A little over a year ago, I posted about the idea of creating a virtual Civil War Round Table. My friend and fellow writer Stuart Lawrence is a member of a CWRT and is looking to start one here in North Dakota. I will help him with it, but still think a virtual one has plenty of merits. I recently discovered Google Wave, but that is still in development and once it comes out of development, I will attempt to use it for a virtual round table. I am looking around for appropriate venues to set up a virtual round table, so if you have any suggestions, let me know.
Thanks to the forums at the Company of Military Historians, there are a couple websites made known that provide online access to Civil War manuscripts. The first is Manuscripts of the Civil War: Diaries & Journals, which is affiliated with Notre Dame. The other site is called Civil War Manuscripts Project, which is part of the Connecticut Historical Society. If you are interested in researching, or simply reading Civil War manuscripts, then check these sites out.
First, my apologies for not getting a couple posts up the last couple weeks. I hope to get them done this week. Now, living in North Dakota, and being the son of a North Dakotan has caused me to somewhat follow the Minnesota Vikings for years, though not as closely as recently. I hoped that with Brett Favre at QB, they would make it this year, but alas, the New Orleans Saints are NFC champions and will face the Colts in two weeks.
Now what does this have to do with the Civil War? Well, not much, but since the two teams represent two distinct regions of the country, it does make for interesting commentary. I personally will be pulling for the Colts to avenge the Vikes by destroying the Saints. I can also see much of the South cheering for the Saints due to them being a Southern team, while much of the North could root for the Colts, either for regional loyalty, or just to see Manning win the game. It will be interesting to see if our loyalties in the big game fall along geographic lines. In short, I hope the vaunted players of Indianapolis will defeat the Saints in the South on February 7.
Thanks to Civil Warriors for providing the link to a article in the recent issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. This article was quite good and raised a few interesting thoughts for me about the state of scholarship on the South and Civil War, as well as that of the larger academy. While no one, except those on the fringes of society, will argue that American race-based slavery was not an immoral stain on our nation, the larger scholarship on the South and the Civil War as well seems unwilling or afraid to tackle the uncomfortable areas within Southern culture and history, areas where the South has some positive attributes. Mr. Livingston’s exploration into the subject of secession and Southern history is quite fascinating, as while I am a Northern man, and would have stood tall for the Union, this entrance into the historiographical discourse is great. The more voices added, the richer the chorus. History is no different.
What this article does reveal is a troubling indictment of the current state of academe in America. While Livingston and other scholars involved with his Abbeville Institute are undoubtedly good people, they are venturing into a territory where cries of racist and neo-Confederate are leveled, simply for choosing to explore an area of history that is seemingly unpopular in most circles. While secession is, in my opinion, not a legitimate response, in the case of the South, I do feel that we must study it in order to have a better understanding of the tumultuous time in our nation before the war and during its early stage. I posted a couple comments on the post at Civil Warriors and the responses were polite, but still somewhat dismissive of what this group of scholars is trying to accomplish. My question is why? Are historians afraid that if any positive attributes regarding Southern history and culture surface that Americans will suddenly ignore slavery and the negatives? I believe that most people are smarter than that.
The article acknowledged that scholars involved with the society sought to explore what they (the Abbeville scholars) viewed as the “positive aspects of Southern history and culture.” The scholars did not deny, according to the piece, the bigotry and racism of the South, but seemed to be arguing for letting historians more well-versed in such subjects tackle them.
The negative reaction from some in the academy to this angle of research causes me to think about the rise of New History fifty years ago. It seems that reaction from historians at that time to new interpretations was one of fear and anger, but New History, despite some politicized attributes that even I have issues with, has made wonderful contributions to our understanding of the past. It seems that, if given the chance, the Abbeville Institute can do the same, provided there is guidance and a keen awarness on the part of Abbeville scholars of Southern historiography, so that they can intelligently refute challenges that will come their way.
