History Commons^™

Securing The High Ground: The Civil War Roots Of Aerial Reconnaissance, Kaylyn L. Sawyer

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

In this era of rapidly advancing technology, debate about aerial surveillance abounds. In March of this year, the Pentagon released its 2015 Inspector General report entitled “Evaluation of DoD’s Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for Support to Civil Authorities,” which revealed that the Pentagon had flown spy drones over the U.S. for non-military purposes. Historically, the drone had been used primarily by the military in war zones, but with increased availability and applicability here at home, UAS use has expanded to include public agencies, commercial entities, and private citizens. Surveillance by air, however, is not a new concept. The …

From Post To Park: The Fort Monroe National Monument, Kaylyn L. Sawyer

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

The Civil War Institute will be celebrating the National Park Service Centennial this spring with its brand new “Find Your Park Friday” series. Inspired by the NPS #FindYourPark campaign, the series will challenge our fellows to share their experiences exploring America’s national historical, cultural, and natural resources through trips and internships with the NPS. In our sixth post, Kaylyn Sawyer takes a look at the history of her park. [excerpt]

Instruments Of War: A Canadian Musician In A Rhode Island Regiment, Ryan M. Nadeau

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Canada! America’s hat! Our friendly little brother to the north. The home of hockey and Tim Horton’s and your home, too, when that other political party elects their crazy candidate. All jokes aside, the United States has long had a close relationship with our northern neighbor, and the Civil War proved no exception. An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 Canadians fought during the war, typically on the side of the Union due to their geographic proximity and cultural sympathies. Of that number, approximately 5,000 were killed. [excerpt]

“The Union Forever”: Frederick, Maryland In The Elections Of 1860 And 1864, Megan E. Mcnish

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Frederick, Maryland has been remembered as a bastion of Unionist sentiment during the Civil War. However, in the Election of 1860, on the eve of the nation’s internal conflict, a large portion of the city’s 8,000 residents voted for a secessionist candidate. The Election of 1860 is famous for straying from the typical bi-partisan election; four candidates ran for office and each appealed to different political sentiments. [excerpt]

Harriet Takes The $20: Black Bodies, Historical Precedence, And Political Implications, Megan E. Mcnish

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

If you have been watching the news at all lately, you’ve probably seen that Harriet Tubman will be placed on the front of the $20 bill, while former President Andrew Jackson will be moved to the back of the bill. Immediately there emerged an outpouring of support for the proposition. However, in the week that has followed, others have questioned the meaning that will arise out of an African American woman and former slave being placed on American currency. Some have argued that it is not a fitting legacy for a woman who fought against oppression and the system, which …

This Month In Civil War History: April 2016, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Click the play button below in order to listen to “This Month in Civil War History.” You can also scroll down to read through the transcript if you would prefer to read it. This report is also airing on WZBT 91.1 FM throughout this month. Thanks to WZBT for their help in producing this piece. [excerpt]

Find Your Park Friday: For The Love Of Nature, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

The Civil War Institute will be celebrating the National Park Service Centennial this spring with its brand new “Find Your Park Friday” series. Inspired by the NPS #FindYourPark campaign, the series will challenge our fellows to share their experiences exploring America’s national historical, cultural, and natural resources through trips and internships with the NPS. In our second post, Jeff Lauck discusses his passion for photography and the park that started it. [excerpt]

Special Collections Roadshow — Episode Ten: Union Uniform, Meg A. Sutter, Megan E. Mcnish

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Special Collections Roadshow was created by the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College in the Spring of 2014. It normally showcases various artifacts from Special Collections at Gettysburg College. For our tenth episode, we went on the road to the Gettysburg National Military Park. Thank you so much to the park staff, specifically Andrew Newman for letting us film an episode on an enlisted man’s uniform in their facility! [excerpt]

Find Your Park Friday: Meg And Megan Take Fredericksburg And Spotsylvania Nmp, Meg A. Sutter, Megan E. Mcnish

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

The Civil War Institute will be celebrating the National Park Service Centennial this spring with its brand new “Find Your Park Friday” series. Inspired by the NPS #FindYourPark campaign, the series will challenge our fellows to share their experiences exploring America’s national historical, cultural, and natural resources through trips and internships with the NPS. In our first post, CWI Social Media Coordinators Meg and Megan discuss their time interning at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. [excerpt]

The Forgotten 150th: Why The Civil War Sesquicentennial Is Far From Over, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Last spring, my friends told me that it was the perfect time to get into Civil War reenacting. “The 150th is over,” they said, “No one is going to care about the Civil War anymore, so everyone will be selling all their stuff.” Somehow, this bit of insider trading information meant more to me than just bargain brogans and frock coats. [excerpt]

“A National Sin”: Samuel Simon Schmucker, Founder Of Gettysburg College, On The Peculiar Institution, Meg A. Sutter

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Many music and art students at Gettysburg College would recognize the name Schmucker as their building, or affectionately their ‘home,’ on campus. Alumni might even remember Schmucker Hall as their library. However, if asked who founded Gettysburg College, most students and alumni would probably not know his name. Fortunately, our campus is celebrating Founders Day this week to remember those, including our founder Samuel Simon Schmucker, who helped make our college #Gettysburgreat. [excerpt]

