In awaiting the heavenly country mark s schantz argues that american attitudes and ideas about death helped facilitate the wars tremendous carnage asserting that nineteenth century attitudes toward death were firmly in place before the war began rather than arising from a sense of resignation after the losses became apparent schantz has written a fascinating and chilling narrative of how a society understood death and reckoned the magnitude of destruction it was willing to tolerate. Awaiting the heavenly country the civil war and americas culture of death by mark s schantz. Americans came to fight the civil war in the midst of a wider cultural world that sent them messages about death that made it easier to kill and to be killed they understood that death awaited all who were born and prized the ability to face death with a spirit of calm resignation they believed that a heavenly eternity of transcendent beauty awaited them beyond the grave they knew that their heroic achievements would be cherished forever by posterity they grasped that death itself might . John j kucich awaiting the heavenly country the civil war and americas culture of death by mark s schantz ithaca cornell university press 2008 xviii 245 pp 2495 isbn 978 0 8014 3761 8 journal of american history volume 96 issue 1 june 2009 pages 227 228 https doiorg 102307 27694797. Download citation awaiting the heavenly country the civil war and americas culture of death and this republic of suffering death and the american civil war review then i turned aside