The Soldier’s Dream
Jonathan W. White
Midnight in America March 20, 2017 DOI: 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469632049.003.0002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Union and Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War |
| Key points | Argues that Union and Confederate soldiers most often dreamed about home, typically pleasant dreams of wives and children. Some dreams reflected anxieties about death or marital infidelity, and some soldiers had battle nightmares or saw increasing violence in their dreams, but pleasant family dreams predominated. |
Abstract
More than anything else, Union and Confederate soldiers dreamed about home. Usually these were pleasant dreams of loved ones, but sometimes they reflected soldiers’ deepest anxieties, such as fears of death or marital infidelity. Soldiers also had nightmares of battle, and some soldiers saw increasing amounts of violence in their dreams. But on the whole, most soldiers experienced pleasant dreams about their wives and children durign the Civil War.