Check out Part 2
Ulysses S. Grant Takes Job in Local Bar
Get a Signed Copy of My Book ($25 Direct From Author)
"In this stunning and well-researched book, Kevin Levin catches the new waves of the study of memory, black soldiers, and the darker underside of the Civil War as well as anyone has... Levin is both superb scholar and public historian, showing us a piece of the real war that does now get into the books, as well as into site interpretation."
David Blight, Author of Race and Reunion
Previous post: A Statement
Next post: “Negro Pensioners are Not Classed as Confederate Soldiers”
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Civil War memory, indeed. This is part of a truly bizarre series.
Now, here’s the test. Watch the responses. Then imagine if someone engaged in the same project about Robert E. Lee.
Brooks,
I thought you might find this entertaining. No doubt, the shit would hit the fan if Lee had been the subject. That said, these videos give us the kind of grassroots perspective on Civil War memory that was simply not possible a few decades ago. As you can probably guess my interest in these videos has, for the most part, nothing to do with their accuracy, but with the way in which the war continues to be represented. With this one I am left scratching my head, but that makes it that much more interesting.
Well, Kevin, I’m happy to know I’m not the only one scratching my head over this. The last line of the song (I think it was “I don’t recognize me”) might be a commentary on the many misperceptions of Grant in public memory.
Speaking of Grant and Civil War memory, Joan Waugh’s long-awaited study should be out within the next year from UNC Press. I can’t wait to read it, though she has published essays in various collections and journals.
Yes, Kevin it is a “grassroots perspective”, but what kind of “grass” are we talking here? I was not expecting the early-MTV-esq music video here. This is simply…well…I’m not sure what it is.
Brooks, you are absolutely right. Not many would even think about doing this with Lee and it would sure cause a stink if someone did.
Let me add that I’m not real thrilled with this portrayal of Grant, either, but there are those, for whatever reason, who believe he is a much more unlikable character that other Civil War personalities. I am inclined to believe that is more due to a questionable Presidency than questionable battlefield leadership.