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/app/summaryData/casualties/principalWars.

[6] White, The Republic for Which It Stands, 63, 102.

[7] White, The Republic for Which It Stands, 373-74, 631-32.

[8] Sarah Handley-Cousins, Bodies in Blue: Disability in the Civil War North (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2019), 1-4.

[9] Frances Clarke, “So Lonesome I Could Die: Nostalgia and Debates over Emotional Control in the Civil War North,” Journal of Social History 41, no. 2 (December 1, 2007): 253-54, https://doi.org/10.1353/jsh.2008.0001; Daniel Clarke, “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the American Civil War: A Reappraisal,” Academia.edu, January 23, 2014, https://www.academia.edu/5812575/Post_Traumatic_Stress_Disorder_and_the_American_Civil_War_A_Reappraisal?nav_from=c5a6364c-91db-41bf-8709-40b8d8555006.

[10] Gerber, Disabled Veterans in History, xvi-xviii.

[11] White, The Republic for Which It Stands, 5, 395, 450, 532.

[12] Larry Holzwarth, “10 Ways the United States Has Treated Its Veterans through History,” History Collection, April 11, 2018, https://historycollection.com/10-ways-the-united-states-has-treated-its-veterans-through-history/.

[13] McPherson, For Cause and Comrades, 11.

[14] McPherson, For Cause and Comrades, 241.

[15] McPherson, For Cause and Comrades, 133.

[16] Gerber, Disabled Veterans in History, 374-78.

[17] Debra J. Sheffer, “‘No Sacrifice is Too Great, Save that of Honor’: Honor, Death, and Psychological Combat Trauma in the American Civil War” (PhD diss., University of Kansas, 2009), 205-06. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/no-sacrifice-is-too-great-save-that-honor-death/docview/304910872/se-2.

[18] Gerber, Disabled Veterans in History, 380-83.

[19] Julia Banister, Masculinity, Militarism and Eighteenth-Century Culture, 1689-1815. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018), 145-50. https://ia902204.us.archive.org/33/items/Military-Man-Sensibility/Smith-Ferguson-Mackenzie.The-Military-Man-And-The-Culture-Of-Sensibility_text.pdf.

[20] National Institute of Mental Health, “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” National Institute of Mental Health (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, December 2024), https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Commandery. War Papers and Personal Reminiscences: 1861-1865. Read before the Commandery of the State of Missouri, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Palala Press, 2018.

Hight, John J. History of the Fifty-eighth Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry: Its Organization, Campaigns and Battles from 1861 to 1865. United States, Press of the Clarion, 1895. https://archive.org/details/historyoffiftyei00inhigh.

Katharine Prescott Wormeley to mother, May 26 and June 10, 1862. Quoted in Katharine Prescott Wormeley, The Other Side of War. 1888. Reprint, 2nd ed. Boston: Ticknor and Company, 1889. pp. 77, 131. https://archive.org/details/othersidewar00wormrich/mode/2up.

Kline, Linus W. “The Migratory Impulse vs. Love of Home.” American Journal of Psychology 10, no. 1 (Oct 01, 1898): 1. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/migratory-impulse-vs-love-home/docview/1289672625/se-2.

Mitchell, Enoch L., and U. G. Owen. “Letters of a Confederate Surgeon in the Army of Tennessee to his Wife.” Tennessee Historical Quarterly 4, no. 4 (1945): 341–353. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42620877.

Mitchell, Enoch L. “Letters of a Confederate Surgeon in the Army of Tennessee to his Wife (Continued).” Tennessee Historical Quarterly 5, no. 2 (1946): 142–81. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42620894.

Standard, William M., and Roberts, Timothy Mason. This Infernal War: The Civil War Letters of William and Jane Standard. Edited by Timothy Mason Roberts. Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 2018. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/book57120.

Tuke, Daniel Hack. A Dictionary of Psychological Medicine. London, J. & A. Churchill, 1892. https://archive.org/details/adictionarypsyc00tukegoog/page/n4/mode/2up.

Wormeley, Katharine Prescott. The Other Side of War. 2nd ed. 1888. Reprint, Boston: Ticknor and Company, 1889. https://archive.org/details/othersidewar00wormrich/mode/2up. 

Secondary Sources

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. 2013. Reprint, Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2022. https://archive.org/details/APA-DSM-5/mode/2up.

Chambers, John Whiteclay, and Fred Anderson, eds. The Oxford Companion to American Military History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00cham?.

Defense Manpower Data Center. “U.S. Military Casualties: Principal Wars in Which the United States Participated - U.S. Military Personnel Serving and Casualties (1775 - 1991).” Defense Casualty Analysis System. United States Government, July 14, 2022. https://dcas.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/app/summaryData/casualties/principalWars.

Gerber, David A., ed. Disabled Veterans in History. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.3874458.

Handley-Cousins, Sarah. Bodies in Blue: Disability in the Civil War North. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2019. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv5npkfb.

Holzwarth, Larry. “10 Ways the United States Has Treated Its Veterans through History.” History Collection, April 11, 2018. https://historycollection.com/10-ways-the-united-states-has-treated-its-veterans-through-history/.

Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. https://archive.org/details/whathathgodwroug0000howe.

Marten, James. “How Technology Shaped the Civil War.” Scientific American. Springer Nature America, Inc., September 7, 2012. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-technology-shaped-the-civil-war-classics/.

McPherson, James M. The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. 1989. Reprint, New York, N.Y.: Tess Press, 2003. https://archive.org/details/battlecryoffreed0000mcph.

_______. For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. https://archive.org/details/forcausecomrades0000mcph.

National Institute of Mental Health. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” National Institute of Mental Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, December 2024. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd.

