Over the last several weeks we’ve had some new additions to the Civil War blogosphere. One that shows some substance and staying power is Student of the American Civil War, Al Mackey’s attempt to come to grips with questions that he’s encountered as … wait for it … a student of the American Civil War. Al’s one of those lifelong learners we hear about but don’t always see (as opposed to lifetime pontificators with very little learning). A graduate of Virginia Tech, where none other than James Robertson introduced him to the serious study of the Civil War, Al has transcended his Hokie roots to offer assessments that are tough-minded and fair (keep in mind that this comes from a University of Virginia alum). There are some other new blogs that I’ll highlight as they gain traction. My only advice to Al: jazz up the blog’s name. Make it something people ponder about. And yes, “Crossroads” is taken.
Oh, and Connie Chastain has changed the title of her blog from 180 Degrees True South to Backsass, the same name as her Facebook group, where we find that she’s her most frequent commenter by a large margin. She’s also broadened the definition of her targets (both the blog and the FB group are best understood as attack blogs) to encompass anyone who does not agree with her. That should keep her busy. Whether she will choose to comment in reply to her own blog postings to the same degree that she talks to herself on her FB group remains to be seen.
I recommend Al’s blog for informed discussion and Connie’s blog for comic relief.
Crossroads 
Oh, that’s a shame. I liked 180 True South in concept, though it had problems in execution. I wanted LESS attack blogging, not more. That’s really sad.
BTW, do you know of any good blogs on other periods like WWII? I’m more of a WWII buff, but I’m attracted to CW blogs because of the active community. Do you know who is the “Civil War Memory” of allied WWII blogging?
I’ve seen some good American history blogs, but I’m not nearly so aware of good WW2 blogs. Nor do there seem to be the sorts of debates (substantial and otherwise) that populate the Civil War blogosphere, at least not to extent we see. But I’m sure other readers will have some suggestions.
My suspicion is that while the events surrounding the League of the South’s annual meeting led to a temporary upsurge in nasty chatter, that will shortly subside. Those positions and their relationship to the concepts of heritage and history are fairly clear for the moment, although we’ve seen shifts before.
I appreciate the kind words, Brooks, and I’m humbled. You may or may not know it, but you’ve just raised the bar for me, and I’ll try to live up to the high standard. As to the name, I have a simple, straightforward outlook [some would say little imagination, and they’re probably right], and the name certainly reflects that. 🙂
Al needs to jazz up his presentation a bit; period graphics, etc. But it is a good start.
All in good time, I’m sure. In the end, it is all about content, so I have no worries there.
Meanwhile, Jim, why don’t you have a blog? 🙂
Blogging has never appealed to me. I’m happy to offer my bon mots of brilliance on the blogs that other folks create …
I’m just a simple guy, Jim, and I’ve found that a lot of the bells and whistles merely interfere with loading the site and contribute to frustration. Maybe sometime in the future I’ll get more creative.
Thanks for pointing out Al’s blog. Really fun reading it, plus the guy seems to post every 20 minutes or so.
Thanks for reference to Al’s blog. Except for Kevin’s blog, almost all the blogs I follow seem to be on Word Press 🙂