History Commons^™

Star Wars, Syria, And Our Civil War: Bearing Witness To Atrocity And Suffering, Kevin P. Lavery

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Bear with me on this one. The American Civil War will make it into this conversation, but I have a lot of other things to talk about first. And I should also warn: minor spoilers ahead.

I was moved to silence after seeing Rogue One, the first spin-off film of the Star Wars franchise. Even now, tears creep into my eyes as I remember how it shook me. I had heard reviews claiming that it was the first Star Wars movie to put the cost of war at the center of the narrative. I hadn’t expected it to be so …

A Hike Through History: Students Explore The Appalachian Trail, Laurel J. Wilson

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Hiking is a great way to get outside, commune with nature, and connect with the surrounding area. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hiking one of my favorite sections of the Appalachian Trail in a manner that was completely different than I had ever before experienced. Instead of dressing in my usual 21st century hiking attire, I, along with several others, opted to take things back about 154 years and dressed as a Union soldier would have in 1862.

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The Unknown Legacy Of The 13th Amendment, Danielle E. Jones

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

On January 31, 1865, Congress passed the 13th Amendment, declaring slavery illegal in the United States. Or so it seemed. The second line of the Amendment, and the most oft unknown, states that slavery can still be used as a form of punishment for crimes, and this practice became widely used as a part of southern backlash to Reconstruction Era policies. After the end of the Civil War, many southern states struggled with rebuilding their infrastructures and government systems. In order to avoid falling into more debt, many of these states turned towards the convict lease system, which claimed that …

The 2016 Fortenbaugh Lecture: Individual Responses To Lincoln’S Assassination, Hannah M. Christensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Every year on November 19th, the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, a distinguished scholar of the Civil War Era is invited to speak as part of the Robert Fortenbaugh Memorial Lecture and present an aspect of the Civil War in a format that the general public can understand. This year, the 55th annual Fortenbaugh Memorial Lecture was delivered by Dr. Martha Hodes of New York University. Dr. Hodes’ lecture was based on her book Mourning Lincoln and argued, based on personal primary sources from the immediate aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, that Americans’ responses were by no means consistent. Not …

A Soldier And His Many Hats: The Evolution Of American Military Headgear, Jonathan E. Tracey

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Military headgear is a fascinating topic. It exists on a spectrum from the gaudy to the protective, but how did headgear evolve with the military? Interestingly, changes from the decorative to the practical can be examined through this blog’s favorite topic, the 1800s and the American Civil War. By tracing key changes in American military headgear in the 1800s, ideas about the nature of war, as well as how the United States was distancing itself from Europe, become clear.

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Shakers - South Union, Kentucky (Mss 62), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 62. Diary of Shaker eldress Nancy E. Moore, and a journal, probably kept by Shaker eldress Lucy Shannon. The diary and journal record life in the Shaker colony at South Union, Kentucky, with Moore’s diary focused on the Civil War years 1863-1864.

Shakers - South Union, Kentucky (Mss 63), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 63. Business records, deeds, notes, receipts, surveys, agreements, bill of complaint, etc., 1800-85; account books, 1843-89; journals, 1865-1916; agreement book of probationary members, 1858-1904; and manuscript hymnals, 1844-86 (6) of the Shaker Society of South Union, Kentucky. Journals include censuses of members. Click on "Additional Files" below for a list of deaths at South Union "from the beginning to the present date January 1st, 1879," with addenda to 1892; and for a name index to Shaker Record C.

