Confederates In The Attic: Dispatches From The Unfinished Civil War

The idea of loss, both literal and metaphorical, is a central motif of Confederates in the Attic. Regardless of where Horwitz finds himself in the South, the inhabitants echo this sentiment over and over again, describing how the “white South—has always had a profound sense of loss” (87). The idea that the South not only lost the Civil War, but that they lost their traditional, agrarian, family-centered way of life is imbedded in the hearts and souls of many of the white Southerners who speak with Horwitz. It is this sense of nostalgia that leads many white Southerners to cling to images and icons of the Civil War, whether it be the public displaying of the Confederate Battle Flag, monuments to Confederate soldiers, or the collection of personal items, like paintings or lithographs, that present the South in a positive manner and recall its struggle. This sense of loss is made more profound in the minds of many Southerners because they feel that, though they have been made to return to the Union, they are now viewed as equal and are still forced to bear the burden for the war and its ramifications, namely slavery, reconstruction, and America’s segregationist history.