A House Divided

Free Civil War Conference in Chattanooga

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:36:35 -0500

Starting tonight, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is hosting a three-day conference titled, "Symposium on the 19th Century Press, The Civil War and Free Expression" and the public is invited. More than 40 presentations are planned on subjects including war correspondents under fire, a new source for understanding the Klu Klux Klan, the use of war pictures by the press and Ohio newspaper coverage of the border wars in the 1850s. This is the university's 17th conference on the 19th century press. It begins at 7 p.m. Thursday and concludes on Saturday at noon. .. :

Interim superintendent named at Gettsysburg

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:20:12 -0500

Mel Poole, the current superintendent of Catoctin Mountain Park in Thurmont, Md, will assume the duties of interim superintendent at Gettysburg National Military Park on Nov. 23, according to the National Park Service. The announcement follows on the removal of long-time Gettysburg superintendent John Latscher from his job last month after investigators discovered more than 3.400 sexually explicit images on his computer. The investigation was triggered by 17 allegations of misconduct and possible criminal activity, but he was cleared of those allegations.

Nevada desert is setting for re-enactment

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:01:58 -0500

Re-enactors playing President Lincoln read the Gettysburg address and 200 soldiers fought four engagements in a state park just west of Las Vegas earlier this month. Canons fired and cavalry units rode through the dust to the delight of an audience of about 1,500. Reporter Erin Dostal captured the weekend of desert battles and ordinary camp life in her story for the Las Vegas Sun.

$9 million allocated for battlefield protection

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:06:22 -0500

Congressional conferees have agreed to the largest ever, single-year allocation of $9 million for the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program. It is included in the 2010 Fiscal Year Interior Appropriations Act Conference Report. The conference report is scheduled for a final vote in the House and Senate this week. Since its creation in 1999, the Preservation Program has, through matching grants, been used to protect more than 15,000 acres at 60 battlefields in 14 states. Civil War Preservation Trust President James Lighthizer applauded the action, saying, it comes at a critical time when 30 acres of battlefield land is being lost each day to development.

Gettysburg superintendent demoted

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:30:41 -0500

John Latschar, the controversial superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park, was removed from that position, effective Monday, by National Park Service officials, according to an article by Erin James in the York, Pa. Daily Record/Sunday News. She interviewed him today. Latschar, who held the job for 15 years, was investigated by the Department of Interior, whose agents seized the hard drive from his office computer that was found to contain explicit sexual material. Washington Post reporter Kimberly Kindy broke the story of the investigation on Monday. According to the Post story: "An internal Aug. 7 memo from an investigator to Daniel N. Wenk, the acting director of the National Park Service, details the discovery of the images on the computer hard drive that was seized by investigators. But the office of Mary L. Kendall, acting inspector general for the Department of the Interior, omitted details of the computer probe or

Canines go to war

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:17:01 -0500

At the recent re-enactment at the Cedar Creek Battlefield in Middletown, Va., visitors got a chance to meet author Michael Zucchero, who wrote, "Loyal Hearts: Histories of American Civil War Canines." His book relates the history of regimental mascots, usually dogs who wandered into camp. Northern Virginia Daily reporter Sally Voth talked to Zucchero.

Period dinner to honor 1861 Grand Review

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:38:18 -0500

Following the Union loss at First Manassas, President Lincoln and the country needed reassurance the government could put a formidable army in the field. On Nov. 20, 1861, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan gave that assurance with a Grand Review at Bailey's Crossroads, Va., which Lincoln attended. The Lincoln At the Crossroads Alliance wants to create a version of that important event as part of the Civil War sesquicentennial observance. To support that effort, the Alliance is holding a benefit, period dinner at the Willard International Hotel in Washington on Nov. 4. . .

Va. Side of White's Ford Slated For Park

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:29:35 -0500

We have good news from the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority on the preservation front. Park officials have announced plans to purchase a 275-acre farm on the Potomac River that includes the ford where the Army of Northern Virginia crossed into Maryland on Sept. 5-6, 1862, bringing the war to the North. Twelve days later came Antietam. The property, near Leesburg, Va., includes the home and farm of Elijah Viers White, commander of the 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry. The ford, named for him, is a wide, shallow crossing on the river where the water is usually only a few feet deep. .

