Yesterday I returned from a 3-day trip to San Antonio, Texas to take part in the annual meeting of the National Council for History Education. I am both a member of the organization and serve on its board of directors. [click to continue…]

Governor Kay Ivey is running for reelection as governor of Alabama by taking a stand on Confederate monuments. She is taking a stand in their defense and believes that the threat is coming squarely from “outside agitators.” Here is the campaign ad. [click to continue…]

A couple of weeks ago I did an interview with a Washington Post reporter for a profile story about Christy Coleman, who is the CEO of The American Civil War Museum in Richmond. I spent a good 30 minutes with the reporter and spoke about my professional and personal relationship with Christy. Most of it didn’t make it into the story. [click to continue…]

This story just made my day. A few weeks ago the city of Griffin, Georgia passed a proclamation declaring April Confederate History Month. The public debate included a racist outburst by former Griffin City Commissioner Larry Johnson. Well, last night the community came together and demanded that the city council rescind the proclamation, which they did. [click to continue…]

This will likely be the last time that I ask for assistance in interpreting a primary source related to my black Confederates book before I complete revisions in the next week or two. This source was shared with me by historian Timothy Smith and centers on a very unusual scene that took place just before the fall of forts Henry and Donelson in early 1862. [click to continue…]

I can’t think of a better way to recognize Confederate History Month than with a historical marker that acknowledges an important aspect of that history. Yesterday, on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Calvary Episcopal Church, Rhodes College, and National Park Service unveiled a historical marker in Memphis describing Nathan Bedford Forrest’s role in the city’s slave trade. [click to continue…]

This is a wonderful talk by Allen Guelzo about about the attempt on the part of the federal government to prosecute Robert E. Lee for treason after the war. Guelzo is currently working on a biography of Lee, which I am very much looking forward to reading.

Yes, he does answer the question posed in the title of this talk, but I will leave it to you to watch the video for the answer.