The War Prayer. By Mark Twain. The Writings of Mark Twain Vol. 29: Europe and Elsewhere. New York. Gabriel Wells, 1923. Also here and here.
War Is Hell and Don’t Forget It. By Allen L. Roland. Tikkun Daily, May 27, 2013.
The War Prayer: Mark Twain. Video. ricshinn, June 26, 2008. YouTube. Epilogue to the PBS 1981 production: A Private History of a Campaign That Failed.
Jacksonians have always understood Twain’s
message quite clearly: that praying for the victory of their soldiers means wreaking havoc, death, and
destruction on the enemy. Jacksonians have no romantic illusions about war. The Jacksonian way of war calls for using all of America’s economic, technological, and military resources to force the total defeat and unconditional surrender of the enemy. For Jacksonians war is total war, a life-and-death struggle to defend the community and the nation against its enemies and to assert American honor. Jacksonians agree with General Sherman that war is hell. So they have no problem with inflicting massive collateral damage to the enemy’s civilian population, women, and children, turning their lives into a living hell, if that’s what it takes to win.
