Grape & Canister
A Roundup of Civil War News, Books, Videos, and an Otis pic
Upcoming Speaking Appearances
Today I am heading down to Washington, DC for the week to work with teachers from around the country at Ford’s Theatre. This 5-day workshop focuses on the history and legacy of Reconstruction and includes lectures and visits to a number of historic sites in and around DC. It’s going to be a great week.
In September I will be speaking at the Rhode Island Civil War Roundtable in Cranston on the 18th and at the Olde Colony Civil War Roundtable in Dedham, MA on the 19th. For both presentations I am going to talk about the life of John Christopher Winsmith of Spartanburg, SC, who served in the Confederate army and who after the war became a Radical Republican. I am currently editing his letters and postwar correspondence for publication.
Though it still a number of months away I will be joining a stellar lineup of Civil War historians for the 2025 Central Coast Conference in Monterey, CA. I highly recommend registering sooner than later to reserve a seat. I am embarrassed to admit that I have never visited California before. Here are the other historians who are scheduled to speak.
I will deliver two talks. The first is on the battle of the Crater, the subject of my first book and the second will focus on Robert Gould Shaw. I’ve also been asked to do the introductions for my fellow speakers.
News
The fight over Confederate monuments in Charlottesville, Virginia is over, but the question of who deserves credit for their removal has just begun. This controversy is really unfortunate.
An Atlanta man was arrested after attempting to remove a large Confederate flag along I-85 in South Carolina. He should have consulted with Bree Newsome before setting out.
Here is the second installment on the surrender of York, Pennsylvania during the Gettysburg campaign. This second part focuses on the legacy of the town’s surrender. It’s well worth reading.
The 10th annual “1864: The Ransoming, Burning and Rebirth of Chambersburg,” took place Saturday, July 19, 2024, in front of Franklin County's historic courthouse in downtown Chambersburg, PA.
Books
John Ganz, When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s (FSG, 2024).
David Gendell, The Last Days of the Schooner America: A Lost Icon at the Annapolis Warship Factory (Lyons Press, 2024).
Kathryn Allamong Jacob, Testament to Union: Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C. (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998).
Robert W. Merry, Decade of Disunion: How Massachusetts and South Carolina Led the Way to Civil War, 1849-1861 (Simon & Schuster, 2024).
Videos
Here is historian Sarah Handley-Cousins discussing disability and the Civil War with a focus on Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.
Test your knowledge of the Civil War with the Battlefield Trust’s “Gettysburg Trivia Show.” Enjoy.
Here is historian Ronald White discussing his new biography of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, which I highly recommend.
Otis
Hiw exciting! Are you here already?