Recently in history Category
It isn't every day you can take an online quiz to find out which American Civil War General you are. I found this originally on Civil War Bookshelf.
You scored as William T. Sherman, One of the Union's greatest heroes, your capture of Atlanta helped guarantee Lincoln's re-election and the winning of the war. South of the Mason-Dixon, they think you're a monster, but you're really only a little crazy...
Which American Civil War General are you? created with QuizFarm.com |
It isn't very analytical or reliable, I'm sure, but for what it's worth, I'm mostly a collection of William Tecumseh Sherman, Ambrose Burnside, and Ulysses S. Grant. This reminds me that I have a number of Civil War books to read before the year is out, one of which is Grant and Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War by Charles Bracelen Flood.
I saw the video below on Mike's Civil War Herald and found it quite moving. It's a time-lapse map of the American Civil War. In four minutes (at a rate of one week per second), it shows the major battles fought, the exchange of territory between the Union and Confederate forces, and the tremendous casualties suffered by both sides as the war progressed. It features "Ashokan Farewell", the classic song written by Jay Ungar and made famous in Ken Burns' The Civil War. The animation, which may not stay on YouTube much longer (according to the person who posted it), was actually made for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. If it's pulled, you'll have to travel to Springfield, Illinois to see it, so enjoy it while you can...
Abraham Lincoln was born on this day in 1809. While his birthday isn't a federal holiday (George Washington is the only president with that honor), it is a holiday for state government and some local school districts.
Of course, the federal government isn't letting the day go by completely unobserved. There will be a wreath laying ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial and a special celebration at the Library of Congress sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, a fifteen-member group created by Congress to commemorate the former president's birthday in 2009. The celebration will include a "Lincoln-themed" lunch and a special appearance "by Abraham Lincoln*".
The lunch sounds rather suspicious. "Lincoln-themed" - what does that mean? Will people be eating what Lincoln normally ate for lunch? Or will they be simply having dishes with corny names like "Second Inaugural Spinach Salad", "Lincoln Linked Sausages", and "Honest Abe Apple Pie"?
And why is there an asterisk after Lincoln's name? Are organizers afraid people will believe the Lincoln appearing at the event is the real Lincoln?
Anyway, to honor the birth of our sixteenth president, here are a few Lincoln-related links:- Temperance: Eat not to dullness and drink not to elevation.
- Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation.
- Order: Let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time.
- Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.
- Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself: i.e. Waste nothing.
- Industry: Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions.
- Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly; and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
- Justice: Wrong none, by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
- Moderation: Avoid extremes. Forebear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
- Cleanliness: Tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes or habitation.
- Chastity: Rarely use venery but for health or offspring; Never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.
- Tranquility: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
- Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.
When I first read his autobiography a couple of years ago, I copied the list of virtues into my PDA for handy reference and gradually forgot about them. I don't refer to them as often or adhere to them as strictly as I should or as I imagine Franklin did, but I will use the great man's birthday as a reason to resolve myself to more actively practice them from this day forward.
On Saturday, after nearly a month of sporadic reading, I finished Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, a group biography about Abraham Lincoln, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase and Edward Bates.
Goodwin does an excellent job of weaving together the lives of her subjects. I also found her narrative style engaging and it was easy to follow the parallel timelines of the main "characters".
Of the four men, Chase was shown in the most negative light. He shined brightly in the beginning, but lost wattage as events unfolded. Eventually, the power games he played while Secretary of the Treasury (e.g. submitting resignation letters on multiple occasions) and his relentless quest for the presidency in 1864 would overshadow his good qualities. Perhaps, the only other man portrayed more negatively was General George McClellan, who led the Army of the Potomac early in the war and ran against Lincoln in 1864 as the Democratic nominee.
Bates and Seward received more even depictions. Goodwin made sure to balance their moments of weakness with their moments of greatness. By the end of the book, both came out favorably.
Obviously, Goodwin was most sympathetic to Lincoln. Considering the complete title of her book is Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, that didn't come as a surprise.
The book painted Lincoln as a man of immense patience and magnanimity, a man of great humor and an endless supply of anecdotes, a man who was slow to decide, but steadfast in his decisions and a man who had a remarkable sense of timing in matters where public sentiment was most critical. One wonders if he was truly this way, or if he only appears this way due to some historical "airbrushing".