Sheffer, Debra J. “‘No Sacrifice is Too Great, Save that of Honor’: Honor, Death, and Psychological Combat Trauma in the American Civil War.” PhD diss., University of Kansas, 2009. ProQuest (Order No. 3365880). https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/no-sacrifice-is-too-great-save-that-honor-death/docview/304910872/se-2.

White, Jonathan W. Midnight in America Darkness, Sleep, and Dreams during the Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2017. https://archive.org/details/midnightinameric0000whit.

White, Richard. The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896. Oxford University Press, 2017. https://archive.org/details/republicforwhich0000whit.

In 1929, an event shook almost every country’s economy in the world like an earthquake tearing apart a city. In a matter of days, the wealth of billions vanished as the stock markets crashed, banks failed, and prices skyrocketed. That event, known as the Great Depression, came as the result of a long series of events, and it set the world on the path toward World War Two.

Several theories exist that attempt to explain the causes of the event, with two dominant theories ruling the field of explanations. Experts split fairly evenly between these two primary theories, with some proposing some minor theories that are beyond this assignment’s scope.

The first of these competing hypotheses stems from Keynesian economics. It argues that a drop in the private sector’s demand for goods paired with a decrease in fiscal spending helped cause the economic collapse.

The second, put forward by Monetarist economists, disagrees, claiming a banking crisis stemming from a reduction in money supply stands as the event’s principal cause. It is this cause, primarily put forward by Milton Friedman and Anna J. Schwartz, that this discussion will focus on.

According to the Monetarist argument, a banking crisis started the collapse, leading to a third of all banks closing, a massive loss in shareholder wealth, and a monetary reduction that reached 35%, referred to by Friedman and Schwartz as the “Great Contraction.”[1] These events led to price deflation that collapsed the market.[2]

Friedman and Schwartz, as well as others, argue that a refusal by the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates paired with the government’s unwillingness to boost the monetary base, infusing liquidity to stop a collapse, guaranteed that a simple recession turned into one of the greatest economic collapses in history.[3]

Monetarists believe that, had the Federal Reserve not watched the collapse without taking action, the stock market crash would have led only to a recession as economies see cyclically. The situation called for extreme measures, not quiet observation in hopes it would correct itself. This view regarding the Federal Reserve’s role in the crisis remains strong into the 21st century, with Ben Bernanke, former Federal Reserve governor, publicly apologizing for the inaction in 2002.[4]

Because of their inaction, several large banks collapsed, causing panic and runs on the banks like the one pictured in It’s a Wonderful Life.[5] Monetarists argue that emergency lending at the outset of the collapse may have stopped those banks from going under, heading off the crisis at the pass, to borrow a colloquialism.

After they collapsed, Monetarists point to a lack of liquidity, preventable by the Federal Reserve buying government bonds to increase the money supply, as the cause of the next wave of bank collapses.[6] The lack of money stopped businesses from getting loans or even keeping the ones they already had. This view sets the blame squarely on the Federal Reserve, particularly the New York branch.[7]

When making this argument, Monetarists point to how the Federal Reserve acted in similar banking crises in 1893 and 1907.[8] The Reserve, as well as some private parties, prevented a money shortage from happening by lending money to the banks, thus increasing liquidity.[9]

One reason given for the Federal Reserve’s inaction is the gold standard and the limitations placed on the Reserve by the Federal Reserve Act. It mandated that a minimum of 40% of Federal Reserve Notes had to be backed by gold.[10] The problem with this system was that the notes only amounted to a promise of value, and people, borrowing another colloquialism, now only trusted the one in the hand versus the two in the bush.

With no wiggle room, the Federal Reserve could only cut credit to relieve pressure on the gold supply. It took three more banking crises and a new president for relief of this pressure to come through a New Deal for the nation.[11] By then, the damage had been done, causing a governmental change in Europe that guaranteed a bloody conflict unlike any the world had ever seen.[12]

[1] Milton Friedman, Anna Jacobson Schwartz, and National Bureau of Economic Research. The Great Contraction, 1929-1933. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009.

[2] Randall E. Parker. Reflections on the Great Depression. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2002, 11-12.

[3] Bernanke, Ben. Essays on the Great Depression. Lieu De Publication Inconnu: New Age Publications, 2007, 7.

[4] “FRB Speech, Bernanke -- on Milton Friedman’s Ninetieth Birthday -- November 8, 2002.” Www.federalreserve.gov, 2002. https://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/Speeches/2002/20021108/default.htm; Milton Friedman, Anna Jacobson Schwartz, and National Bureau of Economic Research. The Great Contraction, 1929-1933. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009, 247.

[5] Broff, Ian. “Bank Run Scene from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946).” YouTube Video. YouTube, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTJCI1FNBfA; Frank Capra, dir. It’s a Wonderful Life. Film. RKO Radio Pictures, 1946.

[6] Paul Krugman. “Who Was Milton Friedman? - the New York Review of Books.” Web.archive.org. April 10, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080410200144/https://www.nybooks.com/articles/19857; Bernanke, Ben S. “Non-Monetary Effects of the Financial Crisis in the Propagation of the Great Depression.” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series, 1983, 257-276. https://www.nber.org/papers/w1054.

[7] G. Edward Griffin. The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve. Internet Archive, 1998, 503. https://archive.org/details/TheCreatureFromJekyllIslandByG.EdwardGriffin.

[8] Milton Friedman, Anna Jacobson Schwartz, and National Bureau of Economic Research. The Great Contraction, 1929-1933. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009, 15.

[9] Randall E. Parker. Reflections on the Great Depression. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2002, 11.

[10] Freidel, Frank Burt, and Internet Archive. Franklin D. Roosevelt : Launching the New Deal. Internet Archive. Boston : Little, Brown, 1973, 320-339. https://archive.org/details/franklindrooseve04fran.

[11] Ibid., 335-339.

[12] Ian Kershaw. Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris. London: Allen Lane, 2001, 411.

