I Never Was a Coward: Questions of Bravery in a Civil War Regiment (Frank L. Klement Lectures)

In popular imagination, the American Civil War remains a conflict in which all soldiers acted out of personal bravery and self-sacrifice. Communal memory and historical scholarship have insisted that every soldier was a hero. But there were men, not paragons but humans, who did not perform admirably or heroically. Many were shirkers, skulkers and deserters; those who fled from battle, or slipped away during long marches. I Never Was a Coward focuses on a single northern regiment to highlight broad questions about bravery and cowardice. The wartime record of the 16Ãsuperscript th¨ Connecticut Infantry Regiment includes candid accusations, confessions and observations of cowardice in battle, in camp, at home, and in prison. By examining letters, dairies and newspapers, we learn firsthand how this regiment defined and redefined cowardice. Their story provides fresh insight into a topic rarely explored by Civil War historians.