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America's Civil War took a dreadful toll on human lives, and the emotional repercussions were exacerbated by tales of battlefield atrocities, improper burials and by the lack of news that many received about the fate of their loved ones. Amidst widespread religious doubt and social skepticism, spiritualism--the belief that the spirits of the dead existed and could communicate with the living--filled a psychological void by providing a pathway towards closure during a time of mourning, and by promising an eternal reunion in the afterlife regardless of earthly sins.
Primary research, including 55 months of the weekly spiritual newspaper, Banner of Light and records of hundreds of soldiers' and family members' spirit messages, reveals unique insights into battlefield deaths, the transition to spirit life, and the motivations prompting ethereal communications. This book focuses extensively on Spiritualism's religious, political, and commercial activities during the war years, as well as the controversies surrounding the faith, strengthening the connection between ante- and postbellum studies of Spiritualism.
List of contents
Table of ContentsPreface
One-Antebellum Spiritualism
Two-Science, Religion and Mysticism
Three-Spiritualism During the Civil War
Four-Doctrine, Dilemmas and Doubts
Five-Assassination, Resurrection and Exploitation
Six-Spreading the Faith
Seven-Phantoms of War
Eight-Pathos, Politics and Presumptions
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
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.
