Reflections of a High School History Teacher & Civil War Historian






Welcome to Civil War Memory. I blog about issues at the intersection of historical memory, Civil War historiography, public history, and the teaching of history on the high school level. [Read More…]
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
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
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
[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
[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
[Hat Tip to Mark Snell. There is still time to register for Mark's summer seminar on Race and Ethnicity in the Civil War.] Tweet
2 Comments — 283 Views — May 1, 2009
The 2010 annual reunion of the Sons of Confederate Veterans opens in Abbeville, SC with a welcome address by Mayor Terence Roberts. Tweet
49 Comments — 1566 Views — July 23, 2010
Looks like anti-Neo-Confederate crusader, Edward Sebesta, is getting a head start on this year’s petition requesting that President Obama not send a wreath to the Confederate monument at Arlington National Cemetery. I covered this in some detail on the blog and was very open in my opposition to such a petition. [You can read my
15 Comments — 867 Views — January 10, 2010
This is the perfect time for a controversy surrounding how to remember Martin Luther King. [Read the story here and read Eugene Robinson's editorial.] My classes recently finished a book on the Civil Rights Movement and we had a chance to talk in detail about the differences between King and Malcolm X and organizations such
0 Comments — 78 Views — May 20, 2008
[Hat Tip to Alex Krolikowski, writing from Poland] Below are links to a video series on slavery. Each segment is fairly short which makes them ideal for classroom use. I haven’t previewed every individual video, but I did see interviews with Peter Wood, James Horton and Sallie Haden. Slave Catchers/Resistors Slave Catchers/Resistors 1 – Deal with the Devilhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRnLzkXXUBc Slave
2 Comments — 87 Views — November 29, 2007
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