I’ve always thought this is a strange question to ask of any historical subject. The question assumes that at some point our historical knowledge is complete with nothing more to learn. Of course, that is never the case. Good history always involves the interrogation of new evidence that has surfaced and a reevaluation of old Read more

After the Civil War, Confederate veterans from North Carolina and Virginia competed over, among other things, which state sent the most men to war, which state was the last to surrender, and who achieved the furthest advance at the battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. In 2020 their descendants competed to see who could Read more

Yesterday morning the city of Boston removed the Freedman’s Memorial or Emancipation Group from Park Square. It will be placed temporarily in storage until a new home is chosen, where the memorial can be properly interpreted for the general public. The memorial is a copy of the one dedicated in Washington, D.C. in 1876 on Read more

Below is the latest video from Atun-Shei Films. It is a highly entertaining video that thoroughly dismantles the Black Confederate myth. Those of you who have read Searching for Black Confederates will notice that a large chunk of the content comes from the book. I very much appreciate that the the book is referenced in Read more

Remember back in 2018 when Richmond’s Monument Avenue Commission recommended removing the Jefferson Davis statue and interpreting the rest with signage? Seems so long ago. At the time I was skeptical that the Davis statue would be removed, but here we are. It is likely that over the past seven months more Confederate monuments came Read more

Thanks once again to Terry Johnston at The Civil War Monitor magazine for inviting me to share some of my favorite Civil War books of the past year. It goes without saying that this is never easy. I could have easily chosen any of the books selected by the other contributors. Top Pick: This was Read more

Since June 1 of this year roughly 87 Confederate monuments have been removed from prominent intersections, courthouse squares, and public parks across the country. This latest wave of monument removals follows in a string of high profile acts of racial violence going back to 2015. Today the controversy returned to Lexington, Virginia and the campus Read more

Regardless of how much we would like it to be the case there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to Confederate monuments. The wave of Confederate monument removals over the past summer has died down significantly. Much of the media’s attention is now focused elsewhere. Communities across the country must decide how best to Read more

This week Anderson, South Carolina held public hearings to discuss the future of its Confederate monument, located near the local courthouse. A number of residents spoke, but I want to highlight Sam Brooks, a lifelong resident of the community, who believes the monument should be relocated to a place where it can be properly contextualized Read more