Monthly Archives: December 2012
Eric Foner’s The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery
This is a brilliant book. Eric Foner traces Abraham Lincoln’s evolution in office regarding his views of what should be done about slavery and what should be the status of African-Americans in the United States. Lincoln’s long-held view had been slavery should be done away with in a gradual, compensated manner and the freed former […]
The 90th Pennsylvania Goes to Gettysburg
After the Battle of Chancellorsville, the 90th PA was transferred to the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division of the I Corps, Army of the Potomac. The brigade was commanded by Brigadier General Henry Baxter. The other units in the brigade were the 11th and 88th Pennsylvania, the 12th Massachusetts, and the 83rd and 97th New York. […]
The “Forgotten” (?) 90th
In the world’s largest outdoor statuary museum, in a field of unique monuments, perhaps the most unique monument of all is that of the 90th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on Oak Ridge. It consists of a granite tree with a nest of birds and a cannonball in the tree, a knapsack and musket hanging from the […]
Gary Gallagher at Atlanta’s Lovett School
The internet is a great resource for us students of the war. In one important aspect, it brings us to lectures we would not otherwise be able to see. Here’s a great case of that. (hat tip to Kevin Levin, who finds really great things to highlight on a regular basis) Like Kevin, I’m really […]
The Confederate Flag in Texas
The Hays school board in Texas is going to vote on a proposal that would ban display of the confederate flag on all district property. Hays High School used to have the confederate flag on their football uniforms, but that has gone by the wayside. The reason for the proposal is to make an effort […]
At the CWRT
I just got back from making a presentation at my Civil War Round Table on the 90th Pennsylvania Infantry at Gettysburg. The 90th is one of the coolest units that you never hear about. They have awesome monuments, and I can’t find an instance of them breaking and running away from a fight. Every account […]
Geographic Information Systems and a New View of Gettysburg
Anne Kelly Knowles is a geographer who has applied her knowledge and her skill with geographical information systems to give us what she says is a new perspective on Robert E. Lee’s decisions made on July 2, 1863. Here’s a video introduction to her work: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/video/Anne-Kelly-Knowles-Uses-GIS-Tools-to-Re-Write-History.html#ooid=kzZXJkNzrPhvXdUWLa5vEC0krJ_aUn4T And here is an article by Tony Horwitz that discusses […]
Dixie State College Removes Confederate Statue
Dixie State College is in Utah. It has that name because the informal name for the part of Utah in which it is located is “Dixie.” It’s called that because it’s in the Southwestern part of the state. Its climate is not as wintry as the rest of the state, and the area can be […]
Comedy Duo
These two are hilarious for the gigantic stupidity they bring to the table. They claim the confederate battle flag is a symbol of diversity. No matter that the confederacy itself was founded on the cornerstone of white supremacy and slavery. They’re up in arms that county commissioners had taken a confederate battle flag off a […]
Gilder Lehrman History Videos
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has posted some intriguing videos on You Tube. Each one is a short vignette, about a minute-and-a-half or so, of a professor answering a specific history question. For example, there is this from Edward Ayers: This is a terrific idea. People get an accurate history lesson that doesn’t tax their […]
Student of the American Civil War 
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