The hanging of photography or artwork from the Civil War in any museum is usually a press worthy event, especially during the sesquicentennial anniversary celebration continuing this year. My attention was recently drawn to an article from The New Yorker critiquing some of the work hung in two current exhibitions of the Metropolitan Museum of [...]
Today marks the 150th anniversary of the official issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Though many mistakenly believe that the Proclamation is a document tied solely to the date January 1, 1863, a preliminary proclamation was presented in September 1862 calling for reunion. If the rebellious states failed to rejoin the Union by January 1 of [...]
Hello readers, long time no see! I was recently sent on a quest by the education department to research some famous names from the Age of Exploration, but I thought I would take a break and come back to the nineteenth century. If you have been following our blog for a while, you will no [...]
After reading the title of this post, you may begin to wonder if I purposefully wrote it incorrectly. Abraham Lincoln in the 1930s? Is it a typo? A mistake? Is this blogger even aware of one of the most infamous assassinations in history? Don’t fret, dear readers, I haven’t lost my marbles…yet. While looking through [...]
A while ago, I introduced you to some Civil War photographers in an attempt to demonstrate the importance of those who served their country in a capacity other than that of a general or conventional soldier. As the Union clashed with the Confederacy, one did not have to pick up a gun to aid in [...]
In the post “The Cowardly Lion on the Peninsula,” Brian introduced you to the faults of General George B. McClellan. However, what has yet to be explored is how the soldiers or the public felt about their now heavily criticized commander. Did they see McClellan as a coward or was he considered more of a [...]
Collecting cards has been a hobby of Americans for far longer than many may realize. Today, someone might have a signed baseball card of Mickey Mantle or Hank Aaron on their shelf, no doubt an excellent conversation piece and noteworthy specimen of Americana. However, in the 1860’s, the portraits of a very different kind of [...]
To continue my recent exploration of Civil War photographers, today I would like to introduce you to Andrew J. Russell, a New Yorker who took his wartime experience and applied it to yet another monumental event in American history: the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad. Born in Nunda, Russell began his career as a [...]
Whether I am staying at home or in my dorm room at UVa, there is a poster that I always bring with me and hang proudly on my wall. The poster is of Abraham Lincoln shortly before he delivered the Gettysburg Address in 1863, but he is not the star of the show. Under the large image [...]
Today, Brian posted an excellent and timely blog concerning General McClellan and what became known as the siege of Yorktown (1862). Demonstrating McClellan’s wary nature, Brian presented you with an overview of the Confederate force he faced in 1862; a force, needless to say, that could have been quashed far earlier if McClellan had chosen [...]
