Check out this story from Civil War News about the Rev. Alan Farley, “one of the few full-time reenacting preachers and certainly the one who has been doing it the longest.”
I didn’t know there were any full-time reenacting preachers, but Farley’s been doing it for two and a half decades.
During the 225th anniversary of the Battle [...]
Archive for the ‘History and Memory’ Category
How can I get a job like this?
Posted in History and Memory, tagged Civil War, reenacting on July 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A sample of Neo-Confederate historiography
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, History and Memory, tagged Abraham Enloe, Abraham Enlow, Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's paternity, Civil War memory, Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln assassination, Lost Cause on July 22, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Ladies and gentlemen, I submit for your edification a few selections from the catalogue of The Confederate Reprint Company.
The Genesis of Lincoln by James Harrison Cathey. This startling tome informs us that “the man known to the world as Abraham Lincoln was actually the offspring of an illicit relationship between Nancy Hanks and a married man named [...]
Virtual flowers at Ann’s grave–popular memory and the limits of scholarship
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, History and Memory, History on the Web, tagged Abraham Lincoln, Ann Rutledge, New Salem on May 27, 2009 | 4 Comments »
When I went to Springfield a few years ago, one of my priorities was to make the short drive up to Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site. I hit a lot of Lincoln sites on that trip—the Presidential Library and Museum, his home, his law office, his tomb—but New Salem was pretty hard to beat.
Since [...]
It’s all about the numbers
Posted in Civil War, History and Memory, History on the Web, tagged Black Confederates on May 18, 2009 | 2 Comments »
During the Civil War a few hundred women disguised themselves as men and fought as soldiers. We know some of their names—Sarah Edmonds, Jennie Hodgers, Frances Clalin. In some cases, we have photos, we have pension documents and other records, and we have enough biographical information to reconstruct their life stories. So if you said that “women fought in [...]
History by fiat
Posted in Civil War, History and Memory, tagged Black Confederates on May 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
One blog I always look forward to reading more than most others is Kevin Levin’s Civil War Memory. I enjoy it as much for the active discussions in the comments as much as for Kevin’s invariably well-written and insightful posts.
One topic which always generates a lot of reaction at CWM is the subject of black Confederates. Few [...]
On using battlefields
Posted in Historic Preservation, History and Memory, Museums and Historic Sites, tagged Battlefields, historic sites on April 30, 2009 | 7 Comments »
Not long ago I went to a military park located in the middle of a fairly good-sized city. I arrived bright and early, and as I headed into the visitor center, I noticed a couple walking their dogs along the trail. I didn’t really think anything about it.
After seeing the exhibits, I hit the trails [...]
It’s just a flesh wound
Posted in Civil War, History and Memory, History on the Web, tagged Civil War, Black Confederates on April 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The historical blog world being a rather small community, I assume that most of the people who are reading this already know that the debate over those elusive black Confederate soldiers has stirred up again. Check out Civil War Memory and the Old Virginia Blog if you want to jump in.
The black Confederate proponents remind me of some [...]
We might eventually be sorry about the whole slavery thing
Posted in Civil War, History and Memory, Tennessee History, tagged Tennessee slavery apology on April 14, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I’m a little embarrassed. There’s a political to-do here in my home state of Tennessee involving historical memory, and I didn’t even know about it until Dimitri Rotov pointed it out via this post.
We’re trying to decide whether or not we’re sorry about that whole slavery and Jim Crow business. Evidently we’re not sorry yet, but there’s [...]
Hearing Lincoln
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, History and Memory, tagged Abraham Lincoln on March 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Here’s one of my historical pet peeves. The next time you’re watching a movie or documentary about Lincoln, pay attention to the reconstruction of his speaking voice. Filmmakers and producers rarely get this right.
If you read accounts by people who knew Lincoln, you’ll find that the one word used more than any other to describe his voice is ”shrill.” [...]
A look behind the banner
Posted in American Revolution, Colonial America, History and Memory, Tennessee History, tagged East Tennessee, Lloyd Branson, Revolutionary War, Sycamore Shoals on March 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Ah, the banner—that nifty picture strip that runs along the top of so many sites and blogs with a dash of personalized flair. Maybe you’ve been wondering where I got mine. If you guessed that it’s from Lloyd Branson’s painting Gathering of the Overmountain Men at Sycamore Shoals, 1780, now in the fabulous Tennessee State Museum, then give yourself a [...]
