Saturday Speaker Series: Lesley J. Gordon

Historian and Author Lesley J. Gordon will discuss her new book Dread Danger: Cowardice and Combat in the American Civil War and how the Fire Zouaves and 2nd Texas dealt with charges of cowardice against their regiments. Her book gives us a greater understanding of the Civil War soldier experience. Gordon’s book is a 2025 finalist for the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize.

When confronted with the abject fear of going into battle, Civil War soldiers were expected to overcome the dread of the oncoming danger with feats of courage and victory on the battlefield. The Fire Zouaves and the 2nd Texas Infantry went to war with high expectations that they would perform bravely; both had experienced commanders and enthusiastic community support. How could they possibly fail? Yet falter they did, facing humiliating charges of cowardice that cast a lingering shadow on them, despite their best efforts at redemption. By the end of the war, however, these charges were largely forgotten, replaced with the jingoistic rhetoric of martial heroism, a legacy that led many, including historians, to insist that all Civil War soldiers were heroes.

The presentation is included with admission to the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and FREE for NMCWM members.
Lesley J. Gordon is the Charles G. Summersell Chair of Southern History at the University of Alabama. Gordon’s latest book is, Dread Danger: Cowardice and Combat in the American Civil War. Her previous works, including A Broken Regiment: The 16th Connecticut’s Civil War and George E. Pickett in Life and Legend, have been widely praised by scholars and general readers. Currently, Gordon serves as the visiting professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point.