Overall, my attitude is one of embrace with caution. Let these scholars have their chance to be heard, but be aware of those who would use such areas of study for more malicious purposes. Studying secession as a political response, as well as trying to understand the positive values that did shape Southern culture, while maintaining the understanding of the immorality and evil of the institution that the South defended, will improve Southern history, as it will foster robust dialogue and questions, which can open new avenues to approaching the history and culture of the antebellum South. I stress caution, however, so that the rules of scholarship are enforced, and that those in charge of Abbeville distance themselves from those invovled with Southern heritage-based groups and neo-Confederate groups, thus avoiding tarnishining their reputation early. The academy should welcome the Abbeville Institute and its scholars to the table and work to create intersections between differing areas of research, as I feel both sides in this debate can learn from each other.
You probably see my linked logo for the History News Network in the sidebar, and I hope you check them out as they are a great site. Well, now they need your help to raise $10,000 in 24 days to cover costs. If you are able and want to help, please visit here to donate. Let’s let Editor Rick Shenkman know that Civil War History supports him.
I know, you are all thinking, what does this have to do with the Civil War? Well, some of the gang over at Civil Warriors are into ice hockey and I can’t let them be the only ones talking a bit of hockey. Plus, I can’t resist a friendly jibe at Dr. Mark Grimsley, who teaches at Ohio State University (though he is currently a visiting professor at the Army War College), as that was one of the teams visiting scenic Grand Forks this weekend.
This weekend was the tenth annual Subway Holiday Classic, which brings teams that UND would normally not play to Grand Forks for a fun weekend of hockey over Thanksgiving break. Last year, we hosted Cornell for one of the games. This year, the weekend featured three of the top ten college hockey teams, as the Bemidji State University Beavers (#6), Miami University of Ohio RedHawks (#1), Ohio State University Buckeyes (yes, OSU actually has ice hockey), and the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux (#4) all played.
Bemidji opened the weekend on Friday by defeating Miami in a good game that was a rematch of last season’s semi-final match (Frozen Four), where Miami beat Bemidji 4-1. This time, the tables were turned, as Bemidji defeated Miami 3-2. Later that day, the Sioux played the Buckeyes, which was a fun game, as I was sitting right behind the boards by the penalty box for OSU, which was a bit interesting with some of the crowd who were around me. We defeated the Buckeyes (sorry Mark) 4-1 in an awesome game. On Saturday, Bemidji lost a tough game to OSU in overtime 2-1 and we had to settle with a tie in a very exciting game against Miami 5-5. While not related to the Civil War, some of the rivalries in college and pro hockey can get pretty intense, with brother against brother and parents against kids in friendly disagreements over teams. Needless to say, the weekend was good and the rankings should change soon. To the hockey fans at Civil Warriors, we should talk hockey sometime.
Sorry everyone for not posting lately, but I have been quite busy with graduate school, but hope to put out a couple book reviews very soon. I did want to share some awesome news that I would have put out on Monday, if my laptop had not contracted a malicious program that resulted in having to restore the system to the original Windows XP. I received a package containing two volumes of the Encyclopedia of the Veteran in America put out by ABC-Clio, which includes three entries written by yours truly. Two of them have a Civil War focus, with one being a brief biography of former general and GAR Commander-in-Chief John Logan, and the other devoted to the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), which was an association of Civil War officers, which is now an organization of their male descendants. I would post these, but copyright prevents this, but I will see if I can post some of them. This is quite awesome for me, as I can put this on my CV and can see my name in print as a contributor for a work.
If anyone is still out looking for the free unedited copy of Michael Burlingame’s Abraham Lincoln: A Life, the link has bee updated. The first volume can be downloaded here. Happy reading to everyone who has not yet checked out this work. Also on that page, you can learn more about an offer on the edited two-volume published version, which is quite large, but worth it.
I would like to welcome fellow graduate student, Army veteran, and Civil War reenactor Stuart Lawrence to the writing staff. I am sure that he will add many interesting posts to the blog and will be a wealth of experience on reenacting and other topics.
