Arlington House, Public History, and Tourism

I am working to finish up an essay on Robert E. Lee’s Arlington House for a collection of essays on Southern Tourism edited by Karen Cox.  The tentative title is, “The Robert E. Lee Memorial: A Conflict of Interpretation”.  My research on this subject has taken a couple of turns since I agreed to be [...]

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Ulysses S. Grant in Command

While looking through some “sexually explicit” images related to the Civil War I came across this interesting collection by artist, Justine Lai.  The artist is based in San Francisco.  Lai has this to say about her first Online exhibit titled, “Join or Die”: In Join Or Die, I paint myself having sex with the Presidents [...]

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Is the Real “Glory” Part of Our History of the Civil Rights Movement?

Just wanted to follow up with a few thoughts that didn’t make it into yesterday’s re-published post.  The pay crisis scene in the movie, Glory, is a significant moment in the film.  When the soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts learn that they will be paid less than white soldiers protest erupts and leads to the [...]

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The 54th Massachusetts Regiment in Myth, Memory, and History

This post was published last year at this time and since my students are preparing essays on the subject I thought I might offer it once again. Today my Civil War classes finished watching the movie Glory, which is still my all-time favorite Civil War movie. Students enjoy the movie in part because of the [...]

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Final Thoughts About John Latschar

As many of you are now learning John Latschar resigned as superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park.  You can read the story here.  What follows is my first video blog in which I offer some final thoughts about yesterday’s post.  It is meant to clarify some of my remarks, specifically in response to Eric Wittenberg’s [...]

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An Atlas Whose Time Has Passed?

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The good people at National Geographic asked me to take a look at their new book, Atlas of the Civil War: A Comprehensive Guide to the Tactics and Terrain of Battle, which I was happy to do.  As a kid I could spend hours studying military maps and imagining the ebb and flow of battle [...]

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Gary Gallagher on Robert E. Lee

Gary W. Gallagher, the John L. Nau Professor in History of the American Civil War at the University of Virginia, gave this year’s Remembering Robert E. Lee lecture on Oct. 12, 2009, in Lee Chapel.  The title of the talk is “Robert E. Lee Confronts Defeat: Duty in the Wake of Appomattox.”

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John Latschar Receives Preservation Award

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According to Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, “John Latschar’s contributions to historic preservation cannot be overstated… His work has preserved and rehabilitated Gettysburg’s sacred ground and transformed the experience of visiting the battlefield for millions of annual visitors.” As far as I am concerned no one has worked harder to [...]

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