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Full-Text Articles in History
Prostitution And The Civil War, Anika N. Jensen
Prostitution And The Civil War, Anika N. Jensen
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
It was to my slight disappointment that I found out that the term "hooker," one of many referring to prostitutes (or, as they were called during the Civil War era, "public women), is not actually a play on the name of Joseph Hooker, the infamous and promiscuous Union general. Fighting Joe may, however, have helped elevate the term to its current popularity; after all, a certain red light district in Washington, D.C. was dubbed "Hooker’s Division." [excerpt]
Sons Of Our Founding Fathers: Men Of Renowned Lineage And The American Civil War, Ryan M. Nadeau
Sons Of Our Founding Fathers: Men Of Renowned Lineage And The American Civil War, Ryan M. Nadeau
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Political dynasties have always occupied a strange spot within the democracy of the United States. Though the argument is frequently made that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant, and that it is only the ability of a person which propels them through society, it is foolish to ignore the effects that a name can have how a person is judged by society—for better or worse. In the decades following the Revolution, when the descendants and fortunes of the Founding Fathers were still easily identifiable, this was especially true. When you possessed a name like Washington or Adams while their …
What I Saw Of The Rally: A Few Observations From The Confederate Flag Protests, Jeffrey L. Lauck
What I Saw Of The Rally: A Few Observations From The Confederate Flag Protests, Jeffrey L. Lauck
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
The normally quiet town of Gettysburg was once more disrupted by battle when two groups of protesters went head-to-head over the memory of the Confederate flag. Since the tumult and confusion of that fateful Saturday two weeks ago, many have weighed in on the day’s events with varying degrees of accuracy and distorted perceptions of reality. The following is my account. [excerpt]
Tactical Insight And Sick Burns From A Woman At War: The Diary Of Nadine Turchin, Ryan M. Nadeau
Tactical Insight And Sick Burns From A Woman At War: The Diary Of Nadine Turchin, Ryan M. Nadeau
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
On June 27th, 1863, while camped at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Nadine Turchin, wife of Brigadier General John Turchin of the Army of the Cumberland, wrote an irate entry in her journal. "Really, I think that the commanding general should take me as his chief of staff," she began, "or at least as his personal advisor." She went on to discuss the movements of her husband’s regiment as they campaigned in the west, criticizing the orders given to him by his superiors that had resulted in several deaths within the regiment and offering her own take on how they should have proceeded. …
A Middle East Perspective: Civil War Memory In Syria And At Home, Anika N. Jensen
A Middle East Perspective: Civil War Memory In Syria And At Home, Anika N. Jensen
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Last summer, while on a trip with the Eisenhower Institute’s Inside the Middle East program, I stood at the Israeli edge of the Golan Heights and heard a bomb explode across the border in Syria. We had spent the day within several miles of the war-ravaged nation with all remaining quiet until that moment, and while none of us wanted to admit it, we had the smallest hope that we might catch a glimpse of the conflict. However, when the sound of the detonation roared across the hills, excitement was replaced by a sense of fear and grief. I had …
Challenging Lincoln: How Gettysburg’S Lincoln-Centric Emancipation Narrative Has Overshadowed Local Black History, Jeffrey L. Lauck
Challenging Lincoln: How Gettysburg’S Lincoln-Centric Emancipation Narrative Has Overshadowed Local Black History, Jeffrey L. Lauck
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
When it comes to symbols of emancipation, President Abraham Lincoln is king. No other person is more associated with the abolition of slavery than "The Great Emancipator" himself. This holds true in Gettysburg just as much as it does throughout the country. Only last September, Gettysburg College erected a statue of Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation in the hope that it would "promote the discussion of race relations in America today." Yet when it comes to commemorating and remembering the struggle for emancipation, Lincoln is far from the only face that we should look to in our historic town. …
From Russia With Love: John And Nadine Turchin, Ryan M. Nadeau
From Russia With Love: John And Nadine Turchin, Ryan M. Nadeau
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
In August 1856, Ivan Vasilievitch Turchaninov and Nedezhda Dmitrievna Lvow arrived in the United States. The two had been married for only three months, and were both natives of the Russian Empire. Ivan was descended from a family of Cossacks with a strong military background in whose footsteps he followed by attending military school in St. Petersburg. He had served as an army captain during the Crimean War, stationed in the critical port city of Sevastopol, and was part of the forces sent to put down rebellions in both Poland and Hungary. It was while stationed in Russia that he …
Sexual Healing: Nurses, Gender, And Victorian Era Intimacy, Anika N. Jensen
Sexual Healing: Nurses, Gender, And Victorian Era Intimacy, Anika N. Jensen
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
In the first episode of the new PBS series Mercy Street, nurse Anne Hastings is seen applying a plaster cast to a wounded soldier’s bare legs before a captivated audience of surgeons and hospital workers. This action seems trivial today, even unquestionable, but as the show progressed and more scenes portrayed this seemingly insignificant concept of touch, of intimacy between a female nurse and her male patients, its true magnitude became apparent. [excerpt]
This Month In Civil War History: January 2016, Jeffrey L. Lauck
This Month In Civil War History: January 2016, Jeffrey L. Lauck
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Transcript:
Welcome to The Civil War Institute’s "This Month in Civil War History for January."
