McDonnell’s history is the most original, even eccentric, account of the coming of the Civil War ever written. His physical focus, Charleston, is narrow, but the breadth and detail of his social observation is unparalleled. All is handled with literary cleverness and stylistic verve. His argument is that the appeal of the Civil War in Charleston was as much to create unity in the tension-filled city and among its insecure men as it was to create a nation safe for slavery. Divided Charlestonians yearned for a “melodrama” when men could triumphantly represent both the “respectability” and “honor” codes that divided them. The Civil War grew from a citywide male desire for a “performance” of united masculinity rushing to heroic self-definition.
McDonnell gracefully uses some Charleston landmark buildings, and the city’s three points of entry—by sea, railroad, and road—to establish its polyglot nature, involving commerce, manufacturing, and retail as much as...