From the soldier's perspective, the Civil War was only partly a battle over ideology. More immediately it was a test of manhood that an appalling number welcomed. This poetic book uncovers the emotional life of Southern men - particularly their relationships with women - to examine how love undergirded their bids for immortality on the battlefield.

As the realities of the war became apparent, however, the letters and diaries turned from idealized themes of honor and country to solemn reflections on love and home. Elegant and poetic, All That Makes a Man recovers the emotional lives of unsung Southern men and women and reveals that the fiction of Cold Mountain mirrors a poignant reality. In their search for a cause worthy of their lives, many Southern soldiers were disappointed in their hopes for a Southern nation. But they still had their women's love, and there they would rebuild.