It's been a fun time recently, lots of posts, lots of comments. I so enjoy hearing from people who read my missives, I'm flattered that you take the time!
A few housekeeping issues:
-the website for the San Diego Civil War Roundtable does appear to be down. I've emailed our chapter president and will certainly mention when it's back up and running.
-it's been brought to my attention from several readers that Warren Wilkinson, the author of the regimental history of the 57th Massachusetts, passed away in 1995. I wasn't aware of that and couldn't find much about him when I wrote the post; certainly no offense was intended. The book he was working on that was subsequently completed by Steven Woodworth, entitled "A Scythe of Fire: A Civil War Story of the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment", is used by Dr. Joan Waugh, who was my professor at UCLA, in one of her courses; a ringing endorsement to be sure! After I finish the research for my lecture in October, Mr. Wilkinson's books will be on top of the reading list.
-many thanks to Brett Schulte at TOCWOC for the mention, and much thanks to Francis Rose of the Civil War Network and Bjorn Skaptason of virtualbooksigning.net for their kind emails .
-the first program of the Civil War Network is now available! It's an interview with Pulitzer-prize winning author James McPherson about battlefield touring, promises to be fantastic! I'll be enjoying it tonight and will blog about it soon.
Showing posts with label 57th Massachusetts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 57th Massachusetts. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Debut Of The Civil War Network
There is a wonderful new resource that, having recently broken virtual ground, is ready for its official debut. I speak of The Civil War Network, which describes itself as "the home of Civil War podcasts."
Oh yes, please!
I've had www.thecivilwarnetwork.com on my blogroll since its first post on July 24th of this year, and have been following the site's development and preparation with growing anticipation. This site was started by Francis Rose, who brings a wealth of broadcast experience to this endeavor, and will most certainly fill a large void in online Civil War discussion and learning.
I want to share Francis' mission statement, which I have taken verbatim from the website (italics added because it deserves to be italicized):
"The mission of The Civil War Network is to inform, educate, and entertain people interested in the Civil War. The Civil War Network will fulfill its mission through audio, video, the written word, and other forms of media presentations. The Civil War Network will fulfill its mission while adhering to the highest journalistic, entertainment, and ethical standards."
The last few weeks have been studded with previews of the programs to come: an interview with Dr. James McPherson, author of "Battle Cry of Freedom" talking about touring battlefields, Harry Smelzer of "Bull Runnings" discussing the digitization of a Civil War battle, and Paul Taylor of the blog "With Sword and Pen" chatting about, wait for it, collecting Civil War books!
Yes, I am that excited!
There is also an open request for input on future programs, and given what I've been writing about lately (read: the Battle of the Wilderness and Wal-Mart's encroachment), I'm going to ask for one about efforts at battlefield preservation, hopefully with a member of the Civil War Preservation Society. Better yet, an interview with Warren Wilkinson, the author of the regimental history of the 57th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.
The first program will be available for free no later than August 27th, and can be downloaded for free on iTunes as well. It's just so exciting to have creative thinkers putting their work out there for all of us who have the same interest to share in, and The Civil War Network certainly promises to be at the forefront.
Oh yes, please!
I've had www.thecivilwarnetwork.com on my blogroll since its first post on July 24th of this year, and have been following the site's development and preparation with growing anticipation. This site was started by Francis Rose, who brings a wealth of broadcast experience to this endeavor, and will most certainly fill a large void in online Civil War discussion and learning.
I want to share Francis' mission statement, which I have taken verbatim from the website (italics added because it deserves to be italicized):
"The mission of The Civil War Network is to inform, educate, and entertain people interested in the Civil War. The Civil War Network will fulfill its mission through audio, video, the written word, and other forms of media presentations. The Civil War Network will fulfill its mission while adhering to the highest journalistic, entertainment, and ethical standards."
The last few weeks have been studded with previews of the programs to come: an interview with Dr. James McPherson, author of "Battle Cry of Freedom" talking about touring battlefields, Harry Smelzer of "Bull Runnings" discussing the digitization of a Civil War battle, and Paul Taylor of the blog "With Sword and Pen" chatting about, wait for it, collecting Civil War books!
Yes, I am that excited!
There is also an open request for input on future programs, and given what I've been writing about lately (read: the Battle of the Wilderness and Wal-Mart's encroachment), I'm going to ask for one about efforts at battlefield preservation, hopefully with a member of the Civil War Preservation Society. Better yet, an interview with Warren Wilkinson, the author of the regimental history of the 57th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.
The first program will be available for free no later than August 27th, and can be downloaded for free on iTunes as well. It's just so exciting to have creative thinkers putting their work out there for all of us who have the same interest to share in, and The Civil War Network certainly promises to be at the forefront.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
A Photo Of The 57th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
A few days ago I wrote a post about the efforts of the Civil War Preservation Trust to thwart Wal-Mart's efforts to build a superstore on the battlefield of the Wilderness and Chancellorsville. In that post, I used a few lines to discuss why this battlefield is so important to me, but even when I posted the entry, something felt incomplete; I had left something out of the discussion.
Last night it came to me. I remembered a picture that is the single most moving image I have come across in my years of study, and my collection of Civil War books and photographic compendia numbers in the hundreds.
I do not suppose to know what war is like, but this picture captures the humanity, the loss, and the destructiveness of not only the Civil War, but war in general, in a way that no other picture has ever been able to replicate for me. One the one hand, there are the sterile, bloodless works of artists like Don Troiani, on the other hand is this:
Before we go on, a huge note of thanks and recognition to http://www.picturehistory.com/. I found this picture through their search criteria in about 5 seconds, and was able to download this image for free. Please avail yourselves of this incredible resource! Now, if you'll indulge me, please place your mouse over the picture and click it to bring up a larger image, then study the faces and clothing of the men, as well as the surroundings upon which they stand.
