From the Civil War Women Blog: Civil War Christmas

http://www.civilwarwomenblog.com/2006/12/civil-war-christmas.html

From the Civil War Women Blog (which I can zone out for hours reading) comes a blog about celebrating Christmas during the Civil War. Particularly in the South, which was hardest hit economicaly, families used whatever they had to make the holidays happy.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.1

Podcast: Brown's Island Explosion

http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/civilwar/podcasts/index.php?video=Tredegar_Explosion

From the Civil War Center at Tredeger Iron Works in Richmond comes a series of podcasts, including this one about the Brown's Island Laboratory explosion. The Center is an awesome place, btw. I went there about 10 years ago after begging my parents to stop at some Civil War sites on the way home from the beach.

PS. Sorry about the slightly outdated entries that just got posted. Just figuring out the new Blogger app.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.1

Civil War Trust's to-do List for the 150th Anniversary

http://www.civilwar.org/150th-anniversary/150-to-do-list/state-listing.html?state=all

The Civil War Trust has compiled a list of things every Civil War enthusiast should do during the sesquicentennial. How many of these have you done?

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

Blog: Civil War Washington DC

http://civilwarwashingtondc1861-1865.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=30

This is a great blog about different aspects about Washington DC during the war, which was of course a very busy place. I hope to see something about the Washington Arsenal in the future, although the penitentiary there is briefly mentioned as the place where the Lincoln assassination conspirators were kept and executed (and is supposedly haunted by Mary Surratt). Check it!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

I know, I've been quiet...

...but I have this awesome article about a "Mythbusters" type exhibit planned at the Heinz History Center, hoping to find out what caused the Allegheny Arsenal explosion, which will be really cool to see. Click below:

http://m.triblive.com/triblive/pm_5903/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=euzacrwA

In other news, I will be speaking about the Allegheny Arsenal next week, Wednesday the 9th, at my alma mater Edinboro University. Time and place still TBD. But I'm very excited about this opportunity!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

Page: Civil War Kids

http://www.civilwarkids.com/

This is an awesome page by and for kids, encouraging them to visit and preserve Civil War battlefields. The site, by a young man named Andrew, and presumably some help from his dad, rivals those of some adults. Hopefully, this encourages the next generation to help keep battlefields alive.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

Blog: On Reenacting

http://www.vastpublicindifference.com/2011/09/on-reenacting.html

This is another blogger who has made a rebuttal in response to the idea that Civil War living historians are vapid and are missing the point politically (read: slavery), made by president of Harvard and Civil War author Drew Gilpin Faust.

As someone who has spent the last 15 years in the hobby, this is a subject close to my heart. Most of the other reenactors I have gotten to know are like family (and in some cases, literally are). Granted, you have those who come to a reenactment here and there for no other reason to blow powder. And yes, our group has had its share of shenanigans (safely, of course). But the hobby - indeed, lifestyle - has a lot more to offer than many academic historians would like to admit.

It is not that the majority of living historians are ignorant of, or indifferent to, the politics surrounding slavery which caused the war. It is that, less than 50 years coming off of the civil rights movement (because the Civil War only created more issues of race), there is still a great deal of debate *how* to present slavery and the lives of African Americans during that time in a sensitive manner, especially in a hobby that is overwhelmingly white. So unintentionally, it is usually swept under the rug at these events. Hopefuly in time, there will be more ways of teaching slavery without being offensive.

Still, the hobby is not without merit. Yes, it is a lot of fun. While we cannot completely live as our ancestors did (although some living historians known as hardcores try in every way possible to replicate how soldiers lived, down to counting the number of stitches in their clothing), living history gives us, as well as the audience, the *idea* of how they lived. One can see the styles of clothing that they wore, the type of food they ate, even the way they talked (among first-person reenactors) - everything short of dysentery and amputations. So short of making oneself that miserable - although we've spent quite a few cold, rainy nights in leaky canvas - we can come fairly close to how they lived and raise questions among spectators. Still a more stimulating environment than the traditional books and classrooms, no? Pretty much all living historians will happily talk your ear off when asked.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4