Browsing All Posts filed under »American Civil War«

Sheridan, Rienzi, and late 19th century marketing

March 4, 2017 by

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It’s not often that I can blend a little of the history of the Shenandoah Valley with the Cumberland Valley, but… Among the different types of beer bottled and sold by one of my great-great grand uncles (among other beer and soda bottling ventures, James Draden Moore became a distributor for Rochester Brewing Co.), in […]

Looking back at Loudoun Heights

January 8, 2017 by

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Once again, there’s been a dry spell on this blog. Between work, my PhD work, and frequent travels to visit a daughter at VMI, I found little time to post anything after my last post in October. Still, that didn’t mean ideas stopped floating about in my head about various topics. I just didn’t have […]

Who were Orrstown, Pennsylvania’s Copperheads?

September 28, 2016 by

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Though I haven’t mentioned it, this past summer my wife purchased a “retreat” in central Pennsylvania. So, when I’m not otherwise overwhelmed keeping up with everything else going on, I’m enjoying the advantages of being in TWO fine valleys… the Shenandoah, in Virginia, and the Cumberland, in Pennsylvania. Whether by accident or not, the exact location […]

On Thomas Nast’s 176th Birthday

September 27, 2016 by

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It’s his art and the way he could say so much in it, with so few words. That’s why I take time to remember Thomas Nast on his 176th birthday… and the fact that Facebook reminded me that, for whatever reason that compelled me at the time, I paid tribute to him on his birthday, back in […]

A decade of Southern Unionist studies

September 19, 2016 by

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After receiving a comment last night on a recent post, and while driving into work this morning, I realized that, for over a decade, I’ve been involved in the study of Southern Unionists in the Shenandoah Valley. It was ten years ago this fall when I started writing my thesis on Southern Unionism and disaffected […]

Virginia’s old SCV license plate – an observation

September 15, 2016 by

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I saw this article, and taking the time to actually read it… and re-read it… I’m actually able to hear both sides to this argument. For one, the plate is no longer a legal plate in the Commonwealth of Virginia. So, under the law, being no longer legal, I understand the basic thought behind why […]

“I’ve got through crying long ago” – a refugee from the Shenandoah

September 13, 2016 by

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A few months ago, I came across an old sketch on Ebay showing a woman and her children above the title “Flight from the Shenandoah Valley”. Wanting to know the source, I found it in the Pictorial Book of Anecdotes and Incidents of the War of the Rebellion, by Richard Miller Devens (1824-1900). While there […]

Statue of Washington returns to VMI (150 years ago, today)

September 10, 2016 by

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Dedicated on the grounds of the Virginia Military Institute, on July 3, 1856, William James Hubbard’s copy of Jean Antoine Houdon’s Washington had, for eight years, been a point of inspiration to cadets of the Institute, and, to the residents of Lexington, a proud reminder of the “Father of the Country”. Therefore, when returned to the grounds […]

Special “representation” at the Carlisle Blue-Gray Reunion of 1881

May 10, 2016 by

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Yesterday, an article (“South Dakota tribe seeks children’s century-old remains from War College site“)* popped up in my news feed which, ironically, followed some information I came across just last week regarding “Indian School” attendees at the Blue-Gray reunion at Carlisle, in September 1881. That reunion was actually the second in two months, the first […]

Faulkner explains his Confederate service

April 30, 2016 by

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150 years ago this past week, a letter (though dated April 13) from Charles J. Faulkner (he appears in a few of my blog posts from the past) appeared in the Charles Town, West Virginia newspaper, detailing his “connexion” with the Confederate army. At first I thought, perhaps, he was replying to those who doubted any […]

The SPLC’s report… more “purposed” opinion than history?

April 22, 2016 by

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I saw, today, that the Southern Poverty Law Center issued their “Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy” report, yesterday. Anyone who has watched the SPLC over the years knows how they are inspired and, to be clear, they simply don’t recognize complexities in the story of anyone associated with the Southern Confederacy. Of course, it’s […]

Wars… and wishing those buildings could talk

March 12, 2016 by

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Seeing a Facebook friend’s post, today, of all that remained of an ancestral home… a hearth and chimney… I felt compelled to post one of my own. While I can’t say for sure if it is the remains of an “ancestral” homestead, it is located in Nicholson Hollow. If not an ancestral homestead, it’s likely a place […]

150 years ago this week – properties listed for sale in the Rockingham Register

March 5, 2016 by

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Does a listing of properties for sale, as of March 1866, tell us something about the Shenandoah Valley and the inability of some to recover from war? From the March 2, 1866 issue of the Rockingham Register (Harrisonburg):      

Would you have gone to war?

