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Articles 31 - 60 of 78
Full-Text Articles in Public History
A Different Sort Of Park: Interpreting Pow Experiences At Andersonville National Historic Site, Andrew Knight
A Different Sort Of Park: Interpreting Pow Experiences At Andersonville National Historic Site, Andrew Knight
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Unlike many other historic sites, Andersonville does not fit neatly into any one box. It is not a battlefield, although we still interpret the experience of soldiers and the ideas they fought for. It is not a historic home or building; the only original parts of the site left are earthworks. Andersonville is a Civil War site but tells a story common to every war. Andersonville National Cemetery contains the remains of American soldiers from every American war except for 1812. Unlike any other National Cemetery entrusted to the National Park Service (except for Andrew Johnson National Historic Site) Andersonville …
Interpreting The Life And Times Of Maggie Walker, Lucy A. Marks
Interpreting The Life And Times Of Maggie Walker, Lucy A. Marks
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
As a part of my orientation as an intern at Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, I was told that 90% of visitors who come into the site have a very limited knowledge of who Maggie L. Walker was and what she had accomplished in her 70 years of life. Equipped with that information I felt a heightened sense of responsibility for the overall quality and accuracy of my tour of her home. In my opinion, Mrs. Walker is one of the most extraordinary people in history, a big claim to make, but this claim speaks for itself even in …
Risky Business Provocation And Interpretation, Alexandria J. Andrioli
Risky Business Provocation And Interpretation, Alexandria J. Andrioli
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
The fourth commandment of Freeman Tilden’s six principles for interpretation is, “The chief aim of Interpretation is not instruction, but provocation.” This statement is both profound and problematic because the very heart of provocation is goading some sort of reaction from someone or something. Provocation usually has a negative connotation associated with it, like to purposely play the devil’s advocate in order to upset someone. Of course, a museum’s goal is never to intentionally upset visitors. However, at the same time, a museum may want to change the way visitors might think about a certain topic in order to view …
Provoking New Questions At Richmond National Battlefield Park, Kaylyn L. Sawyer
Provoking New Questions At Richmond National Battlefield Park, Kaylyn L. Sawyer
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
he first time I ever gave an interpretive tour was two years ago at the Virginia Museum of the Civil War in New Market, Virginia about a farmhouse that was in the midst of the fighting. My supervisor told me to make the house a home. Her advice to make a human connection between visitors and the past has influenced my style of interpretation, and I have carried it through other various internships including my time this summer at Richmond National Battlefield Park. While working in Richmond, I have been challenged, and challenged visitors, to think differently about the conflicts …
Provocation And Personalization: Sharing The History Of Manassas Battlefield, Jeffrey R. Martin
Provocation And Personalization: Sharing The History Of Manassas Battlefield, Jeffrey R. Martin
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
When I first read Freeman Tilden’s “Principles of Interpretation”, I was surprised to find that provocation was considered essential for effective interpretation. I reread it, to make sure I hadn’t read it wrong or misunderstood. Provocation? Why would the National Park Service want to provoke people? As an intern at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park last summer, I learned that Tilden didn’t mean angering visitors; he meant inspiring the public to want to learn more on their own. To paraphrase, Tilden wrote that instruction and information are not the same thing as interpretation. Interpretation is not a fact-based lecture. …
Historical Society Has Tools To Dig Deep, John M. Rudy
Historical Society Has Tools To Dig Deep, John M. Rudy
Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications
"On last Wednesday night, Lincoln's Birthday," the Star and Sentinel reported in 1908, "a colored lodge of Elks was instituted in Xavier Hall this place with 45 members." The Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World was originally formed as an African-American fraternal organization in the 1890s after a white elks lodge in Philadelphia denied local black men membership. By 1908, the organization was quickly working its way through Pennsylvania. And now Gettysburg had "Colored Elks," working as a social safety net for the black community of the Third Ward. They provided aid to the sick and the …
A Not-So-Distant Mirror: Bringing The Revolution To Life Through Interpretation, Jonathan G. Danchik
A Not-So-Distant Mirror: Bringing The Revolution To Life Through Interpretation, Jonathan G. Danchik
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
I have not been able to escape Freeman Tilden’s grasp over the course of my three summers with the National Park Service. His writings and ideas seem to be everywhere, not out of pure coincidence, but because of the fact that nobody has eloquently and concisely gotten at the heart of what historical interpretation is quite like he has. In Interpreting Our Heritage, a book so ubiquitous that it might as well be hailed as the interpreter’s holy scripture, Tilden asserts that “the chief aim of interpretation is not instruction, but provocation.” This isn’t meaningless fluff; rather, it’s an important …
A Beacon Of Hope: Contraband Camps, Harpers Ferry, And John Brown, Alexandria J. Andrioli
A Beacon Of Hope: Contraband Camps, Harpers Ferry, And John Brown, Alexandria J. Andrioli
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Stereoviews were created by using a twin-lens camera that captured the same subject from two slightly different angles. The photographer then placed the two images on a stereoview card that could be inserted into a special viewer that merged the two images together and created a life-like, three-dimensional image. Stereoviews’ low cost meant they were an inexpensive way to insert one’s self into realistic three-dimensional scenes like the pictured contraband camp.