The Disquieted Heart And The Lighted Path: Levar Burton’S Dedication Day Speech, Matthew D. Laroche

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This Saturday past brought with it an electric sort of chill, the kind fueled by a driving breeze that lifts your jacket, steals past your socks and up your legs, worms its way through gaps in scarves and gloves, and leaves you feeling naked and afraid and alive in ways that no one else can see. The kind of wind that whisks away complicity and surety, leaving you with nothing but a burning compulsion to do something that will reignite your humanity, your belief in goodness, your claim to a kind life. For those who attended, the Dedication Day ceremony …

Sticking To His Plan: An Interview With Dedication Day Keynote Speaker Levar Burton, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

The week before Dedication Day I had the privilege of interviewing keynote speaker and Emmy Award-winning actor LeVar Burton, who has starred in Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Reading Rainbow. I knew this was the perfect opportunity to engage in a serious dialogue about race, as the most dramatic and consequential presidential elections had been decided just a week previous, and I was thrilled when Mr. Burton answered all of my questions with poise and understanding, charging head-on into difficult but immensely relevant topics. The messages he conveyed are powerful and will stick with me …

Something Must Be Done: The Construction And Dedication Of The Soldiers’ National Cemetery At Gettysburg, Hannah M. Christensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Not only did the armies leave something of a state of chaos behind them after the battle of Gettysburg; they also left their dead buried poorly almost everywhere. Within days, the combination of rain and pigs rooting around the battlefield had exposed multiple skeletons and partially-decomposed bodies. The smell was horrendous, and residents and visitors alike were shocked by the state of the burials.

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A People’S Journey, A Nation’S Past: The National Museum Of African American History And Culture, Danielle E. Jones

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

On September 24, 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture was opened to the public after almost two decades of planning and more than a century of fighting for a memorial for African Americans. Starting in 1915, when a group of United States Colored Troops sought a memorial for their fallen soldiers, African Americans have worked to have their history remembered on a national scale. A congressional commission for a museum dedicated to African Americans was signed in 1929 by Calvin Coolidge, but the stock market crash in October prevented the museum from being built. The memorial …

Boucher Family Papers (Sc 3071), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3071. Miscellaneous papers and photographs of the Boucher family of Allen County, Kentucky. Includes promissory notes, tax and other receipts, deeds, Civil War military passes and slave indentures.

In The Shadow Of The Twentieth: Maine Regiments At Gettysburg, Savannah A. Labbe

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

On my first of many tours of the Gettysburg Battlefield,my tour guide was thrilled to learn that my family is from Maine. He made sure to show us the monument to the Twentieth Maine and talk about their valiant stand at Little Round Top. Joshua Chamberlain and his Twentieth Maine regiment have become known as the heroes of Little Round Top and are what most would readily identify when asked about Maine’s role in the Battle of Gettysburg. One might think that Maine’s only contribution to the battle was Chamberlain’s charge. However, Maine units played a larger role in the …

Monroe, Quincy Adams, 1841-1928 (Sc 3070), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3070. Letter, 30 December 1861, to “Orissa,” from Quincy A. Monroe, serving with the 1st Ohio Light Artillery. Writing on “Cotter’s Battery” letterhead while at Camp Wood on the Green River in Kentucky, he describes troop strength in the area, the topography, Confederate fortifications at Bowling Green, and his expectations of battle.

Point/Counterpoint: The Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon, Jeffrey L. Lauck, Matthew D. Laroche

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Jeff: On November 6, the small town of Gettysburg will be swarmed by runners during the first ever Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon. The event has provoked heated discussion from many in the Civil War community, bringing up many questions regarding the use of our most hallowed grounds for recreational use. In this post, Matt and I will engage in a back and forth conversation about the concerns and advantages of the race. I’d like to begin by noting that the views that we each express in this piece may not necessarily be our own and that we may merely be …

Mcgrath, Wallace, 1844-1909 (Sc 3064), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text transcriptions (click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3064. Three letters of Wallace McGrath to George D. Freeman, Columbus, Ohio, written in December 1861-February 1862 while serving with with the 15th Ohio Infantry near Bowling Green, Kentucky. He describes recent and anticipated marches, visiting Mammoth Cave, his duties as a clerk, and the difficulty of making a photograph to send to George. He also writes of the escort of Confederate General Felix Zollicoffer’s body through the area, noting that his own commanding General and staff “took dinner with Genl Hindman of the Rebels.”

