Civil War Monitor

The Week in Review: March 5th-9th

The phases of facial reconstruction of two sailors of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor are seen in the auditorium of the US Navy Memorial, March 6, 2012

After a brief hiatus, the Week in Review is finally back. We hope you enjoy it.

Civil War in the News…

The big news this week has been about the facial reconstruction of two members of the USS Monitor utilizing the skulls of the two full skeletal remains found in the turret. Our friends at the Navy Historical Foundation discussed how the “Lost Crew of Civil War Ironclad Comes to Life” while we published Andy Hall’s “Do You Know These Men?” on The Front Line yesterday.

In other news, the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg announced the hiring of Wayne Motts as its new CEO while Anne Rubin was recently elected president of the Society of Civil War Historians for 2012-2014. A Confederate cannon seized during the Battle of New Bern has returned to North Carolina in time for the 150th anniversary of the skirmish. Amherst College temporarily loaned the cannon to the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh until June 2015. And, in preparation for the Battle of New Bern’s sesquicentennial, the History Channel asked Hari Jones, curator of the African American Civil War Museum, and author Richard Sauers to explain the battle’s significance.

Around the Blogosphere…

This week has been full of sesquicentennials, including the Battle of Pea Ridge and the Battle of Hampton Roads. Bring the Heat, Bring the Stupid explored a “Leadership Lesson from 150 years ago today: The Battle of Pea Ridge” while To The Sound of Guns and The Front Line blogger Craig Swain recounted the first day’s fighting at Pea Ridge and identified the location of cannons on the Pea Ridge battlefield today. 

In honor of the famed clash of the ironclads, the Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial posted Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem about the Cumberland and Phil Williams at RVA news explained why he would not have wanted to be aboard the Cumberland during the fateful clash. The Washington Post explained how “Almost 150 years after it sank, Monitor still captivates” while Darryl Sannes and Jeffrey Williams outlined the forgotten role of the USS Minnesota in “The Monitor, the Merrimack and… U.S.S. Minnesota?” Similarly, the Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial discussed  the “USS Minnesota and the Fate of Andromeda” the Civil War scholar and blogger Brooks Simpson wrote a guest post for the Library of America’s Reader’s Almanac about the Battle of Hampton Roads and Jamie Malanowski discussed the duel of the Ironclads on the New York Times' Disunion blog. And last, but certainly not least, Dead Confederates’ Andy Hall posted some videos on the “Monitor‘s Marvelous Marine Mechanics.”

Outside of sesquicentennial themed posts, Craig Swain discussed “A Tale of Two Battlefields: Comparing preservation organizations” at Shepherdstown, WV and Brandy Station, VA. Meanwhile, Keith Harris—one of our digital advisors and the mastermind behind Cosmic America—challenged Stephen Berry’s “ top ten” predictions for the future of Civil War historiography in the Journal of the Civil War Era’s recent forum.  Over at Disunion, Guy Gugliotta discussed “A Capitol Dilemma”—and how construction of the Capitol building, frozen by the outbreak of the Civil War, got back on track—while Christopher Phillips delineated “The Fall of the House of Underwood” and how the winter of 1862 brought disaster for a family of slave-owning family of Kentucky Unionists. Lastly, Irish in the American Civil War explained how a ‘New’ Irish Recipient of the Medal of Honor might have been Discovered?

In Case You Missed It…

Things have been very busy here at The CWM Collective. In honor of Women’s History Month, The Front Line recounted the unique experiences of Nancy Harts’ Militia and their actual “combat” experience. We also posted Clara Barton’s poem “The Women Who Went to the Field,” Frank Leslie’s provocative drawing, “The Rebel Lady’s Boudoir,” and Mary E. Nealy's tribute to Civil War nurses. 

In honor of the Battle of Pea Ridge's sesquicentennial, we shared Asa Payne’s remembrance of the battle and Lyman Bennett’s recollection of the day’s savagery.

And, to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Hampton Roads, we posted Confederate Major General Benjamin Hunger’s report of the battle, Union Commander S. Dana Greene's account of the famed events, and Colonel John Taylor Wood’s interpretation of the day’s significance. Lastly, Andy Hall asked readers, "Do You Know These Men?" 

Over on The Bookshelf, the esteemed Earl J. Hess reviewed Colonization After Emancipation: Lincoln and the Movement for Black Resettlement by Phillip W. Magness and Sebastian N. Page. Hess stated, “Phillip W. Magness and Sebastian N. Page now show us that Lincoln’s interest [in colonization] was hardly furtive after the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation of September 22, 1862.” And, according to Hess, “The authors bring this story, and its important lesson, to light because they engaged in superb research to track down the documentary trail outlining the British Honduras project.” In addition, Scott Manning took on New Jersey Butterfly Boys in the Civil War: The Hussars of the Union Army by Peter T. Lubrecht, stating, “Although Lubrecht’s enthusiasm shines throughout the work, the narrative is over-the-top, cliché, and often clunky.”
 

Those are the news and highlights of the week. If you are travelling to Hampton Roads, Virginia for the Civil War Navy Conference, I look forward to seeing you there. 

Have a great weekend!
Laura June Davis, Contributing Editor.