History Net: Where History Comes Alive - World & US History Online » American Civil War

'John Brown's Body' - Stephen Vincent Benet and Civil War Memory

Gerald Swick — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:46:30 +0000

'John Brown's Body' by Stephen Vincent Benet, published in 1928, remains a vibrant tapestry of America's diversity and its unity, its 15,000 lines re-imagining the Civil War as Lincoln understood it.

MHQ Reviews: Cain at Gettysburg

ehoward — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:35:01 +0000

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Cain at Gettysburg
By Ralph Peters. 432 pp. Forge, 2012. $25.99.

Reviewed by Noah Andre Trudeau

I confess to being a fan of Civil War fiction involving real battles. Over the years I've come to …

John Brown's Blood Oath

ehoward — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:27:17 +0000

An excerpt from Tony Horwitz's new book, "Midnight Rising," about the militant abolitionist.

Adah Menken, aka 'The Naked Lady': The Original Superstar

Gerald Swick — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:30:00 +0000

Adah Isaacs Menken, aka “The Naked Lady,” may have begun life as a poor girl from New Orleans, but with talent and courage she became THE outstanding actress during the era of America's Civil War.

'I Am Well and Hearty' - Walt Whitman's Brother in the Civil War

Gerald Swick — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 22:37:37 +0000

Walt Whitman has the reputation as a Civil War writer, but it was his younger brother, George Washington Whitman, who saw the war up close and personal as a member of Company K, 51st New York Volunteer Infantry.

Churchill Imagines How the South Won the Civil War

ehoward — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:56:56 +0000

In Winston Churchill’s fanciful alternative history, Robert E. Lee wins at Gettysburg, and Jeb Stuart prevents World War I

The War List: Overrated Civil War Officers

ehoward — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:50:10 +0000

Historian Gary W. Gallagher picks Union and Confederate officers whose hype doesn't match reality.

Photo Essay: 150th Anniversary of First Manassas-Bull Run

Gerald Swick — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:30:29 +0000

Nearly 9,000 Civil War reenactors staged battle re-creations as part of the activities commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Manassas/Battle of Bull Run.

A National Park Service Living-History Volunteer's Story

Gerald Swick — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:21:32 +0000

A volunteer at the Manassas National Battlefield Park talks about portraying history while wearing 45 pounds of clothing and accoutrements in summer heat, the questions visitors ask, and why he does it.

Memorial Day Events 2011

Gerald Swick — Mon, 23 May 2011 17:37:02 +0000

A roundup of televised events for Memorial Day weekend 2011—and information on how the holiday began.