Tag Archives: Tom Desjardin

Now Available: Turning Points of the American Civil War

We’ve received word from our partners at Southern Illinois University Press that “books are in the warehouse.” Turning Points of the American Civil War has arrived—the first volume in our new “Engaging the Civil War” Series with SIUP! “This collection … Continue reading

Posted in Books & Authors, Emerging Civil War, Engaging the Civil War Series, Symposium | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Gettysburg Recap

The 150th anniversary of Gettysburg brought a flurry of posts to the Emerging Civil War blog. Over the last two weeks, our authors have offered many different perspectives on the battle, its consequences, and its significance. We’ll have more coverage … Continue reading

Posted in Armies, Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Book Review, Books & Authors, Campaigns, Emerging Civil War, Leadership--Confederate, Leadership--Federal, Memory, Monuments, National Park Service, Personalities, Sesquicentennial, Sieges, Western Theater | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How Gettysburg became Gettysburg: Tom Desjardin’s must-read book

The Battle of Gettysburg certainly ranks as one of America’s great stories—but how it became such a great story is a story unto itself. That’s the focus of Thomas Desjardin’s book These Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped American … Continue reading

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Book Review, Books & Authors, Memory | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

“The” Turning Point of the War: The Wilderness, not Gettysburg

I was working at the Wilderness today, and I couldn’t think of a better place to be sitting in the wake of the Gettysburg sesquicentennial. Why? Well, while throngs of people stare at the bronze tablet by the copse of … Continue reading

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Books & Authors, Leadership--Federal, Memory, Personalities, Sesquicentennial | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Telling History vs. Making Art: Killer Angels, real and fictional

Part five in a series. In my last post, I began to discuss Michael Shaara’s aesthetic choices for constructing The Killer Angels as he did, and how he adopted a Lost Cause-interpretation of Robert E. Lee as a central choice … Continue reading

Posted in Books & Authors, Memory, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Steve Earle, “Dixieland,” and the Irresistible Charm of Buster Kilrain

The myths of Gettysburg rear their heads in the most unexpected places. At a Steve Earle concert in Rochester, New York, a couple weeks ago, the folk-rocker launched into a pair of songs related to the Irish. Before he did, … Continue reading

Posted in Civil War in Pop Culture, Memory | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments