For the first time in months, I decided to finally turn on History and watch a couple of episodes of The Revolution this evening. After watching two hours worth, I started to realize a few things… or maybe re-realize a few things.
First, there was discussion about the Paul Revere myth… not much, but enough to start the wheels rolling about historic mythology, especially considering some discussion in comments to some blog posts elsewhere within the last year asking why some aspects of the Rev War aren’t focused on as much as Lost Cause memory. By the way, as for the Paul Revere myth… is it difficult for New Englanders to swallow the myth being busted thing? I’m just asking to see if there is some parallel with some of the new-age Lost Cause remembrance folks and their difficulties in dealing with Confederate myth-busting.
Then, there was the brief mention of Paul Revere’s artistic work that exagerated the Boston Massacre (hmm, I’m thinking about some of what was addressed in the post about “side-effects” of Civil War art).
Conclusion… I need to start watching more Rev War stuff as I’m finding more parallels and snippets of interest when considering the mythology of the Lost Cause… and the mythology generated by “new-age Lost Cause.”
For those who might be curious, I briefly discussed something about the parallels between loyalists in the two wars in a post several months ago.
Marc Ferguson
November 24, 2008
Robert – I’m a carpetbagger in New England, being originally from California, but I can report that most New Englanders are fully aware of the mythical status of the Paul Revere story, and will readily tell it.
Marc
cenantua
November 24, 2008
Marc – So, they adhere to the mythological version, but how do they react when countered by someone with the facts behind the ride and that Revere was but one of the riders? Are they accepting of the facts or defensive of the myths?
Marc Ferguson
November 25, 2008
Robert – I wasn’t clear. My experience is that New Englanders are aware that the classic Paul Revere story is indeed a myth, and will quickly correct those who adhere to the myth.
Marc
cenantua
November 25, 2008
Marc – O.K., I sort of thought that they didn’t take a defensive posture on that. Although, from my visit to Plimouth Plantation this past summer, I did encounter a little defensiveness over the sacred place that Plymouth holds in NE mindset. We mentioned that we were from Va, and the lady asked if we had been to Williamsburg. We answered in the affirmative, and she was quick to point out that Plymouth was older. I didn’t have the heart to interupt her, but immediately found it curious that she said nothing of Jamestown outdating Plymouth.
Richard Williams
November 25, 2008
And, of course, the first Thanksgiving was in VA.
cenantua
November 25, 2008
Richard,
Yes it was.
However (and I was thinking about this a little after responding to Marc’s comment) Jamestown and Plymouth hold their respective places in our collective history.
The two settlements were established for different reasons and I seriously doubt that (despite the insistance of some today to give prominence to the history of one settlement over the other) the people back then were thinking in terms of being “first to accomplish X, Y, or Z.” As I said, each settlement had its respective objectives. Our reflections on the two should not also be reflective of some need within ourselves to make us feel better by ranking our ancestors higher than someone else’s (for example, vanity to show that one’s Jamestown ancestors are better than someone else’s Plymouth ancestors, or vice-versa).
Noel
November 25, 2008
Robert, I very much enjoy your blog. Re: this topic, Edward Linenthal offers a really striking presentation of the evolving artistic/symbolic image of the minuteman, in the wake of Lexington and Concord, in a chapter of Sacred Ground: Americans and their Battlefields. Noel
cenantua
November 25, 2008
Noel, Thanks for reading and commenting! Really glad you enjoy the blog. Thanks also for the info on Linenthal and the imagery of the minuteman. I’ll look for the work.
I was at Concord just this summer and, as a first-time visitor, I can’t begin to say just how moving the experience was at the Concord Bridge, between finally seeing the minuteman statue and seeing the monument to the British soldiers buried there. Actually, it might sound strange, but I think I may have been more moved by the original monument (for the Emerson connection) and the one to the British soldiers (I’m particularly moved when it comes to the thought of soldiers dying so far from home).
Thanks again! Robert
Stephen Graham
November 26, 2008
Interestingly, at least one of the Plymouth settlers had spent time at Jamestown: Stephen Hopkins.