When I was a boy, when I was very interested in the Civil War. I can’t say why, exactly, but at that time, it was an easy interest to feed. The centennial of the war had begun, and there was a constant flow of features in newspapers and magazines, .shows on television, and movies, and …
This week the President Trump made news when he began talking about ancient history. `‘I mean had Andrew Jackson been a little later you wouldn’t have had the Civil War, ” he said. `He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart. He was really angry that he saw what was happening …
Many thanks to the Civil War Roundtable of Austin, Texas, for inviting me to talk about Will Cushing at their meeting last Thursday. I had a great time: the talk went well, the crowd was large and friendly, and they bought a lot of books. In addition, the group was very hospitable. They bought me …
Twice last week I ventured into the wilds of Orange County to speak about the marvelous Commander Will Cushing. On a sweltering Thursday evening I visited the quaint and scenic Museum Village in Monroe, where about a dozen hearty souls sat at picnic benches in an un-air conditioned structure to hear me go on. On …
This morning, South Carolina finally removed the Confederate flag from the grounds of its statehouse. At long last, he rebel flag has finally fallen. Not everywhere, of course. But to see it go down here, in the cradle of rebellion, means one thing: it has lost its power to enthrall and intimidate. The cause is …
Sometimes it seems as though weeks go by without nary an event worth introducing into conversation. And then sometimes news–and not merely news, but huge historical events–come rolling in like thunder. One such period occurred during the last week in June. On Monday the 22nd, responding to the murder days before of nine people who …
In the spring of 2010, I walked into The New York Times and proposed that the paper blog the Civil War. Out of that grew the Disunion series, which from October 30, 2010 until last week did just that–wote about the war, in matters great and small, generally corresponding to the events of that day …
Many thanks to Sam Falk and all the folks at the Millbrook Literary Festival who invited me to participate at yesterday’s event. It was a beautiful day, I met a lot of interesting people, I sold a lot of books, and I got to participate in a lively panel hosted by Shaun Boyce, and featuring …
Until we can set up another. . .
I was very pleased to be invited by Paul Martin (below) and The Lincoln Depot Museum to help open the 2015 season with event held in partnership with the Lincoln Society in Peekskill to mark the 150th anniversary of the day President Lincoln’s funeral train paused in Peekskill enroute to internment at Springfield, Illinois.We had an …