The Moment We’Ve All Been Waiting For: Lee’S Gettysburg Headquarters Opens, Savannah Rose

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

On October 28, 2016, the doors of the Mary Thompson house located on Seminary Ridge in Gettysburg opened before a crowd of over one thousand Civil War Trust members and Civil War enthusiasts. In 2013, the Civil War Trust purchased a portion of land on Seminary Ridge, land covered with a motel, a brewery, a restaurant, and the Mary Thompson house, which some know as the headquarters of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Since purchasing the land the Civil War Trust, in partnership with other organizations, has worked to restore the Thompson property to its 1863 appearance by tearing down …

Grave’S Anatomy: Abolitionists, Body Snatchers, And The Demise Of Winchester Medical College, Kaylyn L. Sawyer

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

A census in 1890 listed Chris Baker’s occupation as “Anatomical Man.” While the title sounds like that one of today’s superheroes, the nineteenth century existence of this vocation kept people from lingering around medical colleges after dark. By day, Chris Baker worked as a janitor for the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. By night, he had the darker task of obtaining corpses for the school. He was a “resurrectionist,” and he was not alone in his eerie nocturnal task of preying on the powerless and recently interred with a shovel, bag, and cart close at hand. Until legislation governing …

The Evolution Of The Military Dog Tag: From The Civil War To Present Day, Savannah A. Labbe

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

In doing research for my previous post on the U.S. Christian Commission, I came across an intriguing artifact: a Civil War era identification tag, or dog tag. When I picture a military dog tag I see a metal rectangle suspended from a necklace, like those worn by today’s soldiers. One doesn’t usually associate dog tags with the Civil War, which is why I was interested to find one. However, it is not surprising that the basic human fear of dying unknown, of robbing one’s family of closure and certainty, was present during the Civil War just as it is today. …

A Tale Of Two Universities: Harvard And Georgetown Accept Their Ties To Slavery, Alexandria J. Andrioli

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

The Washington Ideas Forum, a Washington D.C. hot-ticket event, reconvened for its eighth year on September 28th and 29th, 2016. Leaders in politics, policy, race and justice, education, science and technology, and even food met to share ideas and have meaningful conversations at the event hosted by The Atlantic and the Aspen Institute. From Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Secretary of State John Kerry to author Chimamanda Adichie and chef and founder of Momofuku, David Chang, the best and the brightest were all in attendance.

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Lightfoot, Robert Karl, 1923-2002 - Collector (Sc 3061), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3061. Correspondence, accounts, receipts, contracts and papers of the Gladish family of Warren County, Kentucky and the Pendley family of Butler County, Kentucky. Includes letters from Gladish family members in Missouri, discharge of J. I. Gladish from Confederate Civil War service, and letters from Pendley family members in Texas.

Remember Harpers Ferry: Masculinity And The 126th New York, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

“The Harpers Ferry Cowards” is not an enviable nickname, but it is the one with which the 126th New York Infantry was stuck after September 15, 1862, the date that saw the largest capture of United States troops until the Battle of Bataan roughly 70 years later. The regiment, which had been active for a mere 21 days, was stationed on Maryland Heights and had been successful in fending off Joseph Kershaw’s brigade on September 12 and 13, but when the 126th observed their colonel, Eliakim Sherrill, being carried from the field after receiving a wound to the face, a …

All For Honor: Officer Responses To The Mcconaughy Letters, Olivia J. Ortman

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

In Special Collections here at Gettysburg College is a compilation of letters by Civil War officers responding to an invitation to attend the very first reunion of the Battle of Gettysburg. The reunion was initiated by David McConaughy–a lawyer in Adams County, PA who had organized a group of local men to fight for the Union during the war–and was meant to be a time for the officers who had fought here to come together and walk the battlefield. On this walk, they would point out the locations their troops had occupied during the fight so that McConaughy and his …

Gerard Family Papers (Mss 577), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 577. Funeral records, correspondence, account books and other financial papers related to various undertaking establishments run by the Gerard and Bradley families, including Gerard and Gerard Funeral Home, Eugene Gerard Company Mortuary and the Gerard and Bradley Funeral Chapel in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Also includes financial records related to an earlier furniture making business operated by John C. Gerard, a French immigrant.

