The Week in Review: June 11th-15th
One of the unidentified photos in the Museum of the Confederacy collection. This photo was found on a Civil War battlefield in Virginia and even though it's a long shot, authorities are asking for help to find out more about the girl in the image.
Good afternoon! Its time, yet again, for the Week in Review.
Civil War In the News…
The Civil War community has been saddened by the sudden death of historian Michael Fellman. Fellman was a good friend of the Civil War Monitor, writing a book review on Andrew Delblanco’s The Abolitionist Imagination and hosting a workshop with several of the magazine's editors when he came to lecture at the University of Georgia. You can read Fellman’s official obituary here. Last Sunday, Stella Mae Case, the 94 year old daughter of Civil War veteran John Harwood Pierceof the 11th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, passed away.
In happier news, many of the nation’s Civil War historians converged on Lexington, KY for the bicentennial meeting of the Society of Civil War Historians. Our own book reviewer, Matt Hulbert, presented earlier on “Writing Missouri’s Irregular History: How to Remember “This Damnable Guerrilla Warfare.” Similarly, earlier today, the Massachusetts School of Law streamed online a special Civil War Round Table entitled, “McClellan Takes Richmond! Really?”
The Museum of the Confederacy needs your help! They recently released the images of two unidentified girls, along with six other enigmatic Civil War era photographs, on the admittedly remote chance someone might recognize a familial resemblance or make a connection to a battlefield where they were found. In similar news, the State Library of New South Wales recently found volumes of maps and plans of the American Civil War in its seven levels of underground archives. Likewise, the National Archives recently found a copy of Charles Leale’s account of the frantic efforts to save the life of a fatally wounded president Abraham Lincoln; the note had been overlooked in their massive repository for a century and a half.
In other news, a U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Wilson dismissed a lawsuit against the city of Lexington filed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans; the Judge upheld the city’s decision to ban Confederate flags from the street light poles. Recently, the Civil War Trust honored Pamplin Historical Park and The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier with the Civil War Discovery Trail Site of the Year Award. And the 2012 Pennsylvania Civil War Road Show—a traveling Civil War exhibit—is getting ready to cross the commonwealth in the coming weeks.
What We Are Watching…
The Civil War Institute recently posted this video of Civil War historian and preservationist Brian Pohanka’s last interview. Brooks Simpson shared this video of “David Blight on Robert Penn Warren.” Kevin Levin discussed the narrowly released documentary, “COLORED CONFEDERATES: Myth or Matter of Fact?” You can watch a video trailer—which includes a clip of Kevin—here. And, Keith Harris shared this video of James McPherson on the causes of the Civil War.
What We Are Reading…
Over on Disunion! Adam Arenson explained how Southern sympathies and Union suspicions put the border metropolis on the edge in “Secession and Ascension in St. Louis” while Ben Clearly recounted “Jeb Stuart’s Wild Ride” and how a brash young general embarrassed the Union Army with one of the Civil War's boldest cavalry maneuvers. On a lighter note, Jon Grinspan recounted the life and humor of David R. Locke: “The Stephen Colbert of the Civil War.” Our friends at the Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial explained how “The Naval Siege of Vicksburg Begins” and the importance of “Navy Cutlasses in the Civil War.”
On Dead Confederates, Andy Hall explained “How — and Why — Real Confederates Endorsed Slave Pensions.” Over on Cosmic America, Keith Harris discussed “The Confederate Naval Strategy” and Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction. Meanwhile, Civil War Emancipation shared this piece on “Slaveholders Strike Back, Part 1.”
In Case You Missed It...
We posted several sneak peeks of the summer issue on our Facebook page. Also this week, Andy Hally gave a nice plug for issue on Dead Confederates. Online subscribers can view the issue online here. Not a subscriber yet? You can view the Table of Contents here and order your subscription here.
Otherwise, things have been a little quiet this week as our editors travelled to Lexington, studied for comprehensive exams, and began teaching summer courses. The Bookshelf featured a review by Aaron Sheehan-Dean on Routes of War: The World of Movement in the Confederate South by Yael A. Sternhell. According to Sheehan-Dean, "Sternhell's analysis helps us see not just the connections between the home front and the battlefront but the fact that these spaces exist on a short continuum of shared experience." The Front Line paid homage to new poet laureate Natasha Trethewey by posting one of her Civil War-inspired poems: "Elegy for the Native Guards." We also shared a comical account on the European debate about whether or not to intervene in the American Civil War.
Those are the news and highlights for the week.
Safe travels from Lexington and Happy Father's Day!
Laura June Davis, Contributing Editor
Image Credit: The Associated Press / Museum of the Confederacy.
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