Remembering and Forgetting

                Throughout our class, the emphasis has not just been on the objective facts and statistics of what occurred during the Civil War, but instead how people viewed these events after the fact. This latter interpretation has not stayed stagnant either. Rather, each generation continues to re-interpret events from the past, and the mindset of the generation determines what major characters, lessons, and other normative values will be extracted from the historical events. This new model of time may create a convoluted and complex understanding of the nation’s past. However, it is a much preferable perspective than blindly accepting modern interpretations as a reified reality.

                This understanding of history has led to more analysis on how we implement our comprehension on old battlefields, cemeteries, and other places of remembrance. For instance, there are reasons why certain battlefields are well preserved, but others are vastly overgrown with foliage and mostly forgotten. Some, like Gettysburg, have numerous monuments that are scattered all across the landscape, but there are also battlefields, like Antietam, that mirror almost exactly how they looked during the Civil War. Each of these have their own story as to how they developed and changed over time.

                This new concept of analysis (historiography), which I acquired knowledge of through HST 494, piqued my interest enough that I decided to look further into the subject and find this new article by the Huffington Post. Essentially, it describes American citizens’ changing perspectives on cemetery and battlefield preservation, monumentation, and destruction, and how this has altered the United States’ landscape in the process. Even today, a multitude of different Civil War societies fight to purchase land away from developers for malls, suburbs, and other infrastructure. This is merely a new chapter in the long and winding history of deciding how to interpret and comprehend the loss, suffering, and emotion that comes with war. It is a truly fascinating article, and I suggest you all to check it out: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-shifting-strategy-of-preservation-how-civil-war-battlefields-have-changed/2013/04/25/57b13f32-a5e2-11e2-8302-3c7e0ea97057_story_2.html. 

Brothers in Time

In our Civil War memory class, we have been recently discussing the phenomena of reenactments, role-players, “living historians”, and other groups of people that insist upon repeating history. In order to continue along this theme, I found a quaint article recounting an interview with one re-enactor.

Hardly considering himself professional, instead this older man insists that he is honoring a soldier that has particularly struck a chord with him. The re-enactor, Jim Smith, is following the steps of Peter Guibert, a drummer who served in the 74^th Pennsylvania at Gettysburg. Smith feels a connection with Guibert because they were born exactly a century apart (1844 and 1944, respectively), they were both musicians, and that they share other “eerie similarities”. Smith has spent a significant period of time studying Guibert’s life both before the war, Guibert’s movements and participation in Gettysburg, and how he celebrated fifty years later, and thus has sustained a great interest in him over time. It is for all of these reasons that Smith finds it important to reenact Guibert’s march into Gettysburg.

The article that elaborates on Smith’s interview passes no judgment on Smith’s intentions, but our class has had other opinions of re-enactors’ actions. To many, people find their fascinations (or what others would call obsession) pointless, creepy, and in some cases, dangerous to Civil War memory. All of those points could be warranted. Yet, I feel that this could be a harsh or unfair assessment of some citizens’ honest and sincere intentions. Obviously their passions run deep, and perhaps they want nothing more than to get lost for a few hours, to connect with a time in history that has touched them in ways they cannot easily relate to others. We as individuals often do not take the time to understand people’s interests that do not follow the “mainstream”. But, it could often lead to interesting discussion and debate.

Link to the Article Here: http://www.publicopiniononline.com/latestnews/ci_23045981/gettysburgs-150th-man-retrace-civil-war-drummer-boys

More Powerful Than the Sword

                For this week, I wanted to bring to everyone’s attention a small piece of ephemera that was found from the nineteenth century. Essentially, a small letter was discovered from a chaplain, who also participated in the Civil War. From this supposedly obscure letter, the true placement of one of Abraham Lincoln’s family cabins may have been discovered. In a few passages, the letter describes the town, its name, its population, and where others claimed the Lincolns’ cabin to be.

                This may seem like a minor and inconsequential discovery; however, the location of the Lincolns’ cabin has been a mystery among historians for decades now. A lack of written documentation (due to the low literacy and writing capabilities in that region of the United States) has left modern historians with very little information to solve this dilemma. This, combined with a plethora of towns and cities that have over time wished to claim a part of Lincoln as their own, has led to a muddled research pursuit. This letter, though, gives historians new hope.

                Of course, this letter is still being verified, preserved, and further investigated. It will take time to see if this letter sheds more light on the topic. Yet, just the idea of a new piece of information about Abraham Lincoln gives excitement to us enthusiasts and Civil War die-hards.

                Link to the article featuring the letter here: http://www.bnd.com/2013/04/11/2572900/letter-from-civil-war-addresses.html

Farb Heaven on Earth

                This weekend, large crowds of citizens and reenactors alike are gathering to participate in the reenactment of the fall of Richmond. This is just one event of a series long installment of what has been dubbed the “Long Road Home” Program, which is a succession of Civil War stories. It is being sponsored by the Appomattox Historical Society.

                Apparently, they have constructed a few buildings to burn in Richmond, and will be hosting other festivities as well. There will be discussion panels, plays, and trivia challenges hosted by period characters. All of these events are planned in order to pique the interest of people in surrounding areas to view the reenactment. This sounds like it will be entirely successful, especially because the society is estimating to have a large turnout.

                Now, some historians may praise such living history, in that it makes it accessible and intriguing to the public. Yet, others would disagree with this assessment. Reenactment “Hardcores”, as depicted in Tony Horwitz’s Confederates in the Attic, are most likely appalled at such a proposal as the activities being held this weekend. They feel it is of the utmost importance to endure the realities and hardships of period soldiers – from threadbare, dirty, and ill-fitting uniforms, to being attacked by mosquitoes, chiggers, and ticks. To them, the glory is in the pain and accuracy to the era. Yet, this does not attract a large interest from more moderate groups (what they dub “farbs”) and thus alienates them in the process.

                So, I believe that the diversion in interests between these two processes of reenactment continues the dialogue we have been participating in during class. Purely investing in either side is not inclusive enough. The Hardcores may get nearly everything right within their power, but there is only a negligible audience to take pleasure in it. Other than for their own enjoyment, it does not reach others. Traditional reenactments can be often “campy”, riddled with inaccuracies, and are not as “pure” due to the multitude of spectators. However, they entice others to learn about and support the preservation of Civil War memory. To modern enthusiasts, it will become increasingly important to balance these two sides.

Link to the Article: http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/civil-war-program-re-enacts-the-fall-of-richmond/article_94b1beba-f946-529c-b630-431b2fddf6a3.html