Reflecting on my own “memory” of the Civil War

There are some wonderful blogs out there that reflect on contemporary issues of Civil War memory and there are even rants of disgust over the way that Civil War memory has been distorted. While I tinker around a bit with my own thoughts on Civil War memory, I think it would be a great idea [...]

Food for thought - a little combination of digital history and the Civil War

I have a digital history project in mind and would like to see if it is feasible. For starters, for anyone reading this blog, what do you consider the top 25 (if we can come up with that many) most controversial topics (excluding battle/military leader-related) pertaining to the Civil War?

Comparing Civil War memory to Revolutionary War memory

In one of my classes last spring at William & Mary, I had the opportunity to examine how former Loyalists and Tories from the American Revolution had been treated in historic memory. Now, some think that the two are one in the same, but even I came to realize that this is not the case. [...]

The he-man Lincoln-haters club

About a week ago, I had the opportunity to attend the annual Lincoln Birthday event (sponsored by the Lincoln Society of Virginia) held at the Lincoln family cemetery near Broadway in Rockingham County, Virginia (the Lincoln family resided in this county since the 1760s, and Thomas Herring Lincoln, President Abraham Lincoln’s father, was born here in [...]

Reflections on criticisms of the Web in education

I know that I said that I would not get into the criticisms of the use of the Web as an educational tool in history, but I think that discussion in favor of digital history actually benefits from pointing out some of the criticisms. I have to wonder, considering all of the criticisms of the [...]