Bibliography

Bernanke, Ben. Essays on the Great Depression. Lieu De Publication Inconnu: New Age Publications, 2007.

Bernanke, Ben S. “Non-Monetary Effects of the Financial Crisis in the Propagation of the Great Depression.” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series, 1983. https://www.nber.org/papers/w1054.

Broff, Ian. “Bank Run Scene from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946).” YouTube Video. YouTube, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTJCI1FNBfA.

Buraschi, Andrea, and Alexei Jiltsov. “Inflation Risk Premia and the Expectations Hypothesis.” Journal of Financial Economics 75 (2), 2005: 429–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2004.07.003.

Capra, Frank, dir. It’s a Wonderful Life. Film. RKO Radio Pictures, 1946.

“FRB Speech, Bernanke -- on Milton Friedman’s Ninetieth Birthday -- November 8, 2002.” Www.federalreserve.gov, 2002. https://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/Speeches/2002/20021108/default.htm.

Freidel, Frank Burt, and Internet Archive. Franklin D. Roosevelt : Launching the New Deal. Internet Archive. Boston : Little, Brown, 1973. https://archive.org/details/franklindrooseve04fran.

‌Friedman, Milton, and Anna J Schwartz. A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1971. https://muse.jhu.edu/book/36656.

Friedman, Milton, Anna Jacobson Schwartz, and National Bureau of Economic Research. The Great Contraction, 1929-1933. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009.

Griffin, G. Edward. The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve. Internet Archive, 1998. https://archive.org/details/TheCreatureFromJekyllIslandByG.EdwardGriffin.

‌Kershaw, Ian. Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris. London: Allen Lane, 2001.

Krugman, Paul. “Who Was Milton Friedman? - the New York Review of Books.” Web.archive.org. April 10, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080410200144/https://www.nybooks.com/articles/19857.

Lioudis, Nick. “What Is the Difference between Keynesian and Monetarist Economics?” Investopedia. 2019. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/012615/what-difference-between-keynesian-economics-and-monetarist-economics.asp.

Mendoza, Enrique G., and Katherine A. Smith. “Quantitative Implications of a Debt-Deflation Theory of Sudden Stops and Asset Prices.” Journal of International Economics 70, no. 1, September, 2006: 82–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2005.06.016.

Parker, Randall E. Reflections on the Great Depression. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2002.

Romer, Christina D. “What Ended the Great Depression?” The Journal of Economic History 52, no. 4 (1992): 757–84. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2123226.

Whaples, Robert. “Where Is There Consensus Among American Economic Historians? The Results of a Survey on Forty Propositions.” The Journal of Economic History 55, no. 1 (1995): 139–54. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2123771.

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]]>The Great Depression: A Monetary Crisis?Brian GuthrieSat, 15 Apr 2023 01:47:01 +0000https://guthron.com/blog/2023/4/14/struggle-for-recognition-civil-war-soldiers-fighting-for-disability-into-the-20th-century54d95a03e4b0f542457dc4aa:54e03efae4b066ba030099de:6439ff2b4755f728a2e7e78fAs stated in the previous blog post, the historian continues to examine his dissertation topic, Combat Trauma in the Civil War, while completing other coursework. As the current class focuses on economic history, a study of pensions for Civil War veterans seemed most appropriate for the dissertation.

For this week’s post, the historian examined the pension cases of Civil War veterans on the Union side that survived into the early 20th century, specifically focusing on three soldier’s experiences with invisible disabilities, including mental health issues and wounds not readily visible. As Stephen G. Perkins, president of the United States Sanitary Commission, wrote in 1862, a veteran’s right to benefits “should not rest exclusively on visible wounds.”[1] Yet, they did not heed his words, as the examples discussed today show.

As discussed by the historian recently in this video, one Union veteran provides a good example of this struggle, specifically for this post as a soldier that lived into the 20th century while receiving benefits. His name was Joseph Chamberlain, most well-known as the commander of the 20th Maine Infantry at Gettysburg. The war left him with six wounds, the last being the one that eventually killed him in 1914.[2]

For most of the 50 years following the war, Chamberlain suffered from extreme pain, infection, and discomfort from that wound, one so bad that a report in 1893 testified to the painful immobility he endured from damage to his genitalia.[3] Chamberlain carried a certain bit of stardom in his life, however even he struggled for recognition of his wounds and proper compensation.

Those that lacked his fame struggled more so, particularly in the 1890’s United States that viewed pensions akin to handouts by politicians to buy the veteran vote.[4] One need look no further than Puck magazine’s regular attacks on veterans receiving aid from the government, characterizing the men as raiders on the generosity of the American people.[5]

As another example, John A. Cundiff served with the 99th Indiana Infantry and, during the war, was detailed to shoot a Confederate prisoner. That act haunted him for the rest of his life, plagued by fears of relatives of the dead prisoner coming to exact revenge.

This drove him to hide in the woods randomly or sleep with a weapon nearby, sometimes hiding from neighbors he believed were spies. Sworn affidavits taken in 1893-1894 attested to his behavior, demonstrating how just the memories of his actions plagued his mind and hindered his lifestyle.[6]

This resembles the story of John Jefferson Anderson, a man who spent 30 years after the war living in a confined room behind bars to keep him safe. His family tended him, helping change his clothes and bathe him.

He went through multiple examinations to establish his mental capacity and whether he should receive disability pay, with some exams not occurring until 1876 and 1879. He received a pension of over $70 a month, something his family almost would have lost had Congress not changed the law to allow beneficiaries to receive the pension after a veteran died.[7]

These are just a few examples among thousands. The struggle for pensions proved to be a long conflict, a never-ending struggle to prove incapacity to an American population that steadily grew more skeptical and less generous as the Gilded Age of American history ended. Cultural factors from the different regions, as well as strongly religious views on mental capacity, male roles, and laziness, contributed to further stigmatization and ostracization of both veterans and their families.

