There was Civil War Where???? Part One
When most people talk about the “Campaign in the West,” in terms of the American Civil War, Shiloh and Pittsburgh Landing come to mind, or perhaps General Fremont. There was actually Civil War much farther west—in California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Just as the nation of America was settled east to west and west to […]
Read more...Fort Pocahontas
When I stopped at Jamestown, Virginia over the weekend, I expected to find Pocahontas—but to my surprise, I found Fort Pocahontas, too. Just outside the Jamestown colony’s original triangle fort, to the west of the rebuilt palisade, a line of Confederate earthworks runs in a semicircle. It’s all that’s left of Fort Pocahontas, one of […]
Read more...“Flags Over Hatteras” About to Fly Again
Hurricane Irene arrived on Hatteras Island right in the middle of our ‘Flags Over Hatteras’ event last August. Fortunately, we were able to complete the first phase of our three-phase event, which was the Blue-Gray Reunion. Descendents from men who served on either Confederate or Union forces on Hatteras Island (1861-1862) shared stories and artifacts […]
Read more...PA Heaven
Photo by John Ambrosi Pennsylvania Monument at Gettysburg “It was an awesome weekend in Gettysburg,” John says. “Dew points were desert-like and the picture taking was spectacular.”
Read more...Fame at Shiloh
I think of her standing there, right arm outstretched, pen in hand, the tip not quite daring to touch the granite obelisk. Her left hand hangs back behind her, her fingers poised daintily, helping her balance. She is “Fame,” twelve and a half feet tall and bronze, and she has inscribed the name of Iowa […]
Read more...The Most Brilliant Exhibit on Slavery I’ve Ever Seen
Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History sits along Chicago’s lakeshore park property amidst large lawns and gardens. The trees are just coming into flower, and the breeze off Lake Michigan spreads the aroma generously. The museum itself, like a classical temple to science, sits atop a small hill, facing north, surveying the kingdom. Even Soldier […]
Read more...Morning at Mine Run
The first draft of the manuscript is in the mail–always a welcome feeling–but already I’m looking down the road to the next project. In this case, the road I’m looking down is Virginia Route 20. I’m standing at the intersection near the old Robertson’s Tavern in Locust Grove, looking down the long descent in the […]
Read more...A Link to Time: Photographing Lost Battlefields
Last April, to coincide with the start of the Civil War’s sesquicentennial, Time magazine ran a photo essay “Why They Fight: Civil War Re-enactors and the Battle Over Historic Sites.” Photographer Gregg Segal took portraits of re-enactors posing on “lost” Civil War battlefields. “In these photographs, the reenactors themselves are all that’s left of the past,” […]
Read more...Drawing the War, Part 3: Frank Vizetelly
third in a series For those who think political correctness is the bastard child of the late twentieth century, artist Frank Vizetelly would strongly disagree. A mere sketch of retreating Union troops at the end of the Battle of First Bull Run upset Simon Cameron and General Scott so much that . . . well […]
Read more...