New Bedford's Civil War / Earl F. Mulderink III.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"A burning and shining light": prosperity and enlightened governance in antebellum New Bedford -- "The nearest approach to freedom and equality": African Americans in antebellum New Bedford -- "Suppression of an unholy rebellion": wartime mobilization on the home front -- "Citizen-soldiers of Massachusetts": New Bedford's volunteers in the Civil War -- "Boys, I only did my duty": New Bedford's black soldiers in the fifty-fourth Massachusetts -- "Worthy recipients": New Bedford's black veterans and the web of social welfare -- "Business is extremely dull": whaling and manufacturing in wartime New Bedford -- "The position of our city has materially changed": public costs and municipal governance during the Civil War -- "The great hope for the future": New Bedford in the postbellum era -- "On the altar of our common country": contested commemorations of the Civil War.