Psychological Consequences of the American Civil War

The conclusion of America’s Civil War set off an ongoing struggle as a fractured society suffered the psychological consequences of four years of destruction, deprivation and distrust. Veterans experienced climbing rates of depression, suicide, mental illness, crime, and alcohol and drug abuse. Survivors, leery of conventional medicine and traditional religion, sought out quacks and spiritualists as cult memberships grew. This book provides a comprehensive account of the war-weary fighting their mental demons.

R. Gregory Lande is an adult, forensic and addiction trained psychiatrist in Orlando, Florida, a retired U.S. Army medical officer and an independent scholar whose interest in historical research focuses on the human side of America’s Civil War era.

R. Gregory Lande
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 256
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6737-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2694-9
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1
Introduction 3
One—Sadness and Suicide 13
Two—A Loss of Faith 39
Three—Promising Much and Delivering Little 76
Four—Intemperance 99
Five—Carnival of Crime 123
Six—Pretentious Panaceas 170
Seven—Return of Reason 193
Chapter Notes 209
Bibliography 225
Index 239