Showing results for "Chancellorsville"
“Greatest” of the Greatest?
As part of the research I’m doing on the Chancellorsville battlefield, I’m giving thought tonight about the 149-year-old characterization of Chancellorsville as “Lee’s greatest victory.” I suspect, statistically and situationally, a case could be made for several of Lee’s victories as “the greatest.”
Read more...Remembering May 3
I had the opportunity to speak to a college history class about the battle of Chancellorsville on Thursday. It was May 3, the 149th anniversary of the battle. I began by presenting them with an iconic vision of the fight: Robert E. Lee, astride his horse, Traveler, riding into the clearing around the Chancellorsville mansion, […]
Read more...The Legacy of May 2
“Old Blue Light” got me into this whole thing in the first place. I wouldn’t be writing about the Civil War—wouldn’t be studying it, reading about it, interpreting it, giving tours about it, nothing—if it wasn’t for him. My daughter, now 18, fell in love with Stonewall Jackson when she was four, and we’ve been […]
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...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...CVBT Saves More of Jackson’s Flank Attack
It is with great pleasure that I can announce that Central Virginia Battlefields Trust (CVBT) has just closed on the purchase of 13 acres that were part of Stonewall Jackson’s famed flank attack during the May 1863 battle of Chancellorsville. This property lies on the south side of the historic Orange Turnpike (modern day Rt. […]
Read more...In Praise of Preservationists
Most of the time, we think of preservationist “out in the trenches,” doing the front-line work to save dirt and grass and history. On Tuesday, at least, when I had the good pleasure of spending some time with folks from the Central Virginia Battlefield Trust (CVBT) and the Civil War Trust (CWT), they were tucked in their […]
Read more...Lee and Jackson in the National Cathedral
The technicolor hush that fills the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. seems both vibrant and subdued. I don’t know how quiet can be so colorful. The silence beams down from the massive stained glass windows overhead, but the effect on me, standing on the cathedral floor, feels more like the soft flutter of autumn leaves. […]
Read more...Drawing the War, Part 1: Alfred Waud
first in a series In today’s world of instant messaging, instant downloads, iBooks, iPads, iPhones and iReporters, it is hard to imagine the difficulties of war reporting in the 1860s. Embedded journalists, sending news by telegraph (some called it “the lightning”) were the first wave of what we take for granted today–instant news. Images were […]
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