January 13, 2016 by

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This week on Facebook, Manassas National Battlefield Park posed a really good question… While I know a lot of folks would disagree with me, I don’t think we should look to give an answer to the question so quickly. One might feel confident in answering, based on ancestry, “heritage”, “patriotism”, etc., but keep in mind… […]

A Richmond editorial (1864) targets Lincoln’s Thanksgiving

November 25, 2015 by

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As my previous Thanksgiving posts show, I’m always fascinated over how there is this back and forth between Virginia and Massachusetts when it comes to Thanksgiving. I’m sure this year will see the same old posts on Facebook, arguing that Berkeley Hundred was the actual “first” Thanksgiving. Of course, as I’ve pointed out before (2010), it’s […]

Opposing another form of ignorance? Finding value in the antebellum South

August 8, 2015 by

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When glancing over my bookshelves last night, I pulled a book which I ordered about a year ago, yet had not yet taken time to read. The reason I purchased it was because the author spent time in the book, providing an argument about Southern antebellum authors who went against the grain of many other […]

History in context(?): the ACS, “National racism” in the early 19th century, and our path forward

August 4, 2015 by

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While I continue to hash out details about the ACS, I’m certainly not blind to what we consider (under our modern lenses) “racist” views held in the actions of people in the past. The difference is, however, that I think I’m able to realize the difference in views between today and yesterday, as more properly evaluated within […]

In the wake of Nat Turner – further encouragement to the American Colonization Society?

August 1, 2015 by

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I find what follows to be worthy of introduction into the discussion about the American Colonization Society. How did the Nat Turner Rebellion impact the efforts of the ACS? Perhaps more importantly, what did the discussions of 1831/32 mean to Virginians by 1861? You’ll note that I link freely to Encyclopedia Virginia… a rich resource […]

“…time would terminate the domestic contact of the races in the United States.”

July 27, 2015 by

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As I mentioned yesterday, in the course of looking through my notes to compile a couple of lists for a blog post or two, I ran across something that I had forgotten. When rereading it, I thought it might be of value to go ahead and post it. It might come as a surprise to […]

Recap: What I’m looking for with my examination of The American Colonization Society

July 25, 2015 by

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Since my last blog post, I’ve been looking through my notes, starting to compile a couple lists… but, along the way, I’ve been distracted by a few findings that might be of interest to readers. Of course, my thinking, in going through records of the American Colonization Society (ACS), is that I might find something that […]

Projecting the financial costs and gains of colonizing emancipated slaves

July 21, 2015 by

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This is the one instance in this series, where I’ll allow the pamphlet’s authors to speak for themselves. What did they see as both the financial costs and gains in colonizing emancipated slaves? Captain Paul Cuffee, from actual experiment, estimated the expense of transporting free person of colour to Africa, at 60 dollars each. The […]

Encouraged discussion about Confederate monument removal… expedites monument removal?

July 20, 2015 by

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One of the arguments I’ve read over the last week or two, is about the fight over monuments. Wait, now… let me be clear. It’s this part of that discussion… Does encouraging discussion of monument removal open a forum that encourages monument removal. Does it, perhaps, even increase the probability that monuments WILL BE removed? […]

Confederate-inspired U.S. Military Service?

July 17, 2015 by

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My friend, Richard Williams, posted something of interest this morning, and it’s got me wondering. I know how people like Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson touched something within me, and inspired a sense of duty… honor… and, frankly, I knew from an early age that I was going to serve my country. It wasn’t […]

The Confederate war effort: “…moved to a common end, but by different… and inconsistent reasons”

July 16, 2015 by

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Another break from the transcriptions, just for a little while… but still related. I recently came across (again) a quote I thought rather telling. It actually came from another transcription I completed for this blog, with a newspaper article focused on a discussion Lincoln had with representatives from the border states… and, as it so […]

Civil War Monuments and the beauty of their flexibility in interpretation

July 15, 2015 by

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There’s been lots discussed lately about the need to keep Civil War monuments standing, and I wholeheartedly agree. Despite what some say, they should not come down. They serve a purpose, and there are unique qualities in each… not only from an art perspective, but also for the fact that some provide interpretation (or make […]

Consider, for example, an unwelcome army on your doorstep…

July 2, 2015 by

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Think about it. When was the last time your government threatened to deploy the military of your government to your neck of the woods. Of course, I’m not talking about a simple military exercise, but a full-blown deployment set on silencing what appeared to be… for better or worse, whether you were in agreement with it […]

When does it go too far?

June 25, 2015 by

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With the Charleston massacre being at the center of it all… I’ve spent a little more time sitting and listening… (although, I have felt compelled to post, on Facebook, about the “collateral damage”, as those events have sped by). I’m struck by the manner in which we can be so focused, in our conversations, on one topic and […]

Charleston… and observations

June 23, 2015 by

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Update: I don’t think I was vague about my opinion on the Confederate flag in public venues, and you can see that below. How the symbolism of the flag contributed to the actions of the shooter are also mentioned, but only briefly. To be clear, the issue of the flag is only an aside to my […]

A Southern Unionist goes home, pt. 2.

June 17, 2015 by

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Continuing with Porte Crayon’s “Home”… but first, as mentioned in the blog post on Tuesday, keep in mind that Crayon (David Hunter Strother) lays out a story that differs from his actual experiences of returning home to Martinsburg and then later, Berkeley Springs. Still, one has to wonder where reality might intersect with fiction. We […]

A Southern Unionist goes home.

June 16, 2015 by

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By far, one of my favorite blogging experiences of the Sesqui was posting David Hunter Strother’s accounts of the early war (before he joined the Union army), in real time. It should be no surprise, therefore, that I often find myself returning to Strother for the rich content he left behind. Interestingly, in addition to […]

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