Can a Rape on the Northern Neck Explain the Crater Massacre?

It seems fitting to offer a few thoughts about the Crater on this the 145th anniversary of the battle.  On Monday Brendan Wolfe posted a fascinating entry on the Crater massacre over at the Encyclopedia Virginia blog.  In the process of putting together their entry on the battle, my friend, VFH Intern, and UVA graduate [...]

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Where are the Archival Sources?

Three books have been published on the battle of the Crater over the past two years and I have had the opportunity to review all of them.  I reviewed Alan Axelrod’s The Horrid Pit for the Journal of Southern History and my review of John Schmutz’s The Battle of the Crater is forthcoming at H-Net.  [...]

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Having Trouble Viewing Civil War Memory?

I‘ve heard from a few people over the past few weeks that they are having trouble viewing Civil War Memory.  The problem seems to be with those of you who are running one of the older versions of Internet Explorer.  In some cases an error message is received and in the worst cases the loading [...]

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A Visit to the Anne Frank House

I do not consider myself to be a religious person.  Yes, I was raised in a reformed Jewish household, but following my Bar Mitzvah I made a conscious decision to forgo further religious education; this suited my parents just fine.  I didn’t particularly enjoy my Wednesday afternoon Hebrew classes; in fact, it would be more [...]

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A Civil War Title That is Too Good to be True

I was in the process of ordering Jeffrey McClurken’s new book on Amazon when I came across this hilarious book on Lincoln that is being published by Pelican Press.  The book is titled, Lincoln Über Alles: Dictatorship Comes to America.  Eat your heart out, DiLorenzo.  The brief description is priceless: “Abraham Lincoln’s election was favorably [...]

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I’m Moving to Amsterdam

It’s nice to be home, but I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say that I am already missing Amsterdam.  In fact, I would love to spend a few more weeks, if not months, in the city.  Actually, it’s the first foreign city where I can imagine living.  The people are simply wonderful and the [...]

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Edward Porter Alexander Comes Through Again

I‘ve said more than once that I find Civil War memoirs to be very difficult to use when trying to understand the war itself.  Many are self serving and are inevitably influenced by the political, social, and economic conditions present at the time of writing.  While difficult to use to illuminate the war itself, I [...]

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John Stauffer and Sally Jenkins Respond

Update: Click here for Victoria Bynum’s third and final installment of her review of The State of Jones A few days ago I posted a link to Victoria Bynum’s two-part review of the new book, The State of Jones, by John Stauffer and Sally Jenkins.  I did so because of her published work on the [...]

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