Someday, if all goes according to plan, I hope to finish another graduate degree and then spend some time studying, interpreting, and explaining how Americans made war during the Revolution. The thing is, I’ve neither experienced combat nor served in the military.
It’s an issue that a very fine and reputable military historian, Professor Mark Grimsley, has taken [...]
Archive for February, 2009
On military experience and military history
Posted in American Revolution, tagged military history on February 24, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Canada’s Lost Cause
Posted in History and Memory, tagged Battle of the Plains of Abraham on February 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Here’s an interesting story on a cancelled French and Indian War reenactment, brought to my attention by the New York History blog. The Canadian National Battlefields Commission is calling off the 250th anniversary portrayal of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. This was the dramatic British victory that helped break French control over her North American empire. [...]
Doomed to repeat it
Posted in American Revolution, tagged 1775 Invasion of Canada, Benedict Arnold, Richard Montgomery on February 19, 2009 | 2 Comments »
You know what they say about those who don’t learn from history.
Just yesterday, my American Revolution class was discussing the failed American invasion of Canada in 1775. You know the story: Benedict Arnold led his men on a grueling trek through the Maine wilderness, short of food and with numbers dwindling by the mile. Finally [...]
It’s not just me
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, History and Memory, tagged Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Bicentennial on February 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In my last post I said that I found the bicentennial to be something of a fizzle compared to the build-up that preceded it. Today I ran into an actual, honest-to-goodness Lincoln scholar in the library. I mentioned my impression of the bicentennial to him, and he agreed with me. I feel better now.
Bicentennial smoke clears
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, History and Memory, History on the Web, tagged Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Bicentennial on February 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday wasn’t what I expected. I’m a huge history buff, I used to do curatorial work in a Lincoln collection, and I teach at a college named for him. It should have been a big deal for me.
Strangely, though, it wasn’t. I woke up, taught a class, read, and went out for some seafood and a movie. It was, [...]
Lincoln at 200
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, History and Memory, tagged Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Bicentennial on February 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“I do the very best I know how—the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no [...]
Jumping the gun on bicentennial commentary
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, History and Memory, History on the Web, tagged Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Bicentennial on February 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Only two days to go, but those eager beavers who write for news sites just couldn’t wait any longer. MSNBC asks the experts why we can’t get enough of this stuff, while Henry Louis Gates, Jr. looks at Lincoln and race. And I’ll bet we haven’t even seen the tip of this iceberg.
Library of Congress Lincoln exhibit
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Museums and Historic Sites, tagged Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Bicentennial on February 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
If you want to get a look at some of the goods the Library of Congress is trotting out for the bicentennial, then check out this news story.
Lincoln bicentennial in East Tennessee
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, History and Memory, Museums and Historic Sites, tagged Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum, Lincoln Bicentennial on February 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
If you want to do something to celebrate the Lincoln bicentennial on Feb. 12 but you can’t make it to Hodgenville, Washington, or Springfield, don’t despair. If you’ll be within driving distance of the Cumberland Gap area, why not attend the special program at the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum? ”Let Us Praise Famous Men” is a [...]
Tinkering with categories
Posted in Uncategorized on February 6, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I’d like to humbly direct your attention to a bit of housekeeping. One of the interesting things about a blog is the fact that it’s organic. It grows along with its writer, and as you feel your way through it, you’re able to go back and make adjustments from time to time. I’ve found it necessary to [...]
