ABSTRACT
The civilian experience in the Civil War entailed an array of changes—some minor and some major, some short- I ived and some long-lasting—in both daily life and the broader framework of cultural attitudes that Americans had traditionally brought to their work, their homes, and their social relations. Civilians also benefited from a roisterous press, getting news about the war from a rich variety of newspapers, magazines, and illustrated weeklies. The war is abstracting from the community its protecting and sheltering elements, and leaving the helpless and dependent in vast disproportion. The soldiers huddled in their blankets on the ground slept far more soundly that night before the battle than their men-folk and women-folk in their warm beds at home.
