DR. LORIEN FOOTE
presents
About the Topic:
Retaliation against prisoners of war was a ubiquitous feature of the American Civil War. Field commanders used retaliation during every military campaign and civilian leaders frequently turned to the practice when they confronted contentious policy issues. Through a shared ritual, the combatants staked broad claims about what civilized war should look like in practice and negotiated details about how to interpret the laws of war.
Dr. Foote’s talk will describe the basic rules and established rituals of retaliation, and how these rules reflected three essential elements in the American conception of civilized war: restraint, the accumulated wisdom of centuries, and national honor.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Lorien Foote is the Patricia & Bookman Peters Professor in History at Texas A&M University. She is the author of four books, editor of three volumes, and writer of numerous articles and essays on the cultural, intellectual, and military history of the American Civil War. Her books include the just-published Rites of Retaliation: Civilization, Soldiers, and Campaigns in the American Civil War (2020); The Yankee Plague: Escaped Union Prisoners and the Collapse of the Confederacy (2016), which was a 2017 Choice Outstanding Academic Title; and The Gentlemen and the Roughs: Manhood, Honor, and Violence in the Union Army (2010), which was a finalist and Honorable Mention for the 2011 Lincoln Prize. In addition, Dr. Foote is the co-editor, with Earl J. Hess, of The Oxford Handbook of the American Civil War.
Dr. Foote is the creator and principal investigator of a digital humanities project, which is mapping the escape and movement of 3000 Federal prisoners of war. The project includes contributions from undergraduate researchers at four universities. It can be explored on-line at www.ehistory.org/projects/
The links below should take you to more information about her books.
Rites of Retaliation: Civilization, Soldiers, and Campaigns in the American Civil War: https://www.uncpress.org/
Useful Captives: The Role of POWs in American Military Conflicts: https://
The Oxford Handbook of the American Civil War: https://global.oup.com/
________________
