I just finished reading Gary Gallagher’s new book, The Union War, which in some ways functions as a companion volume to The Confederate War – published back in 1997. Both studies offer highly readable critiques of a wide swath of Civil War historiography with an eye toward pointing out gaps in the literature. In the earlier [...]
Chandra Manning
Update: The debate went extremely well. Both groups did an excellent job of articulating their respective positions and pointing out what they perceived to be shortcomings in the other. I had to remind them that, in the end, they were on the same team. That is what I find so interesting here. In the same [...]
You can find additional cartoons by this illustrator at birthofanotion.com. If you haven’t already done so I highly recommend reading Chandra Manning’s What This Cruel War Was Over, which is now in paperback. In addition, I recently finished reading Joe Glatthaar’s General Lee’s Army. Both studies analyze the role of slavery and race during the [...]
At the end of What This Cruel War Was About Chandra Manning offers some final thoughts about the challenges that the war presented to Americans in 1865 and by extension to the way we remember. First, Confederate soldiers’ admirable devotion to their families and abhorrent attachment to the enslavement of other human beings sound a [...]
My copy of Chandra Manning’s What This Cruel War Was Over: Soldiers, Slavery, and the Civil War (Knopf) arrived today. I’ve mentioned Manning’s scholarship on a number of occasions. It was a great pleasure for me to be able to join her for a panel discussion about Civil War soldiers at the most recent AHA [...]
Check out the programs for two upcoming conferences that will focus heavily on the Civil War, the South, and Virginia history. The first is the Second Annual Virginia Forum which is scheduled for April 13-14 at the Library of Virginia in Richmond. This conference brings together scholars who focus on all areas of Virginia history. [...]
I thoroughly enjoyed Friday’s interview with UNC-Greensboro historian Peter S. Carmichael. Check out the interview, and more importantly, read The Last Generation: Young Virginians in Peace, War, and Reunion – it’s well worth the time. I wanted to take a few minutes to comment on a few points made during the interview. Carmichael touched on [...]
The latest History Carnival is up at Rob McDougall’s Old is the New New. Two recent posts made the cut, including Virginians Desolate, Virginians Free and Chandra Manning on Civil War Soldiers and Slavery. Rob singled out the latter post with a criticism that I would like to address: A comment on Kevin’s latter post [...]
