Grape & Canister
News, Videos, Books, and an Otis pic
Office Hours
Have a question about something I’ve written? I will be holding office hours this coming Tuesday evening at 7PM EST via Zoom. A link will be sent to all paid subscribers on Monday. I am going to try to hold these sessions every few weeks.
Movie Discussion
A reminder that instead of meeting to discuss a book in July, we will be discussing the movie Glory. The date is Sunday July 9 at 7PM EST. I will open things up with an overview of the movie and how it compares to the historical record. This is also available only to paid subscribers.
Two great reasons to upgrade to a paid subscription.
News
Historian Tiya Miles shares some thoughts about her concerns about Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday.
It’s been two years since Juneteenth became a federal holiday, one we can celebrate together as a nation. The signing of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law in 2021 was an expression of real progress in the collective understanding of Black struggle that reinforced our national ideals of liberty and dignity. But I confess my ambivalence. I am worried about what official national recognition might do to what has always been a community-based holiday.
The Confederate roots of the Gadsden flag.
On April 18, 1861, six days after the opening shots of the Civil War, the Philadelphia Inquirer described a “great sensation” in Boston.
A “strange craft” had appeared in the harbor: a merchant vessel from Georgia that flew “a white flag, having on it the emblem of a rattlesnake, with the motto underneath ‘Don’t tread on Me!’ and also below this fifteen stars, representing the fifteen slave States.”
The ship came from Savannah, where secessionists had embraced multiple variations on Christopher Gadsden’s Colonial flag after the election of Abraham Lincoln, eager to promote their cause as a second American Revolution. Stories about Savannah’s political rallies and “Don’t Tread” flag had been reported in newspapers nationwide, so when a ship with a version of it appeared in Boston, a large and angry crowd assembled.
Looks like a decision will soon be made about whether a large Confederate flag will be allowed to continue to fly over I-81 in South Carolina.
Some Spartanburg County government leaders say they fear the giant Confederate flag has become a symbol of racial division across the country and could hurt tourism and business recruitment.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans argued in the lawsuit the county violated its free speech rights by requiring a land use permit that was not required when the pole was first built a year ago.
Last week the Supreme Court refused to hear a case challenging North Carolina’s decision to discontinue the issuance of vanity plates featuring the Confederate flag.
Videos/Podcasts
Thanks to the Addressing Gettysburg folks for recording many of the sessions during the Civil War Institute’s annual conference.
First up is Peter Carmichael, who talked about the experiences of illiterate Confederates.
Ken Noe delivered a great talk based on his latest book about the influence of weather on Civil War battles and campaigns. Never forget that, “The Civil War took place outside.”
Christian Keller explored the military relationship between Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
Finally, I delivered a presentation on my current book project about Robert Gould Shaw. I focused specifically on Shaw and the Second Massachusetts Regiment.
New to the Civil War Memory Library
Bradley Clampitt, Lost Causes: Confederate Demobilization & the Making of Veteran Identity (Louisiana State University Press, 2022).
Earl J. Hess, Civil War Supply and Strategy: Feeding Men and Moving Armies (Louisiana State University Press, 2020).
Martha Hodes, My Hijacking: A Personal History of Forgetting and Remembering (Harper, 2023).
Harold Holzer, Monument Man: The Life & Art of Daniel Chester French (Princeton Architectural Press, 2019).
Charles W. Mitchell and Jean H. Baker eds., The Civil War in Maryland Reconsidered (Louisiana State University Press, 2021).
Otis
I know some of you can’t get enough Otis pics. Yesterday Otis celebrated his second birthday.
Though it’s disturbing that any “Don’t Tread On Me” flag would be used as far back as this, I’m glad that it was not that of the Culpeper Minute Men, my hometown. Wasn’t there a time when the lost cause was actively compared to the War of Independence?
Happy birthday Otis!