“The Civil War continues to fester in the South more than in other places.” These are the first words historian David Goldfield writes in the preface to his book, Still Fighting the Civil War. Noted historian James McPherson was apparently astonished at the persistence and growth of Civil War reenactors and America’s passion for the Civil War. Sociologist and historian James W. Loewen takes issue with the romance and popularity of the Confederate States of America. He writes, “If its appeal were just a harmless atavism, then no one would mind that the ratio of Confederate to Union Civil War reenactors is two to one. No one would care when high schools, even in Northern states, name their athletic teams “Rebels” and “Colonels” and wave Confederate
