When I was a kid, one of my favorite haunts was the University of Tennessee’s Frank H. McClung Museum. My dad and I usually found some excuse to stop by whenever we were in Knoxville so I could check out the fossils.
Back in those days, one of the smaller exhibits was a display on Knoxville [...]
Archive for the ‘Museums and Historic Sites’ Category
A belated exhibit endorsement
Posted in Civil War, Museums and Historic Sites, Tennessee History, tagged Civil War, Fort Sanders, Frank H. McClung Museum, Knoxville on December 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Virtually on the ground
Posted in History on the Web, Museums and Historic Sites, tagged Abraham Lincoln, Bunker Hill, Fort Moultrie, Gettysburg, Google Street View, Independence Hall, Lexington and Concord, Pickett's Charge on November 24, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I’ve posted before about some of the online gimmicks that allow you to virtually visit historic sites, whether via aerial photos or webcams. Lately I’ve been trying the same thing with Google Street View, which allows you to travel along roads and look around for a 360° view. The images come from car-mounted cameras, so it only works [...]
Chatting up a Pilgrim
Posted in Colonial America, Museums and Historic Sites, tagged Pilgrims, Plimoth Plantation on November 17, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Here’s an interview with a costumed interpreter at Plimoth Plantation that popped up today on one of the Boston Herald blogs. Describing his job, he invokes the names of both Batman and Santa Claus, neither of whom are subjects of frequent discussion in most other professional circles.
A frontier outpost of the British Empire
Posted in Colonial America, Museums and Historic Sites, Tennessee History, tagged Cherokee, Fort Loudoun, Fort Loudoun State Historic Area, French and Indian War, Sequoyah, Tellico Blockhouse, Tennessee History on November 1, 2009 | 4 Comments »
It’s been a while since I’ve posted one of my historic site reviews, but the other day I tagged along on a trip to Fort Loudoun State Historic Area near Vonore, TN. This is another of those fascinating frontier-era sites in East Tennessee that I’ve intended to visit for a good, long while. (It’s funny how you’ll drive hundreds [...]
Evaluating Latschar
Posted in Civil War, Museums and Historic Sites, tagged Gettysburg, Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, Gettysburg National Military Park, John Latschar on October 23, 2009 | 4 Comments »
A reader left this comment on my previous post: “A bit off-topic, but what do you think of the NPS transferring Gettysburg Superintendent John Latschar to an in-house desk job after thousands of pornographic images were found on his work computer?”
It’s a fair question. I’ve got plenty of opinions about some of the recent changes at Gettysburg—the [...]
Civil War at the Gap
Posted in Civil War, Museums and Historic Sites, tagged Civil War, Cumberland Gap on October 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
When you hear “Cumberland Gap,” you probably think of Daniel Boone and the role the pass played in westward expansion. But the Gap has quite a Civil War history, too. It was the right anchor of the Confederacy’s defensive line in the West and changed hands four times.
This weekend Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is hosting a [...]
Battle maps galore
Posted in Museums and Historic Sites on September 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Here are some more fiber optic battle maps from the folks that brought you the one at Cowpens. I love these things!
Electric Map 2.0
Posted in American Revolution, Civil War, Museums and Historic Sites, tagged Cowpens, Electric Map, Gettysburg, Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, Gettysburg National Military Park on September 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A couple of days ago I posted about a news item that Eric Wittenberg mentioned on his blog. To recap, the folks at Gettysburg National Military Park are thinking about reviving the Electric Map in the form of a film presentation.
Critics of the map said that it was too big and too antiquated, and I [...]
Reincarnating the Electric Map?
Posted in Civil War, Museums and Historic Sites, tagged Electric Map, Gettysburg, Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, Gettysburg National Military Park on September 17, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Eric Wittenberg draws our attention to an interesting news item from Gettysburg. They’re throwing around the idea of bringing back some version of the Electric Map in a conventional, movie-theater format.
I’m not sure what they’ve got in mind, but the news item makes an implication that has me scratching my head: “The Electric Map was [...]
Lincoln Museum collection won’t be locked away
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Museums and Historic Sites, tagged Abraham Lincoln, Indiana State Museum, Lincoln Museum on September 13, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Here’s an item from Civil War News with an update on the collection of the recently-closed Lincoln Museum in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Those of you who have followed this story know that part of the material will go to the Indiana State Museum, and the archival stuff will go to the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne.
The [...]
