THOMASVILLE- The John B. Gordon 383 UDC gave a book to the Pavo Public Library in honor of Randy Young. He presented a program about the history of southern music and the origins of why the lyrics were so popular during the 1860’s era. The name of the book is All That Makes A Man, Love and Ambition in the Civil War written by Stephen W. Berry,II.

The book shares from diaries and letters what southern men wrote back home to their families and sweethearts. The soldiers saw the war as a way to prove their manhood when it first began. It gave them the opportunity to provide proof of their willingness to protect those they loved.

The author shares writings from six different men. The book reveals a “male-dominated Southern culture that exalted women as “repositories of divine grace.” The letters and diaries began with themes of honor and country, but ended with solemn thoughts about love and their home.

Even though the book shares the soldiers’ disappointments with the outcome of the war, it tells how they did not give up on their ladies’ love and the rebuilding of their homeland.