Many cared for their veterans in private to avoid such isolation from the community, as with John Jefferson Anderson, placing a heavy burden on the family and leading, eventually, to tragedy. In the end, the result was the same: prolonged suffering for a generation of veterans at the hands of a nation now fighting as heatedly over helping them as they had fought to preserve it.

[1] Henry Bellow to Stephen G. Perkins, August 15, 1862, doc 49, in United States Sanitary Commission, Documents of the Sanitary Commission (New York, 1866), 514, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Documents/jTNEAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1.

[2] Sarah Handley-Cousins. “‘Wrestling at the Gates of Death’: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and Nonvisible Disability in the Post–Civil War North.” Journal of the Civil War Era 6, no. 2 (2016): 221. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26070404.

[3] Frederick W. Reckling and Charles K. McAllister. “The Career and Orthopaedic Injuries of Joshua L. Chamberlain: The Hero of Little Roundtop.” Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research® 374, no. May (May), 2000: 107. https://journals.lww.com/clinorthop/Fulltext/2000/05000/The_Career_and_Orthopaedic_Injuries_of_
Joshua_L_.9.aspx

[4] Theda Skocpol. Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins of Social Policy in the United States. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992, 118; Murray N. Rothbard. "Beginning The Welfare State: Civil War Veterans' Pensions." The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 22, no. 1 (2019): 79. Gale Business: Insights (accessed April 1, 2023). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A594832526/GBIB?u=vic_liberty&sid=bookmark-GBIB&xid=33f5fefb; Rabia Belt. “Ballots for Bullets?: Disabled Veterans and the Right to Vote.” Stanford Law Review 69, no. 2 (02, 2017): 437, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/ballots-bullets-disabled-veterans-right-vote/docview/1874996138/se-2.

[5] James Alan Marten. Sing Not War the Lives of Union and Confederate Veterans in Gilded Age America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011, 215.

[6] Eric T. Dean. Shook Over Hell: Post-Traumatic Stress, Vietnam, and the Civil War. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997, 408.

 [7] Brian S. Bradshaw. “‘Peace Had Its Defeats’: Researching Civil War Veterans, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Insanity.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1998-) 113, no. 3–4 (2020): 67–69. https://doi.org/10.5406/jillistathistsoc.113.3-4.0067.

Bibliography

Belt, Rabia. “Ballots for Bullets?: Disabled Veterans and the Right to Vote.” Stanford Law Review 69, no. 2 (02, 2017): 435-90, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/ballots-bullets-disabled-veterans-right-vote/docview/1874996138/se-2.

Bradshaw, Brian S. “‘Peace Had Its Defeats’: Researching Civil War Veterans, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Insanity.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1998-) 113, no. 3–4 (2020): 67–93. https://doi.org/10.5406/jillistathistsoc.113.3-4.0067.

Dean, Eric T. Shook Over Hell: Post-Traumatic Stress, Vietnam, and the Civil War. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997.

Handley-Cousins, Sarah. “‘Wrestling at the Gates of Death’: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and Nonvisible Disability in the Post–Civil War North.” Journal of the Civil War Era 6, no. 2 (2016): 220–42. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26070404.

Henry Bellow to Stephen G. Perkins, August 15, 1862, doc 49, in United States Sanitary Commission, Documents of the Sanitary Commission (New York, 1866), 514, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Documents/jTNEAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1.

Johnson, Russell L. ““Great Injustice”: Social Status and the Distribution of Military Pensions after the Civil War.” The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era 10, no. 2 (2011): 137-60. doi:10.1017/S1537781410000186.

Marten, James Alan. Sing Not War the Lives of Union and Confederate Veterans in Gilded Age America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011.

Reckling, Frederick W., and Charles K. McAllister. “The Career and Orthopaedic Injuries of Joshua L. Chamberlain: The Hero of Little Roundtop.” Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research® 374, no. May (May), 2000: 107. https://journals.lww.com/clinorthop/Fulltext/2000/05000/The_Career_and_Orthopaedic_Injuries_of_Joshua_L_.9.aspx.

Rothbard, Murray N. "Beginning The Welfare State: Civil War Veterans' Pensions." The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 22, no. 1 (2019): 68+. Gale Business: Insights (accessed April 1, 2023). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A594832526/GBIB?u=vic_liberty&sid=bookmark-GBIB&xid=33f5fefb.

Skocpol, Theda. Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins of Social Policy in the United States. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992.

Surgeon’s Certificate, 1893, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Military Pension Records, certificate 96, 956, National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives Building, Washington D.C.

The first notable difference in pensions issued follows the conflict’s divide: the veterans of the states that remained in the Union and of those that left and formed the Confederate States of America (CSA). Soldiers of the Union army received pensions for their service starting in 1862, funded by the United States Government.[1] The Pension Act specifically barred those veterans who joined the CSA from receiving the benefits.[2] This law remained the same after the war, forcing the former CSA states to each separately fund and pay the pensions of their own veterans. For example, Georgia paid for their veterans’ pensions, Virginia theirs, and so on, with each determining when the benefits would start and who could draw the pensions.[3]

Diving for deeper comparison, the Union veterans started receiving a benefit in 1862, and, unlike in previous wars, this included African American soldiers. Veterans alone could draw benefits until 1890 when Congress passed the Dependent Pension Act, which allowed widows and certain other dependents to receive the pensions.[4] This act also finally allowed Union nurses to receive benefits, an odd oversight to be sure.[5]

When compared with the former CSA states, one finds many differences. Owing to the system, a CSA veteran could apply for a pension in the state they were living in rather than the state they enlisted from. Only those veterans declared impoverished or with an actual disability could apply, and not all states offered benefits from the outset. According to the National Archives, these states began offering pensions in the year noted: Alabama and North Carolina in 1867, Georgia in 1870, Texas in 1881, Florida in 1885, South Carolina in 1887, Mississippi and Virginia in 1888, Tennessee in 1891, Louisiana in 1898, Missouri in 1911, Kentucky in 1912, and Oklahoma in 1915.[6]

Several of the states placed limitations on who could receive aid, such as loss of limb, blindness, or some other verifiable disability. Of the states mentioned above, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia differentiated in types of disabilities and denied indigency or old age as a reason for support, while all the rest offered support for all eligible disabled or impoverished veterans from the outset. However, note the timing: no one offered indigency support prior to 1881, with the first mention of old age qualifying for support coming in 1894 in Georgia. This begs the question of what changed, something to consider for later study.

