He wrote a little essay, he said,

他在那一小篇论文中写道
"Have social historians lost the Civil War?"

社会史学家失去了内战了吗
His answer, of course, was yes,

他回答说是的
and he showed, very carefully,

他非常仔细地论证
by looking at few New England towns,

通过对几个新英格兰地区的小镇的观察
that old tradition of studying in microcosm New England towns --

那种对小镇进行微观研究的传统
which Colonial American history

在美国殖民史研究中
had been doing for a generation or two --

已经延续了一两代人
he showed that there are all these towns all over New England,

他表明遍布新英格兰地区的那些镇
small and relatively large,

不论小的还是相对大一点的
that had lost half of their men

在四年内战期间丧失了半数
between the age of 18 and 45, in four years of war.

年龄在18到45岁之间的男性