True Grit

True Grit is set in the years after the American Civil War. The Civil War (1861-1865) was a pivotal conflict in United States history, fought between the Union (North) and the Confederacy (South). It stemmed primarily from deep-seated divisions over slavery, states’ rights, and economic differences. The war resulted in the abolition of slavery, significant political and social changes, and the preservation of the Union, but it came at a great cost, with an estimated 620,000 to 750,000 casualties. This momentous event casts a long shadow over the novel.

The Civil War’s roots lay in the contentious debate over slavery and the power balance between free and slave states. The Southern economy depended heavily on enslaved labor, while the North, increasingly industrialized, moved toward abolition. The Missouri Compromise (1820) and the Compromise of 1850 temporarily managed tensions, but the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) reignited conflict, leading to violent skirmishes like “Bleeding Kansas.” The 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the spread of slavery, was the final trigger for secession. South Carolina was the first to leave the Union in December 1860, followed by ten other Southern states, forming the Confederate States of America under President Jefferson Davis.

The war began with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861. Over four years, many of the most bloody and brutal battles in American history were fought. The First Battle of Bull Run (1861), for example, was a Confederate victory that dispelled Union hopes of a short war. The Battle of Antietam (1862) was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, leading to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) was a turning point in the war, where the Union repelled Robert E. Lee’s invasion of the North, while the Siege of Vicksburg (1863) gave the Union control of the Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy.

Sherman’s infamous March to the Sea in 1864 was a particularly devastating campaign of total war that devastated the South’s infrastructure. In April 1865, Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, effectively ending the war. Days later, Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth.

Among the many guerrilla groups that emerged during the war, Quantrill’s Raiders were particularly infamous. In True Grit, Rooster Cogburn claims to have ridden with the Raiders. This marks him out as an untrustworthy man, particularly to those who fought for the Union. Led by William Clarke Quantrill, the Confederate-aligned group operated in Missouri and Kansas, engaging in brutal, irregular warfare. Quantrill’s Raiders were notorious for their hit-and-run tactics, ambushing Union forces and terrorizing pro-Union civilians. Their most infamous act was the Lawrence Massacre (1863), in which they attacked the Kansas town of Lawrence, a known abolitionist stronghold, killing around 150 men and boys and burning much of the town. This massacre solidified their reputation as ruthless and violent fighters.

While some saw Quantrill’s Raiders as guerrilla warriors defending the Southern cause, many—including Confederate leaders—viewed them as uncontrollable outlaws. After Quantrill’s death in 1865, remnants of his group, including Jesse James and the Younger brothers (who are also referenced in True Grit), continued their violent activities, eventually becoming legendary outlaws of the post-war era. As such, this post-war period becomes the setting for True Grit, in which men whose lives were shaped by extreme violence attempt to return to a peaceful existence in a changed world. As the Civil War reshaped American politics and the country itself, it reshaped the psyches of men like Rooster Cogburn, who struggled to fit into a world without war.