Missouri Man Pens Revealing Civil War Accounts in Series of Letters

Belle Montgomery

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Some argued that his pen was mightier than a sword, but others said he deserved to die by the blade. Either way, Pike County resident Bazel F. Lazear left an unforgettable account of the sights, sounds and sensations he experienced during the Civil War.

Some argued that his pen was mightier than a sword, but others said he deserved to die by the blade.

Either way, Pike County resident Bazel F. Lazear left an unforgettable account of the sights, sounds and sensations he experienced during the Civil War.

The Union commander held nothing back in uncensored depictions and critiques found in a series of letters to his family in Ashley. The 165-item, 400-page collection helps to showcase the bitterness and divisiveness of the era.

Lazear could be blatantly racist or sincerely empathetic, appallingly sinister or pleasantly likeable. Historian and college professor Vivian Kirkpatrick McLarty offered an analysis in the Missouri Historical Review.

“The letters not only give a firsthand description of the stirring military events of the years 1861-1865 in Missouri, but they also display the loneliness of the husband and father who must be separated from his family, the tragedy of the desolated countryside and homeless women and children, and the economic upheaval which always accompanies war,” McLarty wrote.

In a 1978 family history that focuses upon his Confederate ancestors — some of whom were killed by Lazear’s men – author Ivan N. McKee had a much harsher view.
REST OF ARTICLE:http://www.hannibal.net/news/20181015/ashley-man-pens-revealing-civil-war-accounts
 
Some argued that his pen was mightier than a sword, but others said he deserved to die by the blade. Either way, Pike County resident Bazel F. Lazear left an unforgettable account of the sights, sounds and sensations he experienced during the Civil War.

Some argued that his pen was mightier than a sword, but others said he deserved to die by the blade.

Either way, Pike County resident Bazel F. Lazear left an unforgettable account of the sights, sounds and sensations he experienced during the Civil War.

The Union commander held nothing back in uncensored depictions and critiques found in a series of letters to his family in Ashley. The 165-item, 400-page collection helps to showcase the bitterness and divisiveness of the era.

Lazear could be blatantly racist or sincerely empathetic, appallingly sinister or pleasantly likeable. Historian and college professor Vivian Kirkpatrick McLarty offered an analysis in the Missouri Historical Review.

“The letters not only give a firsthand description of the stirring military events of the years 1861-1865 in Missouri, but they also display the loneliness of the husband and father who must be separated from his family, the tragedy of the desolated countryside and homeless women and children, and the economic upheaval which always accompanies war,” McLarty wrote.

In a 1978 family history that focuses upon his Confederate ancestors — some of whom were killed by Lazear’s men – author Ivan N. McKee had a much harsher view.
REST OF ARTICLE:http://www.hannibal.net/news/20181015/ashley-man-pens-revealing-civil-war-accounts
That is an interesting article. Thanks for posting it.
 
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