Another difference came with the addition of widows or dependents to CSA pension benefits. Several CSA states began including these groups before the 1890 Dependent Pension Act offered the same support to dependents of Union veterans. Georgia added support for widows in 1879, North Carolina in 1885, South Carolina in 1887, Virginia in 1888, and Florida, Mississippi and Texas in 1889. Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Virginia included widows from the start of their support to veterans.

Part of the reason the CSA states may have waited so long to offer such support to their veterans could stem from the region’s historically infamous distrust of centralized government, even their own state governments. Indeed, Kathleen Gorman wrote in depth on this topic, discussing the strong distaste in the south for “social welfare” for veterans.[7] Ignored by the Federal government, these veterans faced many difficulties recovering in a region that viewed concepts like honor and duty with such reverence and where religious fervor often compelled those struggling to put on a good face for society.[8]

This just scratches the surface of a comparative analysis of Civil War pensions, with more study needed into what the support amounted to, how it impacted the veterans and dependents, how the support compared to the monthly income of a healthy citizen or veteran doing similar work, and more. For now, it suffices to say that the Civil War pension systems remained as varied as they did controversial, a reflection of the overarching struggle to reconstruct a nation torn asunder from within.

[1] For a more detailed breakdown of the benefits, see “History of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (U.S. National Park Service)” (www.nps.gov).

[2] To read the exact law, see U.S. Congress, U.S. Statutes at Large, Volume 12 -1861, 36th and 37th Congress. (United States, 1891, 1890).

[3] “Confederate Pension Records.” 2016. National Archives. August 15, 2016. https://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war/confederate-pension-records. ‌

[4] To read the exact law, see U.S. Congress, U.S. Statutes at Large, Volume 26 -1891, 51st Congress (United States, 1891, 1890).

[5] Gorman, Kathleen. Civil War Pensions. Essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com. 2019. https://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/civil-war-pensions.html.

[6] Detailed breakdowns can be found at “Confederate Pension Records” (National Archives, 2016).

[7] For more, see Kathleen Gorman, “Confederate Pensions as Southern Social Welfare,” in Elna C. Greene, Before the New Deal: Social Welfare in the South, 1830-1930. (Athens GA: University of Georgia Press, 1999).

[8] For more, see Ashley Michelle Mays, “A Past Still Living: The Grieving Process of Confederate Widows” (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2014) and Debra J. Sheffer, ““No Sacrifice is Too Great, Save that of Honor”: Honor, Death, and Psychological Combat Trauma in the American Civil War.” (University of Kansas, 2009).

Bibliography

“Civil War-Era Veterans Benefits.” n.d. VA Handbook. Accessed March 23, 2023. https://va-handbook.com/veterans-law-history/civil-war/.

‌“Civil War Widows – Encyclopedia Virginia.” n.d. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/civil-war-widows/.

“Confederate Pension Records.” 2016. National Archives. August 15, 2016. https://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war/confederate-pension-records.

Gorman, Kathleen, “Confederate Pensions as Southern Social Welfare,” in Elna C. Greene, Before the New Deal: Social Welfare in the South, 1830-1930. Athens GA: University of Georgia Press, 1999.

_____. Civil War Pensions. Essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com. 2019. https://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/civil-war-pensions.html.

“History of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (U.S. National Park Service).” n.d. Www.nps.gov. Accessed March 31, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/articles/history-of-disabled-volunteer-soldiers.htm.

Mays, Ashley Michelle. “A Past Still Living: The Grieving Process of Confederate Widows.” Order No. 3622413, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2014. In PROQUESTMS Military Database, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/past-still-living-grieving-process-confederate/docview/1548715565/se-2.

Sheffer, Debra J. ““No Sacrifice is Too Great, Save that of Honor”: Honor, Death, and Psychological Combat Trauma in the American Civil War.” Order No. 3365880, University of Kansas, 2009. In PROQUESTMS Military Database, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/no-sacrifice-is-too-great-save-that-honor-death/docview/304910872/se-2.

U.S. Congress. U.S. Statutes at Large, Volume 12 -1861, 36th and 37th Congress. United States, - 1861, 1860. Periodical. https://www.loc.gov/item/llsl-v12/.

U.S. Congress. U.S. Statutes at Large, Volume 26 -1891, 51st Congress. United States, - 1891, 1890. Periodical. https://www.loc.gov/item/llsl-v26/.

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]]>A Brief Comparative Analysis of Civil War PensionsAuthorFallinksharesRiseBrian GuthrieThu, 16 Feb 2023 04:46:32 +0000https://guthron.com/blog/2023/2/15/alaska-comicon54d95a03e4b0f542457dc4aa:54e03efae4b066ba030099de:63edb3ab4a6adf30e18f1616I’ll be making my second longest trip for a convention ever next week!

I’ll be appearing at Alaska ComiCon as a vendor. If you happen to be there, come say hi. I’ll have books to sell, autographed of course, as well as some prizes for anyone who pre-orders Fall and shows me!