Blog Talk Radio will be interviewing Robert Hicks, author of The Widow of the South and the brand new book A Separate Country, which we gave away copies of last week. The interview will be at 12:30 ET. More can be found at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/grandcentralpub/2009/09/23/Live-Interview-with-Robert-Hicks-author-of-A-SEPARATE-COUNTRY-and-WIDOW-OF-THE-SOUTH. I hope many of you will check it out.
Congratulations to the winners of the contest held this last week. To those who did not win, I want to thank you for entering and for visiting. It was a hard choice, but the following persons won a copy of Robert Hicks A Separate Country:
Sherry Gibbs–AL
Karen Haney–FL
Ed Norris
Andrea Valdes–NY
Gary Van Ess–WI
Congratulations again, and, according to Miriam Parker, you should receive your copy in about two weeks.
Midnight has now come and the giveaway has now closed. Thank you to everyone who submitted via either comment or contacting me through the Contact CWH page. I will examine the entries later today and will contact the winners later today to let them know. Again, thank you everyone for stopping by this last week and for those entering the contest. I hope to hold more giveaways in the future, so if you represent a publisher and would like some free publicity and exposure for your products, please let me know if you offer giveaways for bloggers.
Okay folks, I have a special offer to make, courtesy of Miriam Parker, Associate Director, Online Marketing at Hachette Book Group. I would like to offer five copies of Robert Hicks’ new book A Separate Country (Hicks also wrote The Widow of the South). This giveaway is being held in conjunction with Book Blogger Appreciation Week. To enter and be considered for a copy, please either comment or use the Contact CWH page, provide your real name and a valid email, and comment on the following:
Excluding James McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom (clearly a hard-hitting work), what do you feel has been the most significant historical book on the Civil War to be published in the last twenty-five (25) years and why?
How long should your comment be? I would prefer those interested to answer the question in a good paragraph, with multiple paragraphs being good too. There is no right answer, as I merely want your thoughts on the question backed up by intelligent thought, as I know you are all intelligent people reading this site. Basically, convince this historian why the book you chose was the most significant, drawing upon the book itself and the career of the author, if needed. I will explain that I excluded McPherson because he is a giant of the field and his work would be on many lists and I would like to see what other possibilities you will think of.
Also, please answer this question with just a title: What is your favorite fiction book on the Civil War? Again, no right answer.
I will leave the contest open until midnight of Monday, September 21, so please be sure to enter. I will examine all entries and will choose what I feel are the five best submissions and email the winners to request appropriate contact information for Miriam to send the copy to. Further, the five winners and a couple of honorable mentions will be posted and the submitters will be given the opportunity to join the writing staff of the site. I hope you will all enter the contest and wish luck to everyone. Thank you to Miriam Parker and Hachette Book Group for making this opportunity available.
Update: I forgot to mention that residents of the US and Canada are the only ones eligible, due to the limitations of where Miriam Parker can send the books. My apologies to those outside the US and Canada.
You may be wondering why I would devote a post to the passing of Patrick Swayze, which occurred today. Well, if you follow Civil War television shows, you may remember a young(er) Swayze portraying Orry Main in the landmark miniseries North and South. Orry was a southerner, from a planter family, who befriended George Hazard, the son of a wealthy industrial Northern family. The series chronicled the journey of the men from West Point, through the Mexican War, and both men’s service on either side of the war, with the two reuniting at war’s end. With that show, Swayze earned a place in the larger genre of Civil War film and television. Swayze was 57 years old and had been battling pancreatic cancer for almost two years. Rest in peace Patrick Swayze.
I wanted to let you all know that BBAW is going on this week (more info can be found via the BBAW link in the sidebar). I am planning to post a review (if possible, two) for the week and may be (I have to hear back from a contact at the publisher again) offering a giveaway towards the middle of the week for a few copies of Robert Hicks’ A Separate Country, which is based around the life of John Bell Hood. I will let you know more about this possibility tomorrow. I hope you all have a great week.
