The coming of war, war itself, and the aftermath of war have profound effects upon individual families and family life generally. Such was the case in the nineteenth century, especially with respect to the Civil War (1861–1865).

The nineteenth-century family was as important and complicated as families are today. Most people regarded marriage as both desirable and necessary. A legal or religious ceremony usually formalized marriage, though some couples in far-flung areas merely moved in and lived together as husband and wife. Among rich and poor alike, the household often included aging parents, single brothers and sisters, and parentless nieces and nephews. Newly married couples often lived with parents until they could establish their own households. According to coverture laws, wives were secondary to their husbands and could not claim their own property.

Divorce rarely disrupted family life, but not because married couples were happier than they...