For those of you who might be interested, the Huntington is making available podcasts of the presentations given at the “Civil War Lives” conference earlier this month. They will come out one at a time: now available are Joan Waugh’s introductory remarks and Gary Gallagher’s opening presentation on the loyalties of Robert E. Lee. Enjoy.
In related news, here’s Keith Harris’s take on the conference.
I’d argue that this clip summarizes the conventional wisdom about Antietam’s impact. But sometimes the conventional wisdom may be conventional, but it’s wisdom. Is that the case in this instance?
Enjoy.
… courtesy of South Park.
Want to know something about how the Confederate White House operated? Watch this.
It seems that the “New Confederate Army,” much like the real Confederate army, is running out of money.
Warning: Adult Language, including some cussin’.
You know, there are a lot of people who talk about securing “Southern independence” and want to revive the CSA, but it seems that when it comes to paying for that opportunity, they shrink away. Now here’s a fellow who is willing to put his money where his mouth is. Let’s see who comes to his aid.
Yes, I’m talking to you. This fellow’s calling you out.
Imagine if Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee had access to YouTube.
(Hat tip to Kevin Levin)
Last Friday and Saturday I was fortunate enough to be part of a public program offered by the Huntington Library entitled “Civil War Lives.” Assembled was a rather impressive assortment of scholars: Gary Gallagher and Joan Waugh had organized a conference that included James McPherson, David Blight, Ron White, Steve Cushman, Alice Fahs, Caroline Janney, David Carwardine, and Brenda Stevenson. It was very nice to be included with such a stellar cast. I got to meet people whose work I admire, although sometimes the conversations were far too short; I did discover that Carrie Janney was a fellow Wahoo, separated by some two decades, who maintained a serious interest in Cavalier football (she would have done better to have followed the fortunes of her current institution last Saturday). It was also interesting to hear colleagues reflect on the changes brought about and the challenges presented by the internet, which seems to me to be part of two larger discussions of how historians (should) conduct their research and how they (should) communicate with a broader public (one of my colleagues takes a dim view of my blogging, for example, although I never discovered why). As for bloggers, there was Keith Harris of Cosmic America, and I note that he has yet to share his impressions; I was asked by my skeptical colleague whether I planned to blog about the conference while at the conference, but I think that in this case it’s best to participate, then observe and reflect. It was a great deal of fun to catch up with David Blight (our adviser Dick Sewell will be pleased to know that his students were the last speakers each day) and talk shop with several people, including Gary and Joan, who I want to thank for inviting me to the conference.
I’ll offer some comments on what I heard during the presentations and outside the presentations, because, as you might imagine, several discussions covered areas of concern that I found of interest (and it’s the topics, not identifying the people who voiced them, that seem to me worth sharing, so that’s how I’ll treat what I think appropriate to discuss).
From left to right: Richard Carwardine, Joan Waugh, Alice Fahs, Caroline Janney, some guy I call me, David Blight, Ron White, Steve Cushman, Gary Gallagher, James McPherson, and Steve Hindle of the Huntington, our host, who did a magnificent job.
Crossroads 