The Substances of War explores how drugs, alcohol, and other substances were perceived, used, and fought over during the Civil War era. Because the Civil War unfolded in a culture already saturated in drugs, the essays in this collection take substance use and abuse as the center of its study, charting the consumption of many substances-from water, coffee, tobacco, and alcohol to quinine and opiates-from the beginning of the Civil War to its contested and indeterminate endings.In doing so, the dozen essays collectively examine how the war changed the production, perception, and consumption of these substances during this era. Incorporating a wide range of themes, substances, and actors, the authors illuminate the ways that the use and meanings of these substances changed as a result of the war, and how drugs, alcohol, medicine, poison, and even water not only altered the people who used them but the country as a whole.
