The Civil War Podcast

Breaking my travel-imposed silence to post this news about Alonzo Cushing being awarded the Medal of Honor.  Cushing’s one of the lowest-ranked Gettysburg veterans I can name, and almost every book on the battle will mention his brave actions in the face of his mounting wounds. I wonder if this opens the door to his […]

Union Major Frank Haskell served with the big name generals on the hottest part of the field during Pickett’s Charge. A few months later, he wrote this epic, vivid, picturesque description of the full battle for Gettysburg to his brother.  It’s a long read but well worth your time – beautifully written and full of […]

Here’s something I would never have expected to blog about: A heavy metal rock opera about the battle of Gettysburg.  The Iced Earth lyricist does a pretty good job of summarizing each day of the fight – Buford’s defense and Reynolds’ death, Longstreet’s doubts, the struggle for Little Round Top, Hancock and Armistead’s friendship. The […]

This Washington Post writer seems to be a humorist rather than an editorial writer, but she acquits herself splendidly here, talking about the changing interpretation of Gettysburg’s battle, importance, and even the visitor’s center. I particularly liked this passage: This randomness is the part of military history that has always fascinated me. You miss a […]

It’s the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address; the “little speech” that made a big impact. Abraham Lincoln’s carefully crafted address, secondary to other presentations that day, came to be regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history. In just over two minutes, Lincoln reiterated the principles of human equality espoused by the […]

For the sesquicentennial, Ken Burns is urging Americans to learn, recite and share the Gettysburg Address.  I particularly liked this little video of Louis CK and Jerry Seinfeld – two men who speak for a living – discussing the speech. Given Lincoln’s love of contemporary humorists (and dirty jokes), he would probably have appreciated them […]

Band reenactors prepare for Gettyburg.  I’d never hear the anecdote they tell here about the battle.  If it’s true, I love WS Hancock all the more for it. Civil War re-enactment band tunes up for 150th anniversary at Gettysburg — NewsWorks.

Torontoist discusses William McDougall, the Toronto politician who hobnobbed with Lincoln, Seward et al. at Gettysburg in November, 1863.  Great little article, though I’m not sure I buy their estimate of “tens of thousands” of Canadians dying in the war. It was only about 270 words long, but the Gettysburg Address has resounded for generations. […]

I stumbled across an article that mentioned an Oscar-winning Gettysburg documentary.  Turns out, it’s included as an extra on the decided Oscar-unwinning Gettysburg DVD.  Because the Internet is awesome, you can view the entire thing on YouTube without having to suffer through Tom Berenger and all those fake beards.  It’s narrated by the late, great Leslie Nielsen […]

I went to the Smithsonian site through another link, but found this new article (penned by Tony Horwitz!) in the sidebar.  A fascinating look at how technology can be used to evaluate historical mysteries, such as why Lee pressed an assault at Gettysburg when Longstreet was convinced it would fail. Her principal tool is geographic […]