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2 - War Is Horrible and Dull

from Part I - The Soldier’s Faith

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2019

Catharine Pierce Wells
Catharine Pierce Wells
Affiliation:
Boston College, Massachusetts
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Summary

This chapter recounts what is known of Holmes’s experiences during the Civil War. From the slaughter at Balls Bluff, to the struggles on the Peninsula, through Fredericksburg I and II, Antietam, Gettysburg and the Wilderness, his regiment encountered the worst that war could offer. Holmes himself was wounded three times and suffered a nearly fatal bout of dysentery. Each wound returned him to Boston to his family’s care, and each time he went back to face more of what he came to think was butchery. The chapter also tries to sort out the confusion over why Holmes left the army at the end of his enlistment.

Keywords

Oliver Wendell HolmesCivil WarMassachusetts 20thHenry AbbottNorwood Penrose HallowellBalls BluffThe Peninsula CampaignFredericksburgAntietamAbolition
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Chapter
Information
Oliver Wendell Holmes
A Willing Servant to an Unknown God
 , pp. 32 - 62
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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