Kevin Levin

Vindicating Col. Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th

by Kevin Levin on May 19, 2013 · 14 comments · Follow me on

With the 150th anniversary of the burning of Darien, GA approaching one local historian hopes to vindicate Col. Robert Gould Shaw of any responsibility.  We all know the scene in Glory when Shaw orders his men to torch the town only after the threat of court-martial by Col. James Montgomery of the 2nd South Carolina [...]

Another Gettysburg Book? What Will the Buffs Say?

by Kevin Levin on May 16, 2013 · 18 comments · Follow me on

My copy of Allen Guelzo’s new book, Gettysburg: The Last Invasion will arrive later this afternoon.  I will likely dive right in.  I’ve read all of Guelzo’s books and have learned a great deal.  Yesterday the Civil War Monitor published a review of the book by Will Greene. At first I stayed away not wanting [...]

No, That’s Not H.K. in the Background

by Kevin Levin on May 15, 2013 · 39 comments · Follow me on

I apologize for not being able to offer a more appropriate post title, but I am not sure what this is. Perhaps you can tell me.

Disunion Now Available in Stores

by Kevin Levin on May 15, 2013 · 0 comments · Follow me on

The book of essays pulled from the New York Times’s Disunion column has been out for a couple of weeks now.  It’s a pretty hefty volume that includes over 100 essays on the period between 1861 and the beginning of 1863.  My only complaint is that the table of contents does not list individual essays, [...]

Thomas Fleming Plays Civil War Historian

by Kevin Levin on May 14, 2013 · 14 comments · Follow me on

What happens when you bring a radio talk show host, who hasn’t thought about the Civil War since High School and a historian, who has been studying it for five years?  What is truly miraculous is that in the process Thomas Fleming was able to produce “A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil [...]

Don Troiani’s Black Confederate Soldier

by Kevin Levin on May 14, 2013 · 46 comments · Follow me on

I do enjoy perusing the Confederate Heritage Facebook pages.  The topic of black Confederates is a favorite among these folks. Many of the images and other references are new to me, but more importantly their handling of this “evidence” serves as a reminder of just how incapable some people are in applying even the most [...]

An Important Work of Civil War Memory

by Kevin Levin on May 14, 2013 · 2 comments · Follow me on

Caroline Janney’s new book, Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation (University of North Carolina Press, 2013) arrived this past Saturday.  You should be able to pick it up in a few weeks.  I usually wait until I have four or five new books before listing them, but given the focus of [...]

In the Name of Confederate Heritage

by Kevin Levin on May 13, 2013 · 11 comments · Follow me on

Update: Susan Hathaway finally responds to this incident. Barring any major development I think it’s time to move beyond this story involving the Virginia Flaggers and their unsubstantiated account of monument vandalism. Some of you are no doubt pleased to hear this. On the face of it this story has about as much value as [...]

Brooks Simpson has learned from the Richmond Police Department that there is no report related to a supposed vandalism incident that took place on Thursday at the Jefferson Davis Monument in Richmond.  According to the police: ““We can find no record of such an incident ever occurring.”  According to Hathaway’s posting, Mr. Walker called the [...]

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