Recalling Deeds Immortal presents a detailed and comprehensive review of Florida monuments erected to the memory of the Civil War. Considered are Confederate and Union monuments placed both within the state and beyond its borders by memorial associations, veteran groups, the State of Florida, and individuals to memorialize hallowed ground, the sacrifice of local soldiers who died in the war, and the general sacrifice borne largely by soldiers but also by civilians during the conflict. This book is more than a catalogue, however, as these monuments are presented as part of a national social pro ... More

Recalling Deeds Immortal presents a detailed and comprehensive review of Florida monuments erected to the memory of the Civil War. Considered are Confederate and Union monuments placed both within the state and beyond its borders by memorial associations, veteran groups, the State of Florida, and individuals to memorialize hallowed ground, the sacrifice of local soldiers who died in the war, and the general sacrifice borne largely by soldiers but also by civilians during the conflict. This book is more than a catalogue, however, as these monuments are presented as part of a national social process with origins in Reconstruction that resulted in unequal treatment of Union and Confederate soldier dead and veterans in a post-war nation composed of both victors and the defeated. Post-war organizations such as the Union Grand Army of the Republic and the United Daughters of the Confederacy consciously worked to construct different social memories of the Civil War (including the Confederate “Lost Cause” narrative) that were focused on honoring their soldier dead and veterans, but that had the unintended consequence of making sectional reconciliation an elusive achievement until almost a century had passed.