I’m not quite sure how the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library ended up in Mississippi, but it’s being managed by John Marszalek, author of some wonderful Civil War biographies. The collection comprises official papers, diaries, photographs, and correspondence. If you’re a Grant scholar or even just a Grant enthusiast, it’s worth a digital visit.
Source: Mississippi State University Libraries Digital Collections
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
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
Reconstruction is the dark side of the Civil War’s already pretty awful history; when all the gains fought for were surrendered and guiled away. The sesquicentennials still to come will not be as heavily observed as the wartime ones, but they have had a longer legacy. This is a good move on the part of the NPS.
The National Park Service is undertaking what it calls a national historic landmark theme study. It plans to identify nationally important sites dealing with the Reconstruction era from the Civil War through 1900 that could be designated national historic landmarks.
Robert Sutton, the agency’s chief historian in Washington, said the way historians view Reconstruction has changed over the years.
“The old interpretation was that it was a disaster, that they did too much too soon and people weren’t really ready and it was mostly a negative thing,” Sutton said. “In the last 50 years, the research has been the complete opposite and that it was a very progressive program that did tremendous good and the real tragedy was that it ended.”
via Park Service will study period after Civil War | The State The State.
The Hunley is slowly emerging from the century-old crust. Kudos to the historians, researchers and conservators involved in this mammoth and painstaking project. They are keeping history alive for us.
The Hunley was found off the South Carolina coast in 1995, raised in 2000 and brought to a conservation lab in North Charleston.
It was covered with a hardened gunk of encrusted sand, sediment and rust that scientists call concretion.
Last May, it was finally ready to be bathed in a solution of sodium hydroxide to loosen the encrustation. Then in August, scientists using small air-powered chisels and dental tools began the laborious job of removing the coating.
Now about 70 percent of the outside hull has been revealed.
Mardikian said the exposed hull indeed has revealed some things that may help solve the mystery of the sinking.
“I would have to lie to you if I said we had not, but it’s too early to talk about it yet,” he said. “We have a submarine that is encrypted. It’s like an Enigma machine.”
via Civil War rebel sub’s hull revealed | HeraldNet.com – Nation/World.
There was a neat find near Savannah this month:
Archeologists working for the Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, aided by divers and salvage operations teams from the Navy, retrieved a 64-square-foot section of a Civil War ironclad warship from the bottom of the Savannah River, the evening of Nov. 12.
The divers worked in strong currents with near-zero visibility during a week to assess the possibility of lifting a small piece of the Confederate ship’s casemate for archeological testing.
A crane lifted it onto a barge anchored near historic Old Fort Jackson on the eastern edge of Savannah. Experts estimate the piece weighs more than 5,000 pounds.
FIVE THOUSAND POUNDS. For a “SMALL PIECE… of the casement.” This helps put the ironclads into some more perspective, though clearly I need a lot more to fully grasp how heavy these behemoths were.
While linking to the Civil War Trust the other day, I noticed a link to their 2013 Photo Contest. Wowzers, there are some amazing shots here. My personal favorite is the Meade statue by moonlight, which eerily recaptures Meade’s arrival on the scene of the Gettysburg battlefield after the first day. (The description thereof is my favorite paragraph from the Shelby Foote Narratives
There’s a special promotion on the site that will net you a calendar featuring these images for any donation above $18.63. I encourage you all again to donate to the charity if you can. They’re doing great work on behalf of all us history buffs.
Good, if premature, news about preservation efforts in Virginia: The state’s two senators have proposed legislation that would make expand the Petersburg National Battlefield, making it the largest in the nation.
Note, though, that this proposal only allows the NPS to acquire it – there’s no money attached to the motion. That’s where an organization like the Civil War Trust comes in; the charity raises money to purchase at-risk battlefield acreage.
To facilitate donations from my readers, I’ve added a sidebar link to the Trust. With both the holidays and the tax year end upcoming, why not make a donation for yourself or on behalf of a loved one? Get them a Crater for Christmas!
Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced the proposal Wednesday. It would authorize the National Park Service to acquire more than 7,000 acres of land that is in danger of being lost to development. The land was the site of 18 major Civil War battles. It has been identified by the Civil War Trust as one of the most endangered groups of historic battlefields in the country.
A website mentioned this exhibit at the Smithsonian, with an exhortation “don’t miss it!” The official website doesn’t mention an end date, though, and I can’t tell if it’s a virtual exhibit or if the Lincolniana is assembled in one place. Regardless, the Smithsonian’s always worth a trip, and it would be a treat to be in the presence of objects related to the Big Guy.
Walk, don’t run? 🙂
Abraham Lincoln: Introduction | National Museum of American History.
Fifty battlefield acres have been donated to the state by Walmart, concluding a once-contentious fight over a store the retail giant had proposed near the Wilderness Battlefield.
WalMart does the right thing, albeit under tremendous popular pressure, and years after doing the right thing should’ve been done. Still, a victory for the Civil War Trust and history buffs everywhere.