John Brown Weekend

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:38:03 -0500

This weekend at Harpers Ferry is the commemoration of John Brown's raid of the federal arsenal there and what some historians contend was the real beginning of the Civil War. Brown's life mission was to end slavery. Although he failed 150 years ago to obtain the guns needed to arm local slaves and was hung for his actions, he did badly frighten slave owners and guaranteed himself a place in history. Fifty years ago, the National Park Service dropped plans to commemorate the event when conservative politicians objected. The upcoming three day program of lectures, tours, films, plays and re-enactments should make up for that.

Robert E. Lee Died Today, 1870

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:18:59 -0500

Retired president of Washington College and former Commander in Chief of Confederate Armies, Robert Edward Lee, died at 9: 30 a.m., on Oct. 12, 1870, at his home on the college campus. He had collapsed while at tea on Sept. 28 and although he recognized those who came near, his mind also wandered back to the war years, calling for a general to visit him and for his tent to be struck. VMI Cadet William Nalle, in writing to his mother a few days later, describes how VMI and Washington College and the town of Lexington, "looked as if they had been trying to cover everything with festoons of black cambric." He also comments on seeing Lee in his coffin.

Full Honors For Two Civil War Soldiers This Week

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:08:42 -0500

Two Civil War soldiers will receive full military honors at ceremonies this week, one for a replacement grave marker and the other for a burial. First Sgt. William A. Francis, of the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry, whose marker at Albany Rural Cemetery, Albany, N.Y., was missing for many years, will be honored with a new stone on Wednesday at 11 a.m. In Franklin, Tenn., an unknown solider whose remains were found during commercial construction on the Franklin battlefield will receive a proper burial at Rest Haven Cemetery in Franklin on Saturday at 10 a.m. A son of a Confederate solider and one of a Union solider will participate in the burial service. .

Wind Turbines Meet Resistance at Battlefield

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:03:00 -0500

A wind farm developer trying to plant 400-foot turbines on a mountain top that overlooks the battlefield at Camp Allegheny on the Virginia-West Virginia line is meeting determined resistance from many residents in Highland County. Laurence Hammack of Roanoke.com has written a balanced, thoughtful story on the controversy. Since that story appeared, the Virginia State Corporation Commission has ruled that the Virginia Department of Historic Resources can present testimony concerning the visual impact of the turbines on an historic site, which could delay or derail the project. That hearing is scheduled for Oct. 13.

Suit Filed to Overturn Wal-Mart Decision

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:24:49 -0500

The National Trust for Historic Preservation and others filed suit today in the Circuit Court of Orange County, Va., seeking to overturn a recent Board of Supervisors decision to allow Wal-Mart to build a super-center on the Wilderness battlefield. Joining the Trust in the suit are the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield and six residents who live near the proposed site. The suit comes after nearly two years of efforts by national and local preservation organizations to convince the supervisors that large-scale commercial development is not appropriate use for a Civil War battlefield.

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Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:24:49 -0500

Dave the Potter Left His Mark

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:56:52 -0500

The Smithsonian Resident Associates program in Washington is offering a lecture on an intriguing subject: Dave the Potter, a slave who made large, utilitarian jugs on which he sometimes inscribed a short poem. His pottery is now collected by museums. Leonard Todd, whose ancestors once owned Dave, has written "Carolina Clay" on the potter who was born in 1801. He and Smithsonian curator Bonnie Littenfeld will show images of Dave's pottery and discuss his work at a lecture Oct. 14 at 6:45 p.m. Code 1L0-006. Call 202-633-9467 for reservations.

A Must-See Play on R.E. Lee, John Brown

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:49:52 -0500

Robert E. Lee and John Brown possess the stage and the audience at Wayside Theatre, Middletown, Va., in an absolute must-see play. It is drama at its best and comes on the 150th anniversary of the Harpers Ferry raid, offering an opportunity to reconsider what happened there. "Robert E. Lee and John Brown: Lighting the Fuse," written by the theater's artistic director Warner Crocker, illuminates the contradictions and complexity of the history we all share and the characters we think we know. See this play before its closes Sept. 26. For students of the Civil War or those going along to keep someone company, this play is equally thought-provoking. There is Brown, the anti-slavery zealot with the right cause but the wrong solution, and Lee, the thoughtful, Southern gentleman and career military man who knows slavery is wrong but still owns slaves. .