Our People Are Warlike

"While one of the most persistent underlying themes in the historiography of the Civil War is the "brother against brother" one, particularly in states that were deeply divided, Pittsburgh and its citizenry provide an instance of almost universal pro-Union ideological solidarity as the war approached and overtook the country. The city achieved this unity despite forces that might ordinarily tear it apart: an ethnically diverse population, including many new immigrants, a complex industrial-economic situation, and an enormous contribution of soldiers who died in combat. A study of local history during a tumultuous time and of pro-Unionism in which different groups tried to outdo one another in patriotic fervor, this book provides a wide-ranging look at Pittsburgh during the war years"--