This video is part of the Virginia Historical Society’s traveling exhibit, “An American Turning Point.” It tackles the complex subject of southern unionists and the protection of civil liberties during wartime. Questions surrounding civil liberties often come up in reference to the steps Lincoln took at various points during the war, but rarely comes up [...]
Civil War Sesquicentennial
Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site in Washington, D.C. has decided not to sell the bestselling book, Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. The decision was made following a thorough review of the book by Deputy Superintendent, Rae Emerson. I don’t have any problem with the NPS making such a decision; in fact, I [...]
Anyone remotely interested in the Civil War Sesquicentennial can’t help but stand in awe of the work the Virginia commission has done to bring the war to the people of Virginia and the rest of the country. Right now a flatbed truck carrying a Civil War exhibit is traveling around the state and plans to [...]
What happens when you put into practice on a local level the principle behind states rights and Jeffersonian Democracy? Well, according to these folks you’ve violated one of the central pillars of Southern Heritage. Some of my favorite quotes of the day: From what I’ve been told (and from the “no-response” I received from the [...]
If I were heading back into the classroom to teach my course on the Civil War and historical memory I would begin by showing this video from the Virginia Historical Society’s exhibit, An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia. If you haven’t seen it you are missing one of the more innovative exhibits [...]
It’s an unusual form of Civil War remembrance, but the idea of a sculpture in the shape of a “Sherman’s necktie” opens up a number of avenues of interpretation. It raises issues related to the physical destruction and displacement of civilians that Sherman’s men wrought. The twisted rail also functions as a metaphor for change [...]
It looks like H.K. will not be performing as part of the Guyandotte Civil War Days, scheduled for Nov. 1-6 near Huntington, West Virginia. Apparently, Edgerton spoke last year at the event, but this year organizers were denied matching funds by the state’s Civil War sesquicentennial committee. That was sufficient to cancel his appearance. Of [...]
