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Slavery was at the heart of the South's agrarian economy before and during the Civil War. Agriculture provided products essential to the war effort, from dietary rations to antimalarial drugs to raw materials for military uniforms and engineering. Drawing on a range of primary sources, this history examines the botany and ethnobotany of America's defining conflict. The author describes the diverse roles of cash crops, herbal medicine, subsistence agriculture and the diet and cookery of enslaved people.
List of contents
Table of ContentsPreface
1.ç¸he Botanical Roots of Slavery
Colonial Origins� Enslaved Life� Economy and Natural History� Popular Culture�
2.縋lantation Landscapes
Land and Trees�; Asian Imports�; Hedges�; Brush Arbors�; Wartime Landscapes�
3.ç·¼griculture and Crops
North and South�; Soils, Nutrients, and Cultivation�; Guan�; Cash Crops�; 璖elf-Sufficiency�
4.ç¸oods and Diet
Crops and Cookery�; Fruits and Sweets�; Grains and Bread�; Food Preservation�; Military Rations�; Whiskey, Wine, and Beer�; African Crops and Diets�; Survival�
5.ç¸edicinal Botany and Medical Practice
Antebellum Practices�; Southern Strategies�; Confederate Medicinal Flor�; Malaria, Miasma, Feverbark, and Quinine�; Soldiers' Medicine�; Slavery and Medicine�
6.縂ardens and Horticulture
Plantation Gardens�3; Botanical Origins�6; Home Gardens and Floral Culture�2; Indoor Gardens and Parlor Botany�6; Gardens and Slavery�0; Botanical Studies�3
7.ç¸ibers and Dyes
King Cotton and Culture�6; Cotton Gins�0; Bast and Leaf Fibers�2; Textiles, Clothing, and Uniforms�5; Military Needs�7; Silk�0; Paper�2; Dyestuffs and Pigments�4
8.ç¸imber and Wood
The Timbered Landscape�7; Farms and Homesteads�9; Military Needs�4; Timber Products and Naval Stores�8; Military Engineering and Construction�1; Loss and Gain�5
Afterword
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Judith Sumner is a botanist and author with particular interest in the historical uses of plants. She is a frequent lecturer for audiences of all kinds and has taught for many years at colleges and botanical gardens. She lives in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Summary
Drawing on a range of primary sources, this history examines the botany and ethnobotany of America’s defining conflict. The author describes the diverse roles of cash crops, herbal medicine, subsistence agriculture and the diet and cookery of enslaved people.