The Christian church began with a mission to spread the gospel message.  Since the early church, Christians have spread that good news across the entire planet.  However, their means often contradicted their mission, as these missionaries of the Lord often carried a Bible in one hand and a weapon in the other. 

The aggressively militant proselytizers left little real choice: convert or perish.  History tells a tale of worshipful bloodbaths, of streets paved with blood at the feet of God’s warriors.  First encounters with Christian invaders detail just how brutal these believers could be, as European Protestant explorers, businessman, and settlers committed virtual genocide pursuing riches and the savages’ salvation.  From Spanish conquistadors in America to British sailors in Polynesia, they persecuted and executed native populations in the name of God and gold.[1]

The American Church proved no different.  Deeply isolationist and racist, Puritans pursued wealth, especially acquiring land, as a tenant of their faith, stealing it from the New England region natives.  Encounter after encounter details the European-origin Protestant settlers and invaders brutality in the name of faith and wealth.  Many religious-based outreach organizations sought to bring culture and religion to North America’s savages, with the United States government happily helping them.

The American church’s vicious warrior culture did not limit itself to the untamed, wild savages.  Their torturous treatment targeted anyone different from the predominately white congregations, as in the case of the African slaves.  The Southern Baptists split off from their northern brethren for numerous reasons, chattel slavery standing atop that list.[2]  This southern branch supported keeping the brutal system that allowed aggressively angry white men to whip, rape, and otherwise terrorize the helpless Africans they claimed to view paternally. 

Even soldiers found themselves leaning on their faith in battle.  Civil War accounts detail soldiers relying on their faith to keep them going in the fight, and not just to survive it.  They asked God to give them strength and luck in killing as many of their foes as they could in a coming battle.[3]

This warrior ethos touched every aspect of the church’s mission, even as missionaries and preachers spoke of peace and unity.  Some decried the white Christians’ love of the sword.  Noah Worcester, the Massachusetts Peace Society founder, penned a series of letters speaking out against the church’s hypocritical use of war and faith.  Adopting the voice of a Polynesian observer visiting the United States, Worcester spoke of the Americans’ similarity to the “warlike appearance” of British explorers that came to the Ryukyu Islands, calling them “men-killers.”[4]  The warrior Christians appalled the Polynesians, who were “wholly ignorant of war and fighting” having been taught to love one another and to live in peace with their neighbors.  The veracity of the claims to Polynesian innocence notwithstanding, Worcester’s letters describe the church as dominated by the warrior culture in violation of their faith.[5]

That culture continued into the 20th century.  Fundamentalists and Evangelicals, divided by theological issues, each adopted confrontational approaches to their citizen’s duty.[6]  That legacy remains strong today.  Instead of swords, Christians carry guns; instead of helmets, red hats.  Like their spiritual ancestors who tore down native pyramids to build opulent cathedrals, Christians today erect monument-like structures, naming them in support of openly confrontational white men proud of their will to fight.[7]

It seems easy for Christians to forget history and basic tenants of their own faith.

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people” (Romans 12:18, New American Standard Bible)

Notes

[1] For discussion on American atrocities committed against Native Americans, see Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought - the Transformation of America, 1815-1848 (Oxford University Press, 2009) and Richard White, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age 1865-1896 (Oxford University Press, 2019).

[2] R. Albert Jr. Mohler. Report on Slavery and Racism in the History of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, December 2018.

[3] For discussion on Civil War soldiers’ faith in battle, see James McPherson, The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Oxford University Press, 2003) and J.D. Dickey, Rising in Flames: Sherman’s March and the Fight for a New Nation (Simon and Shuster, 2018).

[4] Ching, Lillian, Stephen Thurston, and Joseph Ames. Letters of Lillian Ching, a native of the island of Loo Choo, to his brethren upon that island, while a resident in the United States : in which is shown, the inconcistency [sic] of all wars and fightings [sic] with the principles and spirit of the Christian religion : to which is added the apology of Stephen Thurston, a minister of the Congregational society, in Prospect, Maine, to Joseph Ames, an officer of the militia, who had been instrumental in procuring for him, the commission of Chaplain, showing that the duties of a Christian minister, are entirely incompatible with all warlike principles and practices. Portland: Author Shirley, 1838. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 (accessed November 12, 2022). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CY0111002998/SABN?U=vic_liberty&sid=bookmark-SABN&xid=77a695a2&pg=7.

[5] For discussion on Ryukyu islander military history, see Olof G. Lidin, Tanegashima: The Arrival of Europe in Japan (Taylor & Francis, 2002) and Rainer Daehnhardt, The Bewitched Gun: The Introduction of the Firearm in the Far East by the Portuguese; Espingarda Feiticeira: A Introducao Da Arma De Fogo Pelos Portugueses No Extremo-Oriente (Texto Editora, 1994).

[6] God in America, season 1, episode 6, “Of God and Caesar,” directed by David Belton, aired October 13, 2010, on PBS, https://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/view/.

[7] Walter Krickeberg. Las Antiguas Culturas Mexicanas. Economic Culture Fund, 1964, 109.

 Bibliography

 Ching, Lillian, Stephen Thurston, and Joseph Ames. Letters of Lillian Ching, a native of the island of Loo Choo, to his brethren upon that island, while a resident in the United States: in which is shown, the inconcistency [sic] of all wars and fightings [sic] with the principles and spirit of the Christian religion : to which is added the apology of Stephen Thurston, a minister of the Congregational society, in Prospect, Maine, to Joseph Ames, an officer of the militia, who had been instrumental in procuring for him, the commission of Chaplain, showing that the duties of a Christian minister, are entirely incompatible with all warlike principles and practices. Portland: Author Shirley, 1838. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 (accessed November 12, 2022). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CY0111002998/SABN?u=vic_liberty&sid=bookmark-SABN&xid=77a695a2&pg=7.

