Someone was kind enough to include my name on a subscription list for Civil War News. While I am appreciative, why the hell would you mail a hard copy of a publication that is available Online? One possibility is that there is still a significant number of subscribers who, for whatever reason, do not have access to a computer. That said, isn't this just a huge waste of paper? I went through it in about 5 minutes and learned that there are a lot of strange things going on in the Civil War community.
I did notice an advertisement for the Capital of the Confederacy Civil War Show, which will take place on Nov. 22 & 23 in Richmond. Although my Civil War Memory course does not begin until after Thanksgiving a number of students in my current course on the Civil War will be taking it so I've decided to organize a trip to the show. It should give my students a sense of how the Civil War continues to be remembered through the sale of relics, books, and other items. Students can listen in on conversations and perhaps even talk to some of the people representing various organizations as well as the dealers.
What do you think, is it worth it?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Kevin,
Absolutely, It may be quite an eye-opener for many of them, and the starting point of many a classroom discussion.
Mannie
Not worth the paper it is printed on.
I have not read the rag in years.
Kevin,
Ever blog on Reconstruction in Virginia?
Recommend anything good to read on that subject.
Just for fun I read through the Patrick County Order Books 1865-70 and found very little significant. The Civil War years were fascinating and I used that material for an entire chapter in my book on Patrick County in the Civil War.
Thanks
Tom Perry
Thanks for chiming in Mannie
Tom, — I’ve blogged quite a bit about Reconstruction in Virginia, though not what normally counts as Reconstruction history. Do a search for William Mahone or the Readjusters and you have what I think of as Reconstruction in Virginia. It’s just that it happened later than the traditional 1865-77 time-frame.
While I realize that dates marking the beginning or end of a political period are most often arbitrary, I wonder if the end of Reconstruction in Virginia should be marked when Mahone’s Readjusters were ousted in 1886, or with the 1902 state constitution that disenfranchised many of the black voters that had supported the Readjusters? Or if Reconstruction in Virginia in fact ended earlier, and Mahone’s movement should be considered as a related but separate phenomena. Thoughts?
The Readjusters were voted out in 1883; however, Mahone continued in the Senate until 1886. I like the idea of extending the date to 1902 since it does constitute the closing of a door that had been opened during the four years of Readjuster control. The Readjusters struggled with political issues that had their root in the antebellum era (the state’s debt over internal improvements) and questions of black political participation (postwar) so I tend to see as closely tied and not a “separate phenomena.”