The Civil War Podcast

I ragged on the trip planner from the National Parks Service Civil War website, but the rest of the site is fantastic.  I’ve always found the NPS site-sites lacking in information.  If you want two paragraphs on why they’re important, OK, but God forbid they should have photos of what to see while you’re there. [...]

One of the many Civil War commemorations around Washington, DC, are a series of statues to the heroes of the war: Grant, Sherman, Farragut, McPherson and… Albert Pike? Who the heck is Albert Pike? In all my years of study, I’ve never found a reason to remember that name.  A quick glance at his Wikipedia [...]

For those who haven’t yet heard the tumultuous story of Lincoln’s corpse, here’s some macabre reading for you.  Possibly the inspiration for Weekend at Bernie’s? I’m not sure. I’m curious as to the provenance of the illustration that accompanies the article: It was a well known fact that all but one glass negative of Lincoln’s [...]

The National Park System has created a new Civil War portal, with a map tool that allows you to create a route for sesquicentennial holidaying.  It seems promising, but in my opinion needs some refinement.  Independent sites are available, but major and minor sites are given equal stature, so it’s difficult to zoom in on, [...]

Today is the anniversary of Lincoln’s death, the process of which started the night before at Ford’s Theater, and ended across the street at the Petersen House. This year, both events and locations have been commemorated in a newly expanded museum housed in the building adjoining the House Where Lincoln Died. Wait a minute, you [...]

This company contacted our Civil War Round Table a few weeks ago.  Turns out we’re not the only Canadians with an interest in the war!   The CG Fort Moultrie presented here is amazing. A real glance into the surroundings of those who eventually found themselves dodging the first fire of the war at Sumter. [...]

You’ll permit me one last public thank-you to those who go out of their way to preserve and present historical sites; this story made the Virginia news in early February, and I thought it worth a mention. This week’s collapse of a Civil War-era tobacco warehouse on Dunbar Drive has thrust a spotlight on another [...]

After posting the entry about the Whitman Archive, I received a note from Archive employee Bev Rilett. Thanks for the kind notice of the Whitman Archive. I work there for Ken Price, who has been supporting grad students in English with this monumental project for more than 10 years. Try our bibliography search feature for [...]

As I mentioned yesterday, The Atlantic Monthly is knocking the sesquicentennial celebrations out of the park. This piece on the Gettysburg Cyclorama is fantastic, and is making me greatly regret declining a ticket on both my trips to the park. Four hundred feet long. Fifty feet high. It was art on an astonishing scale. All [...]

I’m just wrapping up the Shelby Foote audiobooks, and listening to the Confederate cabinet parsing out the remains of the treasury. I appear to be the last person on Earth for whom “Confederate Gold” didn’t ring any bells. Does this mean I’m too late to head South with my metal detector and spade? Accordingly the [...]