“This Is War”: The Construction Of The Laird Rams, Hannah M. Christensen
“This Is War”: The Construction Of The Laird Rams, Hannah M. Christensen
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
By the spring of 1863, American ambassador to England Charles Francis Adams had a much bigger problem than the activities of British-built Confederate raiders on his hands: the construction of two 230-foot long ironclad rams in the Laird shipyard at Birkenhead that evidence suggested were destined for the Confederacy. At 230 feet long and 40 feet wide, with 6-7 foot iron spears at the front, rotating turret batteries, full iron plating, and a top speed of 10 knots, these ships were the Americans’ worst nightmare. Lincoln’s cabinet even considered blatantly ignoring Britain’s “neutrality” and sending a U.S. Navy squadron to …
Marching In Step: Usct Veterans And The Grand Army Of The Republic, Ryan Bilger
Marching In Step: Usct Veterans And The Grand Army Of The Republic, Ryan Bilger
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
For many United States Colored Troops, remembering the Civil War and their comrades who fell in it became an important part of their post-war life. One of the primary opportunities for public expression of remembrance was Decoration Day, now known as Memorial Day. African Americans played a critical part in the creation of this holiday. On May 1, 1865, the newly-freed black residents of Charleston asserted their place in Civil War memory by leading a parade to a recently constructed cemetery for Union prisoners at the city’s horseracing course. The procession heaped flowers upon the graves of the honored dead, …
A Home For Volunteers: Togus And The National Soldiers’ Homes, Savannah Labbe
A Home For Volunteers: Togus And The National Soldiers’ Homes, Savannah Labbe
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
The current U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs traces its origins to the Civil War. Before the Civil War, there had been some attempts to provide services for veterans but these benefits were solely for career military veterans and not volunteers. Since Civil War veterans were mostly volunteers, this became a problem. The services provided before this had been mostly in the form of homes like the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia where veterans could receive long-term care. Many felt that homes were the best way to care for soldiers and so, in March of 1865, legislation passed to create a …
Black Servicemen On The Seas: African Americans In The Union Navy, Hannah M. Christensen
Black Servicemen On The Seas: African Americans In The Union Navy, Hannah M. Christensen
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
When the Civil War began, the United States Navy’s Atlantic Squadron, commanded by Commodore Silas H. Stringham, sought to blockade the entire Eastern Seaboard of the Confederacy. It faced two major problems: a shortage of manpower and an abundance of fugitive slaves flocking to the Union fleet. The commander of one vessel, Commander O.S. Glisson, had fifteen refugees on his ship, none of whom he intended to return to their owners. Glisson wrote to Commodore Stringham asking for advice, and Stringham wrote to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles with an idea. Arguing that “if Negroes are to be used …
Decoration Days And Memorial Days, John M. Rudy
Decoration Days And Memorial Days, John M. Rudy
Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications
By the time he came to Adams County in 1909, John Esch had been a Wisconsin representative to the U.S. House of Representatives for two decades. But today was not just any ordinary day in the life of a congressman. Esch came to speak in the Soldiers' National Cemetery; it was Memorial Day. "Except for the difference in the number here," the Gettysburg Times noted after a note on shrinking attendance, "Memorial Day 1909 was little difference from those of former years." (excerpt)
Bearing The Battle, Binding The Wounds, Kaylyn L. Sawyer
Bearing The Battle, Binding The Wounds, Kaylyn L. Sawyer
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
When I arrived at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park for my summer 2016 internship orientation, I introduced myself as being from Yorktown, VA. The ranger quipped “you must have a thing for surrender towns.” I hadn’t really thought about it, but I suppose I do. I’ve lived in and around historic towns my entire life. I was born in Richmond, graduated high school in Yorktown, attended college in Gettysburg, and completed internships in New Market, Appomattox, and in the Hampton Roads area. I never seem to be far from a battlefield or a battle town, physically or emotionally. I …
Fredericksburg’S Gray Angel: Truth Or Utility?, Jonathan G. Danchik
Fredericksburg’S Gray Angel: Truth Or Utility?, Jonathan G. Danchik
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
As with other battles, the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862 yielded shocking results. Homes were destroyed, thousands died, and military doctrine was challenged and changed. One particular story, however, has emerged from Fredericksburg to represent a different narrative, one of compassion. The actions of a 20-year-old Confederate sergeant named Richard Rowland Kirkland are enshrined in stone at the end of Fredericksburg’s infamous “Sunken Road.”
