Tag Archives: news

Minnesota’s Battle

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There’s a battle going on at the Minnesota state capitol: Turns out some really beautiful canvasses were removed for restoration, and the discussion is now ongoing over whether to replace them with more modern and inclusive artwork. I am a little torn; I am all for modernizing and inclusive-izing the artwork, but one of the paintings at issue is this incredible work by Howard Pyle, “The Battle of Nashville”.  Here’s hoping Minnesota can find some room over its mantel for this excellent and moving piece. (And if they can’t, I’ll happily rehome it!)

Source: Fight erupts over Civil War art at the Minnesota State Capitol | INFORUM

C-SPAN Civil War

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This article isn’t of much use unless you’re a Civil War writer or presenter, but this interesting tidbit caught my eye:

According to Mackowski, C-SPAN has a Civil War-themed spot to fill every Saturday at 6 p.m., and it’s always looking for new content.

Going to have to start checking the C-SPAN schedule to see if there are any interesting discussions to share!

Source: Mackowski moderates C-SPAN conversation – The Bona Venture

Nat Turner’s Skull

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Nat Turner’s skull has been found, and with it comes a series of articles about the history of human body part smuggling and preservation. It’s all a bit gruesome, but particularly when you consider this fact:

Amrita Myers, Associate Professor of History at Indiana University, said the story of Turner’s skull is peculiar because there isn’t historical precedent of African-American body parts being passed down during slavery.

“Black men and women being used in that fashion was a very common phenomenon after the (Civil) War during the rise of lynching, but I’ve been a slavery scholar for the better part of two decades, and I’ve never heard of black men and women body parts under slavery being used for sale or for relics,” Myers said.

The implication being that the keeping of black body parts as trophies has emerged since Reconstruction. Says a lot about the post-bellum society.
Source: Skull thought to be Nat Turner’s, now in possession of former Gary mayor, to be returned to descendants – Post-Tribune

The Color Line

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Back from another hiatus with an event suggestion. This exhibit combines my twin passions: Civil War history and being in Paris.  Turns out, the very modern and engaging ethnology museum is moving away from the phallus-heavy exhibits it usually presents, and hosting a cultural appreciation of African-American culture in the post war era. The show covers 100+ years of black American art, music, and literature.  I spent part of the past two years in Paris, and this exhibit is making me wish I could go back!

Source: The Color Line

Immigration exhibition

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Here’s a Lincoln law I’d not heard of before – the Act to Encourage Immigration.  In this day and age of war, open borders, and refugees, there’s a timely exhibition being mounted by the Soldier’s Home.

Abraham Lincoln signed the Act to Encourage Immigration into law on July 4, 1864. The act was the first — and only — law to encourage immigration into the United States, as opposed to trying to control immigration. The American by Belief exhibit at the Lincoln Cottage museum gives a look at the immigration issue of the 1860s and balances it against today’s immigrations issues — and how similar the reasons for immigration were then and today. The museum was created in 2008, in a partnership with the Nationa

Source: In Petworth, an ode to immigrants – The Washington Post

“Hellmira” Reconstruction 

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More excellent restoration news: This time from a group looking to reconstruct the infamous prison camp, Elmira. After Chicago’s Camp Douglas, it was considered the worst of the Northern camps.

Friends of the Elmira Civil War Prison Camp is excited to announce construction is underway on a project to recreate the Civil War Camp in Elmira New York.

The first step in the project is the reconstruction of an original building from the camp. The original camp building will be used as a learning center and museum to house period artifacts donated by people who have found them on the former prison camp site, said John Trice, vice president of the group. A camp barracks construction blueprint is currently being developed. 

“We do have hopes of creating a little Civil War village here. There is a great amount of interest in this project, so I think that it could become a great tourist attraction.”

Source: “Hellmira” Civil War Camp Reconstruction Project Underway – Press Release – Digital Journal

Brandy Station preserved

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More great work by the Civil War Trust. If you’re looking for Christmas presents or year-end charity recipients, consider contributing to their campaign to save and restore the battlefields we study.

The newly restored Fleetwood Hill, located on the Brandy Station Battlefield in Culpeper, Va., will open to the public at 10 a.m. Monday following a ribbon-cutting ceremony, according to an advance announcement by the Civil War Trust.

Source: Restoration of site of Civil War’s largest cavalry battlefield is finished – The Washington Post

Debate Over Brady’s Birthplace

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I did a podcast on Brady, stating he was a New Yorker. It looks as though that information was incorrect. New documentation is pointing to the great photographer actually being Irish.

Harold Holzer, who has written or edited 50 books on Lincoln and the Civil War, said: “Brady is a guy who kind of defies place. He doesn’t belong anywhere. He belongs everywhere. He has ties to upstate New York, New York City, Washington, D.C. He does deserve the recognition anyone is willing to give him.”

via Missing Historical Marker Resurrects Debate Over Photographer’s Birthplace – NYTimes.com.

Free State of Jones

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Now here is some Civil War movie news that gets me excited!  An interesting story, a top notch actor, and a writer-director whose movies are both deftly written and deeply beautiful.  This will be a must-see for me.

Matthew McConaughey and writer-director Gary Ross are pegged to team up on ‘Free State Of Jones,’ which is looking to go before the cameras in the first quarter of 2015. ‘Free State Of Jones’ is based on the incredible story of Newton Knight (McConaughey), who’s best known as the leader of the Knight Company, a band of Confederate Army deserters that turned against the Confederacy during the Civil War. To avoid capture, the Knight men would disappear into swamp hideouts such as “Devil’s Den” or “Panther Creek.” The Knight Company was aided by sympathetic local people, whites and blacks. In particular, a slave woman named Rachel helped supply Newt with food and information.  On the run, he rallied the support of fellow deserters to lead an uprising against their former comrades, in the process creating a free safe haven.

via Matthew McConaughey & Gary Ross Team-Up On The Civil War Saga ‘Free State Of Jones’ | FlicksandBits.com – Movie News, Trailers, Interviews, Features, Images, Posters, Art & More.

Even Robert E. Lee Wanted the Confederate Flag Gone

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In the shadow of a Confederate flag discussion, the author of a new Lee book muses on the general’s mutable opinions on secession and commemoration.

Where Confederate battle flag replicas once flew at Washington and Lee University in the chapel above Robert E. Lee’s tomb, controversy now hangs as Virginians prepare to observe the January 19 birthday of the Confederate general-turned-college president.

Almost 150 years after the end of the Civil War, the skirmishing over how to remember the most famous rebel general continues even at a Virginia college named, in part, for him. About half the students and alumni polled by a campus magazine opposed the decision to remove the flags this summer. Fortunately, the university officials who made the call can draw on the example of an improbable and imperfect champion: Lee himself.

via Even Robert E. Lee Wanted the Confederate Flag Gone – The Daily Beast.