Including the classics of the genre as well as rare period pieces by
African Americans and women, and northern and southern patriotic verse
and songs, The Columbia Book of Civil War Poetry paints the background
of the conflict and its literature in Richard Marius's renowned prose,
with each poem introduced by a compelling vignette. What emerges is an
unparalleled pageant of the war in all its power and sentimentality; the
anger of its participants and their yearning for peace.