This past February the Museum of the Confederacy hosted its annual “Person of the Year” for 1864. As you already know the audience selected William T. Sherman. The event was broadcast this weekend on C-SPAN. Here is John Marszalek reflecting on Sherman’s victory. Marszalek offers some interesting thoughts at the beginning in response to a question of whether he was surprised by the audience’s choice. I agree with his response in that it tells us as much about the profile of the audience as it does about the relevant history.
- Joe Mobley on Zebulon Vance
- Gary Gallagher on Robert E. Lee
- Craig Symonds on Patrick Cleburne
- John Marszalek on William T. Sherman
- Harold Holzer on Abraham Lincoln
Again, congratulations to “Uncle Billy.”
I agree about Marszalek’s comments, and I think Sherman is a more than appropriate choice for 1864. I also listened to Symonds’ talk and remain thoroughly unconvinced about Cleburne. Essentially, other than battlefield prowess, Cleburne had no impact on 1864.