The United Daughters of the Confederacy was founded on September 10, 1894 by Caroline Merriweather Goodlett and Anna Davenport Raines. The first chapter was formed in Nashville, Tennessee. (As a native Tennessean, that tracks.) The purpose of this was to offer support for other female descendants of Confederate veterans and support the construction of Confederate monuments throughout the United States. They also stuck their nose into the curriculum to ensure that "truthful history" was taught, which ultimately boils down to a whitewashed version that says the Union was simply wanting to suppress state's rights.

As a historian, I do feel that Civil War history is not properly taught, especially in the South. I think it is important to learn about key figures on both sides, because the military strategy and how logistics and other things affected the outcome of the war is valuable information. As a matter of fact, this very week I am going to be visiting Shiloh Battlefield, and I am looking forward to learning new information there. The main issue was, of course, slavery, but there were other issues that resulted in war as well. I do feel that there is a place for Confederate monuments, such as battlefields and museums, because they are great educational tools.

This book is currently available on Audible Plus if you have the subscription, which I was happy to see. This was a book that I had in my wish list for a while, and that saved me from using a credit on it. The Daughters of the Confederacy are still active, and they have a website if you are interested in seeing what they currently have to say about the removal of Confederate monuments. They are also still handing out license plates, at least in this state, for both the Sons and Daughters of Confederate Veterans. It is important to look at all aspects of an issue or historical event and learn as much as one can about it. I do not believe in the glorification of "Southern Values" or the "Confederacy" and I am sure I would feel that way even if I didn't live in Tennessee. This book was well written, and offered a lot of information about this organization. I didn't know very much about it, other than it was a thing that existed, so it was valuable to me for that alone. If you are interested in this topic, or the Civil War in general, I would recommend picking this up to learn about the post war period.