Brother Against Brother: John Wilkes And Edwin Booth, Laurel J. Wilson
Brother Against Brother: John Wilkes And Edwin Booth, Laurel J. Wilson
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
When John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln, he became one of the most infamous figures in American history almost overnight. This rapid fall from grace took quite a toll on his family, especially his brother, Edwin. Edwin Booth was one of the most accomplished and successful actors of the Civil War era. He became famous for his portrayals of Shakespearian roles, especially Hamlet, which became his signature role. The Booths were an illustrious family of actors, though Edwin would become the most critically acclaimed and famous for his acting ability.
Science, Signals, And Service: The Smithsonian Institution’S Role During The Civil War, Danielle E. Jones
Science, Signals, And Service: The Smithsonian Institution’S Role During The Civil War, Danielle E. Jones
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Today, the Smithsonian is known for its world-famous exhibits, massive collections of American and natural history artifacts, and its contributions to research around the world. But many people don’t know the role the Smithsonian played during the Civil War. The Smithsonian Castle was finished in 1855 and would become the first home of the research center, the library, and the US Museum. The government recognized the importance of the Institution and, after war was declared, the US Secretary of War ordered Joseph Henry, the Smithsonian Secretary, be issued twelve muskets and 240 rounds of ammunition “for the protection of the …
A Gun With A Story: Waller Patton’S Civil War Pistol, Laurel J. Wilson
A Gun With A Story: Waller Patton’S Civil War Pistol, Laurel J. Wilson
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Musselman Library Special Collections is home to a wide variety of artifacts, including a rather impressive number of Civil War era items. One Civil War artifact, the Patton Pistol, stands out from the rest by virtue of the story attached to it. The 1861 Navy Colt revolver originally belonged to Waller Tazewell Patton, who was the great uncle of General George S. Patton Jr. of WWII fame.
Confederate Memory, Olivia Ortman
Confederate Memory, Olivia Ortman
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
This year as a CWI Fellow, I’ve been doing a lot of research and thinking on Civil War memory, specifically that of Confederate memory. When doing this work, the question at the back of my mind is always: How should monuments, symbols, and other examples of Confederate memory be handled? This is a very difficult question, so up until now, I’ve left it alone, knowing that there would come a time in the future that I would sit down and wrestle with my conflicting opinions on the matter. A couple days ago, the Civil War Era Studies Department here at …
Donald Trump, Andrew Jackson, And The Civil War: A Cwi Fellow’S Response, Ryan Bilger
Donald Trump, Andrew Jackson, And The Civil War: A Cwi Fellow’S Response, Ryan Bilger
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
In an interview for Sirius XM Radio released this Monday, May 1, President Donald Trump made some intriguing comments regarding the reasons why the American Civil War took place. He started by describing his beliefs on how 7th President Andrew Jackson would have influenced the events leading up to the Civil War
Lincoln’S First 100 Days, Hannah M. Christensen
Lincoln’S First 100 Days, Hannah M. Christensen
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Imagine trying to avoid a civil war and then having to figure out how to fight one—all in one’s first 100 days in office and all without Congress. That was what Abraham Lincoln’s first 100 days as president essentially looked like. From his first full day in office on March 5th, 1861 to his 100th day in the middle of June, Lincoln barely had time to handle the things presidents normally did, never mind relax.
Battlefields And Supermarkets: The Importance Of Battlefield Preservation And The Case Of Camp Letterman, Savannah Labbe
Battlefields And Supermarkets: The Importance Of Battlefield Preservation And The Case Of Camp Letterman, Savannah Labbe
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Gettysburg National Military Park is an immense park, encompassing and preserving a large section of the battlefield. What many don’t realize, however, is that the battlefield was not confined only to the areas that have been preserved, but also to a much larger section of the greater Gettysburg area. Where now stands the Giant supermarket was once home to land that the Confederates retreated over and also, more importantly, to a large battlefield hospital, Camp Letterman.
