As a Southern boy, I now realize how much I became steeped in the myths, legends, and stories of the Civil War. William Faulkner writes about Southern young men and their aspirations to be at the Battle of Gettysburg, and I feel those emotions; especially after walking the battlefield myself. The war is Americaâs story written in blood, and, tragically, it still causes bloodshed. We are still fighting it in many ways. This shouldnât be a surprise because it is our national story. President Lincoln defined slavery as the cause of the war, and the war ended the institution to a point. Former slaves both gained freedom and then had it stolen back from them over a series of years as laws were imposed to segregate society and bar peoples of color from certain jobs.