This is for those of you who are interested in the mind and imagination of Jack Kershaw, who is responsible for the Nathan Bedford Forrest equestrian memorial in Tennessee. This is commonly referred to as the ugliest Civil War monument ever erected. His interpretation of Forrest, which you can hear in the video, is is [...]
Lost Cause
Given my last post I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that today is the 150th anniversary of the Confederate Conscription Act, which made all white males between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five eligible to be drafted into military service. This was the first draft in American history. It could be celebrated by [...]
I recently offered some brief thoughts about Robert K. Krick’s concerns about historians, who are supposedly weary of Confederate memoirs. While I focused my remarks on a specific claim made by Krick about how historians interpret Robert E. Lee’s wartime popularity, his broader point about postwar accounts is worth a brief mention as well. The [...]
The first videos from Appomattox are being posted on the YouTube page of the Virginia Flaggers. In this short video members describe visitors and representatives of the Sons of Confederate Veterans as “scalawags” and “stink faces.” How very classy. Apparently, the SCV’s General Executive Committee issued a resolution requesting that all members boycott participating in [...]
I am about half-way through and thoroughly enjoying Keith D. Dickson’s new book, Sustaining Southern Identity: Douglas Southall Freeman and Memory in the Modern South (Louisiana State University Press, 2012). It’s not a conventional biography of Freeman; rather, the book explores the influence of the Lost Cause and his father’s military service in Confederate ranks [...]
It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago the future of the Museum of the Confederacy was in doubt. There was a talk about a name change and even a move away from their location next to the Confederate White House. Now, all eyes are on Appomattox, where the museum will open a [...]
Last night I received an email asking why I continue to post about the activities and antics of the Virginia Flaggers [see here and here]. It should be obvious given the content of this blog, but let me once again state the obvious. The Flaggers and their cause provide a clear window into the changing [...]
Update: Margaret Blough reminded me that the UDC has always maintained a strict code for displaying the Confederate flag. Their concern has always been that liberal use would disconnect it from the Civil War – a lesson the Flaggers and others should take to heart. Looks like the Virginia Flaggers suffered a setback this week [...]
Yesterday I spent the day doing my part as one of twelve members of a Sesquicentennial Working Group that will meet next month in Milwaukee as part of the annual meeting of the Organization of American Historians. Our panel was organized by the American Association for State and Local History. We are now at the [...]