Week in Review – October 23rd – 28th
Civil War in the News…
The big news this week is that the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a special-use permit for Walmart to build a supercenter on State Route 3…rather than adjacent to the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. In New York City, the August Saint-Gaudens designed David Glasgow Farragut Monument is undergoing a major cleaning. And, Kentucky honored the 8th Colored Heavy Artillery—comprised predominately of black soldiers—with a commemorative marker for their efforts to defend Paducah from an attack led by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Around the Blogosphere…
Both the Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial Blog and The Mariners’ Museum’s The Civil War Connections Blog have been discussing the 150th anniversary of the USS Monitor’s construction. All Not so Quiet on the Potomac recounted “The Sickliest Soldiers in the Army: The Vermont Brigade at Camp Griffin” while the National Museum of American History blog informed readers that the Republican Women’s Conference used one of General Ulysses S. Grant’s sword to cut the cake for their tenth anniversary party. Kevin Levin has been “Getting to Know the Men of the 55th" and Ed Payne guessed blogged on Renegade South about “The Family of James Richard Welch: a Study in Piney Woods Unionism.”
Over at Disunion, Louis P. Masur recounted the life and times of Edward Dickinson Baker—the only sitting United States senator ever killed in combat while Nicole Etcheson discussed “James Lane’s Revenge” and how the Civil War in the West was often an extension of fighting between pro-slavery Missourians and Kansas antislavery settlers. Also on Disunion, Carol Bundy described “The Purchase of Blood” during the Civil War and how the homogenous demographics of regiments resulted in battle losses that were felt disproportionately within the civilian population.
In Case You Missed It…
Over on The Front Line, our weekly Voice from Past came from General George B. McClellan. Andy Hall’s post, “Respect My Heritage; You Can Stick Yours” created some buzz for its analytical commentary about the controversial Annie Chambers Caddell, who has been displaying a Confederate flag from her porch in the historically African American neighborhood of Brownsville, SC. Meanwhile, Andy Slap discussed “Teaching Slavery as the Cause of the Civil War.” And, to commemorate Fall, Football, and maybe even the Florida-Georgia game, our From the Archives post illustrates Civil War era “foot-ball.”
Over on The Bookshelf, we posted two new book reviews. Elizabeth Varon reviewed The Iron Way: Railroads, the Civil War, and the Making of Modern America by William G. Thomas—a “tour-de-force, and offers a series of bracing insights about the origins, shape and outcome of the Civil War” and a “must-read for students, scholars and enthusiasts alike” for its “unimpeachable and compelling” evidence. And, Brian Craig Miller reviewed Joseph T. Glatthaar’s Soldiering in the Army of Northern Virginia: A Statistical Portrait of the Troops Who Served Under Robert E. Lee. Miller which serves as a statistical companion to Glatthaar’s superb 2008 work General Lee’s Army: From Victory to Collapse.
And, on All Not so Quiet on the Potomac, Ron declared The Civil War Monitor as a “Civil War Magazine That Rocks.” He stated that “The Civil War Monitor is a combination of smart, sophisticated, and hip. Printed on high-quality paper, the magazine feels as substantial as its content.” Thank You!
Those are the highlights for the week.
Have a great weekend...and have fun at The SHA's Annual Conference!
Laura June Davis, Blog & Social Media Editor
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