Images Of Power, Images Of War: Schmucker Art Gallery’S New Exhibit, Laurel J. Wilson

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Bodies in Conflict: From Gettysburg to Iraq is a brand new exhibit in Schmucker Art Gallery at Gettysburg College. Curated by Mellon Summer Scholar Laura Bergin ’17, it features eleven depictions of bodies engaged in various conflicts in U.S. history, ranging from the Civil War to the war in Iraq. In addition to curating the physical exhibit found in Schmucker Art Gallery, Bergin also created a virtual version, which can be accessed online through the Schmucker Gallery web page. Of particular interest to those interested in the Civil War are two of the oldest pieces in the collection, a …

Bodies In Conflict: From Gettysburg To Iraq, Laura E. Bergin

Schmucker Art Catalogs

The exhibition Bodies in Conflict: From Gettysburg to Iraq not only conveys an ambitious geographic and historical range, but also reflects the sensitivity, ambition, and thoughtfulness of its curator, Laura Bergin ’17. In examining how the human figure is represented in prints and photographs of modern war and political conflict, Laura considers how journalistic photographs, artistic interpretations, and other visual documentation of conflict and its aftermath compare between wars and across historical periods. Specific objects include a print and photographs from the Civil War, propaganda posters from World Wars I and II, photographs and a protest poster from the Vietnam …

First In The Nation’S History: Gettysburg From Battlefield Memorial Association To National Park, Hannah M. Christensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Just over a month after the Battle of Gettysburg turned the town on its head, local attorney David McConaughy sent a letter to several prominent citizens suggesting that “there could be no more fitting and expressive memorial of the heroic valor and signal triumphs of our army…than the battle-field itself.” He had already purchased some of the ground, and in order to keep the effort going, he suggested trying to get Pennsylvania citizens to contribute money to purchase and preserve more. In order to manage this fund and the battlefield, McConaughy proposed the formation of a preservation association and made …

Intersections Of Religion And War: Examining A Uscc Diary, Savannah A. Labbe

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

While most don’t immediately associate religion with war, there is no doubt that it plays a role in most, the Civil War included. The Civil War brought with it new levels of death and destruction that the government was unprepared to deal with; it didn’t have the resources to adequately care for the influx of wounded soldiers, which was painfully evident after Bull Run when the number of soldiers needing medical care was more than the hospitals could handle. In the wake of the Battle of First Bull Run, the general public as well as the government saw the need …

Lessons From My European Travels: Love, Hate, And The Fate Of Humanity, Matthew D. Laroche

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

I once met a man who was a dead-ringer for Joseph Goebbels. He had the same dour sort of face plastered to a gaunt skull that could only have been squeezed in a vice; the same thin hairline that had retreated in step with the Reich’s exhausted armies; the same curt manner that summed itself up in a curled finger–“come here.” Our introduction to each other began with a beep from an airport scanner in Frankfurt. With no words, he directed me to an isolation space behind the security station. I’d be a liar if I said that standing with …

Beneath The Mulberry Tree: Sarah Edmonds And Women In Memory, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

In her memoir Nurse and Spy in the Union Army, Sarah Emma Edmonds, a woman fighting in the Union Army disguised as a man, employed florid diction and a subtle romantic flare to illustrate an emotional and confounding moment in the aftermath of the Battle of Antietam: discovering another woman undercover. Edmonds writes of the “pale, sweet face of a youthful soldier,” of a boy trembling from blood loss who, she knew, had only a few more minutes on earth. He tasted his last sip of water, and with his remaining breaths the soldier beckoned Edmonds closer and uttered a …