Confederates In The Attic Analysis

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“Oh I’m a good rebel, that’s what I am…I won’t be reconstructed, and I don’t give a damn,” is a line from the song “A Good Old Rebel written in 1870 by Innes Randolpf. Though composed over 128 years before Tony Horwitz published his book Confederates in the Attic, the line speaks the true theme of his book. There are people in the South who still continue to romanticize the time surrounding the Civil War. After moving to a small rural town in Virginia, Horwitz is introduced to a group of die-hard Civil War reenactors. This chance meeting sends him on a trip through the South to some places that are still clinging on to the War. As Horwitz travels to some of the most prestigious landmarks and battlefields of the Civil War, he tries understand the obsession that some of the people he meets still have for the Lost Cause. The men and women Horwitz encounter on his historic journey introduce him to a world desperately clinging to a pride that is slowly dying. …show more content…
As these are all first-hand accounts, Horwitz does not use the traditional sources that historian generally utilize to strengthen a historical point. However, the lack of historical evidence does not make the reader question the validity of Horwitz book, because he is able to convey the perceived history of the different people he encounters. These people grasp their own alleged versions of the events of the Civil War. Even if Horwitz tried to correct their false beliefs, they would have just dismissed these information as heresy. This proved true when after Horwitz published his book. After meeting Alberta Martin, the last living widow of a Confederate soldier, Horwitz discloses his belief that her husband, William Jasper Martin, deserted his position. Mrs. Martin, outraged by this accusation, sues Horwitz with the aid of the Southern Legal Resource Center. This clearly shows the depth that many of these people will defend their
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