 Daehnhardt, Rainer. The Bewitched Gun: The Introduction of the Firearm in the Far East by the Portuguese; Espingarda Feiticeira: A Introducao Da Arma De Fogo Pelos Portugueses No Extremo-Oriente. Texto Editora, 1994.

 Dickey, J. D. Rising in Flames: Sherman’s March and the Fight for a New Nation. Simon and Schuster, 2018.

 God in America, season 1, episode 6, “Of God and Caesar,” directed by David Belton, aired October 13, 2010, on PBS, https://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/view/.

 Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought - the Transformation of America, 1815-1848. Oxford University Press, 2009.

 Krickeberg, Walter. Las antiguas culturas mexicanas. Economic Culture Fund, 1964.

 Lidin, Olof G. Tanegashima: The Arrival of Europe in Japan. Taylor & Francis, 2002.

 McPherson, James M. 2003. The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford U.K.; New York: Oxford University Press.

 Mohler, R. Albert Jr. Report on Slavery and Racism in the History of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, December 2018.

I left the Air Force. We moved to Dallas. I developed PTSD from my service time. I’ve been recovering as I try to find work. It’s sapped my creativity and I’m only just starting to feel it again.

That’s the summary. Here’s your update on Fall.

The editor got the final section done and returned to me. She loves it. I have a 1 April deadline for the publisher I hope to make. Then, they will read it and we’ll go from there.

"In a world of the ordinary, the Dragon is most astonishing. Its heart burns with determination and desire as it soars from page to canvas to screen. The Dragon’s inner fire elevates it above the mundane, and once released, inspires respect and awe from all who witness its greatness.

"Like the Dragon, our recipients are extraordinary and unique. Fueled by the passion for their art, they have spread their wings and soared above us all. Their inner fire, the burning in their hearts and souls, cannot be restrained. Once set free, their work, their fire, has influenced and inspired countless others, burned into our hearts and minds forever.

"In the spirit of the Dragon and with infinite admiration, we created The Dragon Award as a token of their individuality and greatness. We are pleased to present all of our award winners with the essence of the Dragon, its fire, suspended perpetually as a permanent reminder of their contributions." - The Dragon Awards Page

• Highlight moment of the year: Holding my very own book in my hands for the first time on Sept 13.
• Highlight moment runner-ups: 15th wedding anniversary (such a fun evening Michelle); Finishing the manuscript for Fall on Jan 18; appearing on the Current Geek podcast with Scott Johnson (I’ve been listening to him since 2009; yeah that mattered); winning two more contests on Inkshares; Publishers Weekly review; Audible book deals for Rise and Fall
• Best Movie: Toss-up between Civil War and Rogue One for me. Honorable mention to Zootopia
• Best TV Series (started this year): Toss up here between Stranger Things and Orphan Black. Honorable mentions to the new Muppets and Voltron
• Best Book I read: not touching that with a 39-and-a-half-foot pole.  Too many friends published books this year.  So instead:

1. Most Surprising Book: Unattractive Vampire (did not see myself enjoying this)
2. Most Difficult to read: tie between Ageless and Rune of the Apprentice for entirely different reasons (Note: I still enjoyed them ;-) )
3. Most Inspiring: Push

• Best Game played: I’d have to say Munchkin (adventure time or Cthulu versions); yes I hadn’t played it before
• Best Video Game played: I spend a lot of time in Civilization VI so that is a good answer.  Stellaris is another really good one.  That said, I think I’ll choose Crashlands.  My daughter and I have spent hours playing concurrent games (no multi-player) throughout this year
• Highlight Verse I read: Psalm 27:14 - Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (ESV)

 So, yeah it’s been an interesting year.  Rounding out the year watching the entire Harry Potter series with my daughter was another moment, including giving her book one in both German and English for Christmas.  I’m so proud of her development as a linguist.  Watching her interact with those in need on Christmas Eve, seeing the smiles on their faces when she spoke with them.  It warmed the heart.

2017.

Looking straight at you now.  What’s coming?  Well, I don’t know.  2016 definitely did not go according to plan. (Except the release of Rise; that did happen as planned)  So, who knows what will happen but here’s what I intend on doing:

1. By the end of 2017, the first drafts of Shatter and Unite will be done.  
2. I will be able to lead discussions and do live translations without fear in Arabic.  
3. And I’ll be able to hold my own in a conversation in German.

Onward!

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” – Ronald E. Osborn

Second, there is a new book up for pre-order on Inkshares that yours truly is contributing a short story to.  It's called Too Many Controllers: An Anthology.  It's a series of short stories all themed on video games and let me tell you: there are some fascinating stories coming at this theme from all different angles.  The anthology is participating in the latest Nerdist Contest.  Give it a look and get your copy pre-ordered today!

Third, Rise is now out of my hands after I went over the proofread.  This should be the last time I send in any suggested changes.  I will likely get one more look over before they start producing galleys and more.  We're just over 90 days from the release date!  Thanks to all 609 of you that helped Rise win the publishing contract and to all the rest of you who have pre-ordered it since.  Stay tuned for future posts announcing how you can help with Rise's release!

Finally, Fall, the sequel to Rise, has been posted as a draft on Inkshares.  You can follow the project now and get updates as the project progresses.  The exact date for its initial release for pre-order has not been determined yet.  However, it will likely be around the same time Rise is released.  Follow the project and you'll know the instant it happens!

I have a new book up for preorder on Inkshares!

Back of the book blurb:

A virulent biological weapon wiped out every male on the planet. Humanity lived on in the female half of the species. Famine, disease, and societal contraction followed. More than 4.5 billion people died.

