As a boy, Bruce first heard the reminiscences of the aged veterans who had fought in the Civil War. He was the son of a Congregationalist minister, who accepted a teaching position in Benzonia Academy and later became the academy's headmaster. Oliver Jensen, who succeeded him as editor of American Heritage magazine, wrote: "There is a near-magic power of imagination in Catton's work that seemed to project him physically into the battlefields, along the dusty roads and to the campfires of another age."īruce Catton was born in Petoskey, Michigan, but spent most of his boyhood in Benzonia. In the long line of Civil War historians, Catton is arguably the most prolific and popular of all, with Shelby Foote his only conceivable rival.
His works, although well-researched, were generally not presented in a rigorous academic style, supported by footnotes. Catton was known as a narrative historian who specialized in popular histories that emphasized the colorful characters and vignettes of history, in addition to the simple dates, facts, and analysis.
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