Popular Posts

• The Future of the Confederate Flag

  My recent post on the unveiling of another large Confederate flag in Tennessee generated a number of comments.  It’s an emotional issue on all sides and it is unlikely that the interested parties will ever fully agree on whether it should be displayed in public as well as its meaning.  But that’s the way it

  75 Comments — 13814 Views — June 11, 2009

• Is the Richard Kirkland Story True?

  The following guest post by Michael Schaffner examines the wartime evidence for the Kirkland story.  It is a thoroughly researched essay and is well worth your time.  I should point out that Mr. Schaffner did not set out to write a piece debunking this particular story.  Like many of us he was curious about the

  38 Comments — 7817 Views — December 22, 2009

• Nat Turner Lived 40 Miles From the Crater

  I‘ve been thinking quite a bit about the images of slave rebellions and miscegenation that shaped the world view of white Southerners throughout the antebellum period.  In the case of Nat Turner’s Rebellion newspapers throughout Virginia and beyond offered extensive coverage and attempted to offer an explanation that would assuage the concerns of what white

  17 Comments — 7363 Views — June 26, 2009

• Family Fun With Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth

  [Hat-Tip to Steve West] How would you like to attend a reenactment of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. On March 7 the Sovereign Majestic Theater in Pottsville, Pennsylvania will be transformed into Ford’s Theater. Booth will be played by Charles Sacavage, a retired Pottsville Area School District history teacher who now teaches history part-time at Alvernia

  18 Comments — 6840 Views — February 25, 2009

• Patrick Cleburne and Black Confederates Take Hollywood

  [Hat-Tip to Lee White] Back in 2008 I commented on a graphic novel that tells the story of Patrick Cleburne’s plan to arm slaves in exchange for their freedom.  I expressed a number of concerns in that post and I appreciate the author of the novel for offering his own perspective.  Now it looks like that

  75 Comments — 5663 Views — February 5, 2010