Adams County In The Great War, Jonathan Tracey
Adams County In The Great War, Jonathan Tracey
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
The First World War has generally faded from American memory, and is generally considered to have not cost the United States much. Although the country did not experience the total destruction that Europe endured, even small towns such as Gettysburg paid a cost, and the sacrifices made one hundred years ago should not be forgotten. First off is a brief summary of Adams County in the war, sourced primarily from Paul Foulk and Percy Eichelberger’s “Adams County in the World War.” Foulk and Eichelberger were students of Gettysburg College (then Pennsylvania College) and returned from service in the war and …
The Conflicting Conflict: Memorialization And Memory Of The Great War, Danielle E. Jones
The Conflicting Conflict: Memorialization And Memory Of The Great War, Danielle E. Jones
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
July 1st through 3rd, 2013 marked the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. There were an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 visitors to the national park, including as many as 10,000 reenactors. The Civil War sesquicentennial was commemorated from the very beginning, and ended with a reenactment in Appomattox that saw over 6,000 people visit to re-live the end of the American Civil War. On April 9th, bells across the nation, including at Gettysburg College, tolled for 4 minutes to honor the four years the war raged on. Plans were started for the anniversary almost a decade in advance and …
Appomattox: 152 Years Later, Jonathan Tracey
Appomattox: 152 Years Later, Jonathan Tracey
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Just over a week ago was the 152nd anniversary of General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House. Although that number may not be as big a deal as the 150th anniversary a few years ago, there was something else special about this year. For only the seventh time since 1865, April 9th fell on Palm Sunday, just as it did on the day that Grant and Lee met in the McLean House. Not only was I lucky enough to attend this commemoration, but I was able to revisit the job I held over the summer by volunteering that weekend. Arriving …
King Cotton And The Rising Sun: The Japanese Navy’S Confederate Ironclad, Alexandria J. Andrioli
King Cotton And The Rising Sun: The Japanese Navy’S Confederate Ironclad, Alexandria J. Andrioli
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
When the American Civil War ended in 1865, the United States government sold off naval vessels as the country transitioned to Reconstruction. One of those vessels, the CSS Stonewall, traveled to countless and unexpected locations. The CSS Stonewall never fought in the American Civil War as it was intended to do, but instead was destined to fight in the civil war between the Japanese shogunate and emperor as the first ironclad warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
The Corwin Amendment: The Last Last-Minute Attempt To Save The Union, Hannah M. Christensen
The Corwin Amendment: The Last Last-Minute Attempt To Save The Union, Hannah M. Christensen
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
At around 5:20AM on March 4, 1861—Inauguration Day—the Senate voted 24-12 to pass a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would permanently preserve slavery in the states where it currently existed. If successfully ratified, it would become the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution—and hopefully avert the secession crisis and the impending Civil War. However, only six states had ratified the amendment by early 1862, and the amendment died soon after. The last attempt to stop the Civil War, an attempt which had been in the works since shortly after the presidential election, had failed.
Finding Meaning In The Flag: Ex-Slaves And Newsies, Olivia Ortman
Finding Meaning In The Flag: Ex-Slaves And Newsies, Olivia Ortman
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Thus far we’ve talked about predominately white Union and Confederate views of the Confederate flag, so for my last piece on perspectives during the war I want to talk about the views of African Americans. For African Americans, especially, the Civil War was tightly intertwined with the matter of slavery. They realized that the outcome of the war would be instrumental in determining the fate of slavery as an institution and believed that a Confederate victory would be detrimental to the prospects of their freedom. If Southerners had their way, slavery would likely never die.
Right To Serve, Right To Lead: Lives And Legacies Of The Usct, Matthew D. Laroche, Hannah M. Christensen, Alexandria J. Andrioli, Jennifer A. Simone, Savannah G. Rose, Jonathan G. Danchik, Laurel J. Wilson, Jonathan E. Tracey, Danielle E. Jones, Ryan D. Bilger, Savannah A. Labbe
Right To Serve, Right To Lead: Lives And Legacies Of The Usct, Matthew D. Laroche, Hannah M. Christensen, Alexandria J. Andrioli, Jennifer A. Simone, Savannah G. Rose, Jonathan G. Danchik, Laurel J. Wilson, Jonathan E. Tracey, Danielle E. Jones, Ryan D. Bilger, Savannah A. Labbe
Civil War Institute Student Research
This is a catalog for an exhibit that follows the evolution of African-American participation in the Civil War, from slaves, to contrabands, to soldiers of the United States Colored Troops (USCT), as well as the lives of black veterans beyond the war, and their ultimate military and social legacy. Using a variety of period items, it creates a narrative that stretches from the Antebellum Period to the current day. In doing so, the exhibit shows how black sacrifice on the battlefield redefined the war's purpose throughout the divided nation, how Jim Crowe suppressed the memory of black participation after Reconstruction, …
Interpreting A Commemorative Landscape: The Eleventh Corps And Cemetery Hill, Bradley J. Klustner
Interpreting A Commemorative Landscape: The Eleventh Corps And Cemetery Hill, Bradley J. Klustner
Student Publications
An analysis of the memorialization of the land on and around Cemetery Hill on the Gettysburg battlefield as it pertained to the Union Eleventh Corps.