Commericals from the Confederate States of America

These commercials are from the film The Confederate States of America, which is a movie that tackles this question: what may have happened if the Confederacy won the civil war? It is an interesting film and would recommend it for anyone interested in the Civil War.

The Shackle:

Passing:

Runaway:

Confederate Family:

 

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Once Enemies, Now Friends

I posted this on my other blog, Publius, and thought that it is relevent to this blog.

I came across this article written by Hal Moore, former Lt. General in the US Army and author of the memoir We Were Soldiers Once…And Young. Moore tells how the mutual experiences of war can make men who were once enemies embrace each other as friends after the guns have fallen silent. Moore wrote:

“When the blood of any war soaks your clothes and covers your hands, and soldiers die in your arms, every breath forever more becomes an appeal for a greater peace, unity and reconciliation. ”

“It was Vietnam. I was their commander and accountable for them. We charged the enemy with bayonets fixed to our rifles in face-to-face combat. I still hear the ugly sounds of war. I still see the boots of my dead sticking out from under their ponchos, laces tied one last time by their precious fingers. … I still carry the wounded to the helicopters as they bled, screamed and begged to live one more day … and I still hold those who die in my arms, with their questioning eyes dreading death, as they called for their mothers … their eyes go blank and my war-crusted fingers close their eyelids. The blood of my dead soldiers will not wash from my hands. The stains remain.”

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Welcome to Student of the Civil War

I started this blog as a forum for me to write about the area of history that interests me the most; the Civil War. I have been a student of this war for years. The first history books I read were about this war and now, as a graduate history student, I am specializing in this time period.

I will use this blog to examine various new trends in schools of thought among Civil War historians. At times i will review new or classic works on the war. I will post news stories related to the war and will also try to present the lighter side of the war. Civil War memory is another topic that will garner much attention on this blog.

The posts that follow were originally posted on my other blog, entitled Publius. 

Enjoy,

Josh 

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Dispelling the Dispellers of Lincoln Myths

Since historians, as well as other writers, started writing about Abraham Lincoln, there have been those who have worked hard to give us a well-rounded image of the 16th president. Lincoln is the most written about figure in American history and hundreds of books about him are published each year. Our historical knowledge of Lincoln is pretty great and there are numerous scholarly and popular works examining various aspects of his life, political career, presidency, and political and racial views.

Over the past few years various writers, most of them hold no professional historical credentials, have set out to take on the Lincoln myths, which they believe are being passed off as historical fact. These ‘myths’ have already been researched and written about in great detail by real historians and these writers are giving the American reading public pseudohistorical trash. The historical equivalent of a John Grisham, Nora Roberts, Tom Clancy or any other modern day dime novelists who are trying to pass as serious writers.

These dispellers of Lincoln myths seem to focus on a few key aspects of Lincoln’s life or political career. And they get everything horribly wrong.

Here are some of the key issues:

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