With today's cynical attitude towards everything (especially heroes), it seem extremely easy to dismiss Goodwin's characterizations of Lincoln as exaggerations and to believe Lincoln was somehow less than she depicts him to be, but wouldn't it be nice if that cynicism was unfounded for a change and Lincoln turned out to be "all that" and maybe more?
It would be wonderful if somebody we esteemed as patient, magnanimous and wise were truly so. It would also be heartening if the people we seem to look up to (like actors, athletes and models) and the people we're expected to look up to (like historical figures and current world and religious leaders) were what they claimed or what they seemed. In other words, it would be nice if our heroes were real.
Okay, well, that was a bit of a birdwalk. Anyway, finishing this book puts my year-to-date total of completed reads at 33, five books shy of my book-a-week pace. The next four books are stacked and ready to go. They're also significantly shorter, so there's still hope I'll catch up.
When I began reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, which is primarily about Abraham Lincoln, but also (and more excitingly) about William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase and Edward Bates (his fellow Republican contenders for the nomination in 1860 and eventually members of his cabinet), I thought it would be fun to find blogs about Mr. Lincoln. In the "fun continuum", finding blogs about American presidents resides somewhere in that hazy region between dorky and hip. Like shabby chic, it's dorky hip.
Well, that part of the fun was fleeting because it took two seconds to locate a Lincoln blog written by a university professor of history in Indiana. Preferring practicality to creativity, he calls it A. Lincoln Blog.
Ironically (but unsurprisingly), the professor doesn't hold a high opinion of the book that prompted my search and led me to his site. In one of his first entries, he calls Goodwin's writing a "first-rate narrative history" that is "light on serious analysis" and doesn't show "a lot of original thinking". It's exactly what critics would say about my writing (if I wrote anything), minus the compliment.
His blog is informative and entertaining. In it, he reviews Lincoln books, highlights Lincoln in the news (Abe appears more often than you know) and offers insight about Lincoln the lawyer (the subject of his upcoming book). He also discusses issues relevant to Lincoln and Civil War historians and tackles misconceptions about the president related to hot topics like race, war, religion, civil liberties, political parties and more. In his archives, one can find top ten countdowns of his favorite Lincoln images and documents.
Ultimately, A. Lincoln Blog is a fine place on the web to gain a little more understanding about America's sixteenth president every day. Now, if I could only find something comparable concerning George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Theodore Roosevelt, I'd be in dorky hip heaven.
"It is well that war is so terrible - lest we should grow too fond of it."
- Robert E. Lee
"War is cruelty. There's no use trying to reform it, the crueler it is the sooner it will be over."
- William T. Sherman
I've been delving into American history lately. I recently finished reading 1776 by David McCullough and His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis. Both were interesting and insightful, but the former was more pleasing to read than the latter. McCullough's style is fluid. His narrative flows smoothly with the numerous quotes he uses. A moment in history becomes a gripping story in his treatment. There was more suspense and drama in his work of nonfiction than in some pieces of fiction I've read.
Two week ago, I finished watching Ken Burns' The Civil War, an engaging, educational and moving documentary series that combined photos, first-person readings, narration and music to bring that period in the nation's history to life. I grew fond of listening to Shelby Foote's anecdotes and following the journey of individual soldiers like Elijah Hunt Rhodes (Union) and Sam Watkins (Confederate).
In watching the special features on the DVD, it was inspiring to hear Ken Burns speak so passionately about history. History may be so yesterday, but to Burns, history is right now. It's everything that has led to this very moment. His favorite quote, which he repeats at least four times on the disc, is by William Faulkner, "History is not was. History is." The past still affects us. More than a century later, America still feels the repercussions of the Revolution and the Reconstruction.
I can trace the cause for my renewed interest in history back to Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, which I read a couple months ago. That led to 1776 and His Excellency. Those, in turn, led to the biographies of Alexander Hamilton and Tony Blair. I know Blair is not American, but due to recent events and England's ties with the U.S., I thought it would be interesting to learn more about him.
Naturally, I stopped about fifty pages into Blair because I discovered a historical mystery series by Owen Parry that has monopolized my reading time over the last week. He has written six books involving Major Abel Jones, a Union officer assigned to solve murder cases for the army during the Civil War. Parry is amazing with his historical accuracy and sense of action. His characters are crisp and authentic. His hero is flawed, but sympathetic. Jones isn't a modern day hero set in the past, but a man of his time who interacts with the fictional and historical figures of his time.
I don't know how long my enthusiasm for the past will last, but if I had my way at this moment, I would want it to be a lifelong interest.