500 years later, the female half of humanity lives on in a form of utopia. But, all is not well. The human genome is breaking down, a secret closely guarded by the world government. The race to find a fix is on. The fate of humanity rests in the hands of elite scientists who are called to a meeting to find a solution. On one side, in the majority, stand the traditionalists, those defending the status quo. On the other, stand a small element of scientists who believe something else is needed to preserve humanity.

As the conference begins, one of the lead scientists supporting alternative methods is found murdered. The search for the murderer will bring one detective into a world where she will face the dark secrets of her race as well as those buried in her past, all leading to one final question

How will the human race survive after man?

Just a little bit of news for you fans of my upcoming novel Rise. Credits: Music "I Am A Man Who Will fight For Your Honor" http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chris_Zabriskie/ Images: courtesy of Chris McElfresh www.facebook.com/ChrisMcElfreshArt

So, updates for you!  I completed the developmental edit and submitted it to the editor for round two.  It was a fun task that involved a lot of juggling and slashing and gnashing of teeth and many, many, many hours of Civilization 5 keeping my focused with its turn based system of game play:-)

Also, we've settled on a concept for the cover, taking the original version and blending it with an idea suggested by a reader that touched on themes the publisher felt were significant.  

My thanks to the Inkshares and Girl Friday teams as well as to the artist, Chris McElfresh, for the work and care they've given to see this project come even closer to fruition.  September will be here before you know it!

We aren't doing this in a vacuum.  All of us authors who are in development or production or who are already printed owe this community for the help and work each and every one does on their own projects.  We bring more eyes to this unique community with our successes and even our failures.  Taking the power of publication selection and giving it to you the reader is such a novel concept, pardon the pun, and I hope you take advantage of it to help expand Inkshares library of completed projects.  I, for one, am looking forward to an entire shelf of Inkshares books and that's saying something as my wife and I went digital a long time ago.  Be sure to check out all the funding projects, especially those competing in the Sword and Laser Sequel contest as that competition ends in just over 10 days!

Onward and upward!

Before you finish of that list, might I suggest you take a peek at Inkshares current Sword and Laser the Sequel contest and sending a gift an author's way by way of supporting their project?  I don't want to affect your choice, so I won't highlight any one in particular.  There are a lot of good projects and I know it would mean a LOT to all of those authors if you were to throw a little Holiday cheer their way.

Also, I recommend you go check out the in production or already published list.  It's chock full of amazing books and many are still offering a buy one get one free deal.  I took advantage of that to get presents for many a friend, spreading the Inkshares logo around the world.  My daughter is now so excited to see a package arrive from Inkshares because she thinks it will be for her or be my book (she hasn't quite latched on the the September 2016 publication date yet).

As for my book, an update is in order.  I'm up to me eyeballs in the developmental edit.  It's a good bit of work and is taking quite a bit of time.  It's not as simple as changing a word here or there.  It's a full on change to conversations, weighing what to keep the same versus what to change.  Needless to say it's slow work, but, in the end, I think it will be better for it.

Also, we made past round two of the cover selection discussion.  We're going with a version the readers have not seen yet but one I think is a fair mix of using the original cover but with a fresh twist on it that pulls in elements others liked from the other options.

Happy Holidays!

For those of you who didn’t know, The Nerdist Contest ended and Rise finished #2 on the list. That means Rise is now on its way to being published and not just the digital version. An actual physical paperback. That’s happening because of you! So thanks.

Unfortunately, the Nerdist did not select Rise to be in their Collection (congratulations to the winners; knock ‘em dead and lift the tide for all of us lol), but that was always a secondary goal. Winning the contract was the primary and we achieved that.

I’ll limit my updates from this point forward to Fridays unless there isn’t anything to share. On those occasions, I’ll most likely share what’s been catching my eye book wise on Inkshares as well as the serial site I read a lot of books in progress: Jukepop Serials.

So, here’s your update for this week: I finished editing Rise last night. I should have been done much sooner. Don’t ask me why I wasn’t; I already feel fairly stupid already. Anyway, I submitted it along with the intake documentation sent to me by Inkshares and Girl Friday Productions. Sometime soon, I’m supposed to hear from my production editor and this ball starts rolling. To keep you informed on what is actually happening, Iet’s talk about those intake documents.

The questionnaires were mostly simple stuff. I’d say the hardest part was the signpost major points of the story breakdown. I mean, I know it all. But simplifying it all down to a series of single sentence major signposts proved a lot more complicated than I originally thought it would be. The next hardest part was writing my concept for a back of the book blurb. I’ve had the Future World series part of that done for a while, but Rise and its sequels will need another part to it that focuses on each book. That proved a bit harder than the series one. We shall see how close I got to the final version later, I suppose.

Because some of you have been asking, the sequel, Fall, is about three quarters of the way done. I slowed down on writing it once Dragoncon and the Inkshares contest hit, but I’ve maintained a minimum of 100 words a days for well over 90 days now. The story line is racing toward the climactic ending and I hope to have it done before November hits so my NANOWRIMO novel can be Shatter, Future Worlds book three.  You can keep up with the Future Worlds series here.

As I promised, I’ve uploaded a PDF version of the complete first draft for the readers and backers to access.  I hope you take advantage of the opportunity and pre-order so you can get an early copy, read it, and enjoy the extra content on the end. The most important thing for you to keep in consideration is a review. We are several months away from publication (March 20, 2016 is the current projection) but when we get close to that date, Rise will start appearing for pre-order on those sites. Having a review ready to post when that happens is such an important part to the success of a new release. Did you know you can post reviews on the Inkshares page, too? It’s a handy place to keep a review where you can easily find it for posting on another vendor’s website, like Amazon or BN.com, later.

Thanks again for your support. I wasn’t ignoring you all post the contest. I intended on posting an update last Friday, but my inbox exploded with everyone else’s announcements and updates of what they were all doing post contest. I decided to wait a few days to add my own update to the cacophony.

Until next time!