In January of 1861, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana joined South Carolina in seceding from the Union. In their articles of secession, the states made explicit references to defending the future of slavery in their reasons for seceding. [excerpt]
Take Me Out To The Ball Game (And Away From Camp): How Soldiers Used Sports To Cope During War Time, Anika N. Jensen
Take Me Out To The Ball Game (And Away From Camp): How Soldiers Used Sports To Cope During War Time, Anika N. Jensen
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Snowball fights during the Civil War were a pretty big deal.
In fact, sports and fitness in general played a role in shaping ideals of honor, courage, and idolization among the Armies of the Potomac and Northern Virginia, and they proved to have an impact on the life of the individual soldier by distracting him (or possibly her) from the monotonous routine of camp life and establishing bonds of comradeship. [excerpt]
Lost Cause In The Oval Office: Woodrow Wilson’S Racist Policies And White-Washed Memory Of The Civil War, Jeffrey L. Lauck
Lost Cause In The Oval Office: Woodrow Wilson’S Racist Policies And White-Washed Memory Of The Civil War, Jeffrey L. Lauck
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
For the past several weeks, students all across the nation have opened up discussions on race relations on university campuses and in American culture at large. The latest battlefield in the fight for greater inclusion is Princeton University, where protestors from the Black Justice League staged a 32 hour sit-in at the president’s office. Princeton University, traditionally viewed as a bastion of progressivism and liberal ideology, is coming under fire for its reverence for perhaps their most famous graduate, President Woodrow Wilson. Wilson graduated from Princeton University Class of 1879 and served as president of the school from 1902 until …
Ready, Aim, Feminism: When Women Went Off To War, Anika N. Jensen
Ready, Aim, Feminism: When Women Went Off To War, Anika N. Jensen
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
I like to imagine that if Sarah Emma Edmonds were my contemporary she would often sport a t-shirt saying, "This is what a feminist looks like."
Edmonds was a patriot, a feminist, and, along with an estimated 400 other women, a soldier in the American Civil War. Fed up with her father’s abuse and appalled at the prospect of an arranged marriage Edmonds left her New Brunswick home at the age of fifteen and soon adopted a male identity to become a successful worker. When the war erupted, she was compelled by a sense of patriotism and adventure to join …
A Woman In Soldier’S Dress: Then And Now, Elizabeth A. Smith
A Woman In Soldier’S Dress: Then And Now, Elizabeth A. Smith
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
This post is the second in a three-part series on women soldiers in the Civil War and during modern reenactments. Also check out the introduction of this series.
I was thirteen years old when I joined the 5th Kentucky Orphan Brigade, a Confederate reenactment group based out of south-central Kentucky. At fourteen, I “saw the elephant”—a Civil War term for seeing battle—for the first time as a soldier. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done, but seven years later I credit that decision to go through with it as bringing me to where I am now, …
I Ain’T Afraid Of No Ghosts, Kevin P. Lavery
I Ain’T Afraid Of No Ghosts, Kevin P. Lavery
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
I had no plans of writing a blog post this week. I said my piece on ghost tours last year. This Halloween, it was the next generation’s turn to share their opinions on the matter. Jules and Jen both did a spectacular job on the subject, and I commend them even though our perspectives differ. But when I learned that my stance had come under fire from another blog, I eagerly leapt from the comfort of my editing armchair and returned to the front lines to compose this piece [excerpt].
Seeing The Sorrow Anew: Recapturing The Reality Of Suffering Through Srebrenica, Matthew D. Laroche
Seeing The Sorrow Anew: Recapturing The Reality Of Suffering Through Srebrenica, Matthew D. Laroche
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Those who know death know mourning. Those who know mourning know the meaning of empty spaces that we all wish had stayed filled. But do we, or even can we, as the few members of this society who habitually reflect upon the tragedies and triumphs of the past, fully understand the immensity of the suffering we dwell upon while wandering our battlefields? [excerpt]
“The Colored Soldiers”—The Poem You Never Knew Existed, Matthew D. Laroche
“The Colored Soldiers”—The Poem You Never Knew Existed, Matthew D. Laroche
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
I’m a poetry guy. When I expect to have some free time, I tend to carry a small book of poems somewhere on my person. I also have eclectic tastes, so the subject and the substance of my little pocket anthologies changes. This summer, while at home from Gettysburg National Military Park, I pulled a book off the shelf—War Poems, from the Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets series. I found plenty of what you might expect to find in such a book—Lord Tennyson, Wilfred Owen, Randall Jarrell. The subjects were classic—the “wild charge” of the Light Brigade, the “froth-corrupted …
Finally Speaking Up: Sexual Assault In The Civil War Era, Anika N. Jensen
Finally Speaking Up: Sexual Assault In The Civil War Era, Anika N. Jensen
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Trigger warning: This article contains detail concerning rape and sexual assault.
