Sherman's March and America is a
digital representation of historian
Anne Sarah Rubin's project on how Americans have remembered General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea in 1864. The funnest part are
the interactive maps. Clicking on the yellow-highlighted pins opens up a video exploring the significance of that spot on the map. Each map represents a different genre of memories of the march (civilian, soldiers, fiction, etc). My favorite is the narrative of the events in Milledgeville, Georgia on the Soldiers Map, featuring plastic toy soldiers and burning cardboard buildings.
posted by marxchivist
on Dec 21, 2010 -
16 comments
Confederate soldier
Richard Kirkland is known as the "Angel of Marye's Heights" for venturing in between the opposing army's lines to give water to his wounded foes. The Union soldiers were mowed down the previous day in a series of futile attacks against the Confederate positions. The story fits in with the narrative of post-war reconciliation and reunion and offers an inspiring tale of humanity amid the carnage of war. There is
a statue at the Fredericksburg battlefield and
a movie in the works.
But did it really happen? One writer takes a look at the records, and
it doesn't seem likely.
[more inside]
posted by marxchivist
on Dec 22, 2009 -
22 comments
Reenacting slavery at Chickamauga National Military Park. When a reenactor put his knapsack on the ground, the person portraying his slave picked up his knapsack and "moved it before I could say a word. I instantly knew that I had an opportunity to demonstrate the institution's cruelty here, and so I did not acknowledge his act, did not thank him for it, did not make eye contact, did not stop my talk. My own cruelty -- even to make a teaching point to the audience -- made me shudder inside."
[more inside]
posted by marxchivist
on Sep 24, 2008 -
34 comments
The Battle of Gettysburg in Lego, done by 7th Graders:
Day 1;
Day 2;
Day 3.
[youtube links] Lots of blood and flying bodies. Complete with
Matrix references. Soundtrack by The Eagles, Queen, and Richard Strauss.
[via]
posted by marxchivist
on Feb 27, 2008 -
23 comments
John Tenniel and the American Civil War. Best known for his illustrations for
Alice in Wonderland, John Tenniel also produced political cartoons for the British magazine
Punch. This sites collects 54 of Tenniel's cartoons dealing with the American Civil War. In addition to the cartoons themselves, the site gives an explanation of the symbols and props in each cartoon and places them context with then-current events and issues.
[more inside]
posted by marxchivist
on Dec 3, 2007 -
24 comments