A Thaddeus Stevens Musical: A 19th Century Hamilton?, Megan E. Mcnish

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

If you read my last post on the Broadway musical Hamilton, you’ve already read my waxing admiration of the show and might also remember that I listen to the soundtrack non-stop. The musical has shown the world the power that music has as a teaching tool. As someone interested in nineteenth century American history, I long for a Hamilton-esque musical regarding the Civil War era. One of the reasons Hamilton is so successful is its ability to draw connections between past and present issues, and that can be done easily for nineteenth century America. Women’s rights, slavery, immigration, …

Our Reconciliationist Pastime: How Baseball Contributed To The Reunification Of White America, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

As early as the 1850s, the game of baseball was being referred to as “our national game.” At a time when the nation was being ripped apart at the seams, it served as a relatively new symbol of national identity. Baseball did not fully reach its unifying potential until after a bloody war that pitched North against South. However, these reconciliationist qualities did not strike at the heart of all Americans. [excerpt]

The Literal Reconstruction Of Vmi: Resolved To Be, Kaylyn L. Sawyer

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This is the last in a three-part series on the legacy of the Civil War at the Virginia Military Institute. You can also check out part one to read about VMI’s struggle for survival in the years immediately after the war and part two for information about the Institute in Civil War memory. [excerpt]

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

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 …

This Month In Civil War History: March 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 March.

President Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the sixteenth President of the United States on March 4th, 1861.

In his address, he appealed to the Southern states, encouraging them to come back into the Union by remarking "though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection."

In closing, he hoped that "the better angels of our nature" would avoid the oncoming war.

Exactly four years later, President Lincoln hummed a different tune at his second inaugural Address. [excerpt]

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

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. …

The Literal Reconstruction Of Vmi: Reunion, Restitution, Remembrance, Kaylyn L. Sawyer

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This is the second in a three-part series on the legacy of the Civil War at the Virginia Military Institute. You can also check out part one to read about VMI’s struggle for survival in the years immediately after the war. Stay tuned for the conclusion of the series. [excerpt]

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 …

Causing Conversation: Civil War Memory In Beyoncé’S “Formation”, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Not only did Beyoncé slay in her latest music video, but she got historical. Her single "Formation" touches on feminism, oppression, sexuality, and police brutality, and her video offers a visual representation for the overall theme of African American cultural ownership. It is, of course, an essential message for contemporary discussion, and the formerly-silenced subject is beginning to achieve prevalence in the music industry, but there is something special and bold about Beyoncé’s take on race: by appealing to Civil War memory and forcing viewers to accept the African American struggle for life, freedom, and success, she is shattering perceptions …

Historicizing The Free Speech Debate: Harold Holzer On Lincoln And Censorship, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Before attending Harold Holzer’s Lincoln Lyceum lecture entitled "Lincoln and the Press: Master or Monster?" I really believed that today’s media presence was the craziest this nation had ever seen. Mr. Holzer insisted otherwise. [excerpt]

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. …

This Month In Civil War History: February 2016, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Transcript:

On February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky. The self-educated lawyer served in the United States House of Representatives as a delegate from Illinois before being elected as the sixteenth president of the United States.

In February of 1861, the Confederacy formed a government at Montgomery, Alabama and appointed Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederate States of America. [excerpt]

The Literal Reconstruction Of Vmi: To Obliterate Or Not To Obliterate?, Kaylyn L. Sawyer

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

My family-driven fondness for the Virginia Military Institute is not a secret. I actually have a vintage gridiron-inspired VMI bobble head doll, an inheritance from my great grandmother who was proud to see both her sons graduate from the Institute. While thinking about the Civil War history of VMI for an academic course, I was struck by a most obvious question: Why was Virginia allowed to rebuild the Institute, described by some as a factory for the mass production of Confederates, after its destruction in 1864? I considered the challenge an opportunity for engaging research, and I offer this as …

Special Collections Roadshow – Episode 9: Medical Kit, Meg A. Sutter, Megan E. Mcnish

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

For our ninth episode we welcome our guest Dr. Ian Isherwood ’00 to talk about a Civil War medical kit and how to do research relating to Civil War medicine, as seen in the PBS series, Mercy Street. [excerpt]

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 …

Love Amidst Tragedy: The Story Of Sandie Pendleton And Kate Corbin, Meg A. Sutter

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

You might be having mixed feelings about this Valentine’s Day week: maybe you think love is wonderful, or perhaps you are more pessimistic about love and deem it impossible. Whatever the case, it was not entirely wonderful, nor quite impossible for soldiers during the Civil War. Love and war coexisted quite well, as you will read from other posts this week. Yet, as is the nature of both, they can also be tragic. Warning: the story I am about to tell you does not have a happy ending, but it is nonetheless heartwarming. [excerpt]

A Soldier And His Nurse: The Star-Crossed Tragedy Of Frank And Arabella Barlow, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This is not a love story ready-made for Hollywood. Rather, it is one more suited for a Shakespearean tragedy. Two newlyweds, on the day after their marriage, were separated by the call for troops in Mr. Lincoln’s War. As was true of so many Civil War couples, only one would survive the war. While you may be thinking to yourself that you’ve heard this story before (and perhaps many of you have), the tale of these two star-crossed lovers does not fit the typical narrative behind the vacant chair. [excerpt]