JOURNAL ARTICLE

Home-Builders": Free Labor Households and Settler Colonialism in Western Union Civil War Commemorations.

  • Published In: Journal of the Civil War Era, 2025, v. 15, n. 1. P. 33 1 of 3

  • Database: America: History and Life with Full Text 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Peterson, Lindsey R. 3 of 3

Abstract

In the trans-Mississippi West, white Union veterans and their families commemorated the American Civil War in ways that supported the colonization of American Indians and privileged themselves. This article analyzes the gendered dimensions of this process. In Memorial Day addresses, monument dedication speeches, and GAR and WRC records, western Union veterans celebrated themselves for preserving and expanding free, single-family households west, which they asserted was a legacy of their Civil War military service. Contending Union veterans and their wives best exemplified civilization, they employed Civil War commemorative rituals to argue they were the most deserving of western lands and entitlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Journal of the Civil War Era. 2025/03, Vol. 15, Issue 1, p33
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:History
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:2154-4727
  • DOI:10.1353/cwe.2025.a952581
  • Accession Number:183227665
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Journal of the Civil War Era is the property of University of North Carolina Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Looking to go deeper into this topic? Look for more articles on EBSCOhost.