“Sacrificed upon the Altar of His Country”: Soldiers' Obituaries during the Civil War

Based on an analysis of hundreds of obituaries published in newspapers from both the North and the South, this chapter explores Civil War soldiers’ obituaries to explain how their authors used an obituary to commemorate the life of a fallen soldier while also attempting to explain the meaning of his death. It finds that thematic elements in soldier obituaries reflected the religious values of the era and reinforced notions of patriotism and sacrifice, shaping the contemporary audience's understanding of the war as well as the nation's enduring memory of the Civil War soldier.