Having done so, let's begin our discussion, and by the end, your investment in this photograph is sure to increase. This image is of the men of Company I of the 57th Massachusetts Infantry, taken in late June or early July of 1864 (no confirmatory date has been found). There are nine men in this image, and they are all that is left of the 86 soldiers of the company who went into battle for the first time several weeks before on May 6th, 1864, the second day of the Battle of the Wilderness.
Over the course of the next weeks, Co. I and the entire 57th Mass took part in nearly every major action of the famed Overland Campaign: the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, the North Anna River, Cold Harbor, and into the siege of Petersburg. This campaign ushered a new level of fighting into the Civil War (and warfare in general) with constant marching and virtually continuous contact with the enemy; these men were pushing forward every step of the way. 77 men of Company I had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoner during the campaigning and unrelenting combat of the early summer, 1864 in Virginia, and from the beginning of its service in May, 1864 until it was mustered out, only 10 men of the original 900+ of the regiment survived the war unscathed. A regimental history was written several years ago by Warren Wilkinson, with the fitting title of "Mother, May You Never See the Sights I Have Seen". This image graces the cover.
These nine men, commanded by Sgt R.K. Williams (the far right figure) were all that were standing when they found time for a brief respite and this photograph. They look worn-out, dirty, exhausted. They stand resolute, brave, and unflinching. They are on a wasted, muddy land where the only visible life, save for these nine souls, is the distant trees in the top-right corner. These troops have seen and done things that no one should be asked to do or have to live with having done, and they still had the courage to go forward and continue the fight.
There is all that, and there is the fact that they look just like us! There are no long-whiskered gentlemen or gray-haired officers; they look like men I went to high school, college, grad school with, played sports with, hung out with and befriended. These men capture the essence of American troops at war for me, because this picture could have been taken on the fields of Saratoga or the dusty streets of Fallujah, and I'd still feel like I know them, and I would still ache for what they had to go through. There had been 86, now there were nine. I've never had to go through losing one friend, let alone 77.
This picture came back to my mind because the first field where these men went to war and began to lose comrades was the Wilderness, and this ground may be lost if Wal-Mart has its way. These men took a stand behind a cause 144 years ago, now we can take a stand for them and their memory through the Civil War Preservation Trust.
Oh yeah, Wal-Mart and its ghoulish disrespect are disgraceful and despicable!
(Note: the above link to the book is to Amazon, but all available copies are from independent booksellers. Remember to support your local used and independent bookstores!)
Last night it came to me. I remembered a picture that is the single most moving image I have come across in my years of study, and my collection of Civil War books and photographic compendia numbers in the hundreds.
I do not suppose to know what war is like, but this picture captures the humanity, the loss, and the destructiveness of not only the Civil War, but war in general, in a way that no other picture has ever been able to replicate for me. One the one hand, there are the sterile, bloodless works of artists like Don Troiani, on the other hand is this:
Before we go on, a huge note of thanks and recognition to http://www.picturehistory.com/. I found this picture through their search criteria in about 5 seconds, and was able to download this image for free. Please avail yourselves of this incredible resource! Now, if you'll indulge me, please place your mouse over the picture and click it to bring up a larger image, then study the faces and clothing of the men, as well as the surroundings upon which they stand.Having done so, let's begin our discussion, and by the end, your investment in this photograph is sure to increase. This image is of the men of Company I of the 57th Massachusetts Infantry, taken in late June or early July of 1864 (no confirmatory date has been found). There are nine men in this image, and they are all that is left of the 86 soldiers of the company who went into battle for the first time several weeks before on May 6th, 1864, the second day of the Battle of the Wilderness.
Over the course of the next weeks, Co. I and the entire 57th Mass took part in nearly every major action of the famed Overland Campaign: the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, the North Anna River, Cold Harbor, and into the siege of Petersburg. This campaign ushered a new level of fighting into the Civil War (and warfare in general) with constant marching and virtually continuous contact with the enemy; these men were pushing forward every step of the way. 77 men of Company I had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoner during the campaigning and unrelenting combat of the early summer, 1864 in Virginia, and from the beginning of its service in May, 1864 until it was mustered out, only 10 men of the original 900+ of the regiment survived the war unscathed. A regimental history was written several years ago by Warren Wilkinson, with the fitting title of "Mother, May You Never See the Sights I Have Seen". This image graces the cover.
These nine men, commanded by Sgt R.K. Williams (the far right figure) were all that were standing when they found time for a brief respite and this photograph. They look worn-out, dirty, exhausted. They stand resolute, brave, and unflinching. They are on a wasted, muddy land where the only visible life, save for these nine souls, is the distant trees in the top-right corner. These troops have seen and done things that no one should be asked to do or have to live with having done, and they still had the courage to go forward and continue the fight.
There is all that, and there is the fact that they look just like us! There are no long-whiskered gentlemen or gray-haired officers; they look like men I went to high school, college, grad school with, played sports with, hung out with and befriended. These men capture the essence of American troops at war for me, because this picture could have been taken on the fields of Saratoga or the dusty streets of Fallujah, and I'd still feel like I know them, and I would still ache for what they had to go through. There had been 86, now there were nine. I've never had to go through losing one friend, let alone 77.
This picture came back to my mind because the first field where these men went to war and began to lose comrades was the Wilderness, and this ground may be lost if Wal-Mart has its way. These men took a stand behind a cause 144 years ago, now we can take a stand for them and their memory through the Civil War Preservation Trust.
Oh yeah, Wal-Mart and its ghoulish disrespect are disgraceful and despicable!
(Note: the above link to the book is to Amazon, but all available copies are from independent booksellers. Remember to support your local used and independent bookstores!)
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