On March 12, 1864, in the midst of a bloody war which had long overflowed its thimble, Margaret Brooks was returning from her home near Memphis, Tennessee when her wagon broke down in Nonconnah Creek. Not long after her driver left to find help, three rambunctious New Jersey cavalrymen, all white, approached Brooks, demanding her money. She was then raped multiple times at gunpoint [excerpt].
“Caught Between Southern Pride And Southern Blame”: Brad Paisley’S “Accidental Racist”, Brianna E. Kirk
“Caught Between Southern Pride And Southern Blame”: Brad Paisley’S “Accidental Racist”, Brianna E. Kirk
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
An ongoing and rather controversial debate in the Civil War world is that over the rightful placement of the Confederate battle flag in American memory. Being such a provocative symbol both in terms of history and race relations, its ‘true’ meaning and ‘true’ symbolism are constantly in flux. With recent disputes on the removal of the Confederate flag from Robert E. Lee’s tomb at Washington and Lee University making their way into the mainstream news, the complicated meaning of the rebel symbol and where it belongs in American memory have earned their places at the forefront of the national consciousness. …
Ms-150: Battle Of Gettysburg 150th Commemoration Collection, Chelsea M. Bucklin, Bryan G. Caswell, Amy E. Lucadamo
Ms-150: Battle Of Gettysburg 150th Commemoration Collection, Chelsea M. Bucklin, Bryan G. Caswell, Amy E. Lucadamo
All Finding Aids
This collection contains physical items and documents as well as digital resources. It seeks to preserve the course and experience of the commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and other related historical events. The documents and publications contained within the collection not only record the many commemorative events that were held over a two-year period but also how those events progressed. Detailed coverage in the form of DVDs has been collected of many events, while the outline of many more has been captured through the compilation of their programs and other event information. Much of the …
Wartime Reminiscences: The Story Of William R. Tanner’S Civil War Service, Brianna E. Kirk
Wartime Reminiscences: The Story Of William R. Tanner’S Civil War Service, Brianna E. Kirk
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Veteran war stories are some of the most fascinating windows into the past that students of history can experience. With World War II veteran numbers quickly diminishing and the risk of these accounts of history being lost, the importance of collecting and passing on veteran stories to future generations is vital. Such was the case with those who fought in the Civil War. As the twentieth century approached, droves of veterans began disappearing from the pages of history. The need for those veteran stories from America’s bloodiest war to be recorded and published became not only important to the veterans …
Ambivalent About Tragedy: David Blight On Bruce Catton, Brianna E. Kirk
Ambivalent About Tragedy: David Blight On Bruce Catton, Brianna E. Kirk
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
November 19, 2013, marked a momentous day in the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg – the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The 272 worded speech given four months after the Battle of Gettysburg assigned meaning to the intense fighting and death that had besieged the nation for two years. With the war’s end nowhere in sight, Lincoln directed the American people on how to fathom the tragedy that surrounded them, both figuratively and literally, at the dedication of the National Cemetery in 1863. 150 years after this speech, thousands gathered to celebrate and commemorate those few appropriate remarks Lincoln …
July 3, 2013 Reflection: A Chance Encounter, Ian A. Isherwood
July 3, 2013 Reflection: A Chance Encounter, Ian A. Isherwood
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
In a July 4 letter to his father-in-law, General Alexander Hays expressed reserve. “Yesterday was a warm one for us,” he wrote. “The fight of my division was a perfect success […] We are all sanguine of ridding our soil of the invaders.”
The “perfect success” for Hays was his command’s role in the repulse of Pettigrew’s division in what has become known as Pickett’s Charge. It was an unquestionable victory for his division and the Army of the Potomac. Yet Alex Hays’s matter-of-fact letter was not buoyant with the egoism so easily ascribed to generals after their victories. Hays …
“A Great Weight At My Heart:” A Personal Reaction To Pickett’S Charge, Rebekah N. Oakes
“A Great Weight At My Heart:” A Personal Reaction To Pickett’S Charge, Rebekah N. Oakes
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
“When our great victory was just over the exultation of victory was so great that one didn’t think of our fearful losses, but now I can’t help feeling a great weight at my heart. Poor Henry Ropes was one of the dearest friends I ever had or expect to have. He was one of the purest-minded, noblest, most generous men I ever knew. His loss is terrible. His men actually wept when they showed me his body, even under the tremendous cannonade, a time when most soldiers see their comrades dying around them with indifference.”
When twenty-one year old Henry …