Defending the Southern Confederacy: The Men in Gray

Trying to understand the men in gray and the reasons that led to the War Between the States have been a favorite for historians and novices when reviewing this period of our history. Reverend Robert Catlett Cave wrote The Men in Gray in 1911 to help explain the Southern viewpoint on the conflict. At the unveiling of the monument to the Confederate Sailors and Soldiers of the Southern Confederacy in Libby Park, Richmond, Virginia, his oration sparked a controversy that led to the writing and explanation contained in this book.

Most books about the War Between the States are about battles, campaigns, strategies, tactics, personalities, and military activities. In contrast, Robert Cave has fairly and superbly presented the South’s side of the causes of this war. His purpose was to give everyone a truer and more just conception of the South’s motives, aims, lofty patriotism, and unwavering devotion to principle and constitutional law. Readers will find his purpose and analysis have been well served in this outstanding treatise about a very controversial subject.