the arrant thief

“The moon’s an arrant thief, And her pale fire she snatches from the sun.” (Shakespeare, Timon of Athens.)

Since my lunar eclipse photos didn’t come out all that well (lousy frozen fingers), I figured I’d dig through some of my battlefield photographs and find a few interesting images that showed off the “arrant thief.” Obviously, you have to get somewhat lucky to catch the moon in terms of the time you visit the battlefields — the moon isn’t visible at all times during the lunar month — and additionally the moon has to be located just right to make for a decent picture. I thought some of these images were kind of cool, though, and worth highlighting and sharing. Anyway, enjoy!

Image to the left above is obviously the moon peaking out behind Warren near dark on Little Round Top.

Monument to Union General Henry W. Slocum, commander of the Union XII Corps (or the right wing, I suppose, if you want Slocum’s take on the whole thing) on Stevens Knoll. Steven’s Knoll is a small rise located between Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill. The moon is about half full and is visible below the horse’s tail.

(Here is an actual attempt to photograph the moon that morning. It was taken from Wainwright Avenue — the lane that runs below East Cemetery Hill. Wainwright Avenue is named for the commander of the Artillery Brigade of the First Corps. It was known during the battle as the Brickyard Lane.)

Of course, one of the Federal corps that fought at Gettysburg had a crescent moon shape for a corps identification badge — it just so happened that the half moons were the ill-fated, incredibly unlucky XI Corps. The XI Corps was commanded by one-armed General Oliver Otis Howard (who I like to refer to as Uh Oh Howard) at Gettysburg. Howard was a pretty pious guy and he wasn’t exactly liked by his men all that much. This image shows the moon over Howard’s statue on East Cemetery Hill. (To pick out the moon in most of these by the way you do need to enlarge the images.)

In a clear case of even the losers get lucky sometimes :) I caught the moon directly above the Lutheran Theological Seminary one morning in the fall on an incredibly bright blue morning — which makes the pale white moon much easier to pick up.

You can view the moon directly above the spire of the famous cupola on Shumaker Hall. You may even be able to see it in the thumbnail image.

(Here’s an image of the moon above another Seminary building on the same bright blue morning.)

Finally, one last image — this picture is taken near sunset, near the clump of trees on a partly cloudy day. The moon is visible just above the thick bank of pink-purple-blue clouds directly above the clump of trees at the Angle on Cemetery Ridge.

I’ve never really tried to photograph the moon per se except in a few limited incidences, but I hope you enjoy the few pictures I have where the “arrant thief” slipped in to a battlefield photograph.

fire and ice

This post is a photo study — it highlights a few selected winter Gettysburg battlefield photographs taken around sunset.

One reason I wanted to highlight some of these pictures is how unique the views they offer probably are to many of my visitors. Although people who live in Gettysburg all year round are blessed to see the battlefield in all conditions, for those of us who live a fair distance away, our visits are understandably fewer. On the days most of these images were taken, I was the only photographer (or one of just a few) actually out taking pictures in the cold. So I think they are fairly unique from that standpoint. Gettysburg just isn’t as popular in the winter as it is during the other seasons.

And even if you’re not a Gettysburg buff, I at least hope you can enjoy the beauty of the place, which of course stands in stark contrast to the horrible things that transpired here 145 years ago.

(By the way I suffered to get that last picture of Warren’s statue in the snow — my fingers don’t have good circulation, it was bitterly cold, we had to hike up the hill because the road was closed … and by the time I got back to the car my fingers hurt so bad I couldn’t move them! Hopefully the pictures are worth it and I hope you enjoy these rather unique and different views of the battlefield in the wintertime.)

Left view from Cemetery Ridge, right view from Little Round Top towards Devil’s Den.

Left: The Valley of Death from Little Round Top nearing sunset (battlefield aficionados will be able to find the Codori, Spangler, and Trostle barns). Right: Woods near the Wheatfield from the Valley of Death, Crawford Avenue.

Left: View west of Seminary Ridge from the Georgia Monument. Right: A fireball sunset from Cemetery Ridge near the Angle.

Left: Cannon of Woodruff’s Battery near the Bryan Farm on Cemetery Ridge. Right: the sun goes down over the Emmitsburg Road.

Left: Looking down Hays’ Division line near the Bryan Barn. Right: The sun sets behind the Codori Barn over the land crossed by Pickett’s men on July 3, 1863.

Two views of the sun framed by a tree. Left: the Codori farm, right: Little Round Top.

Left: The Angle, right view from Little Round Top towards the Devil’s Den

Left: fiery sunset over Seminary Ridge taken from the stonewall at the Angle. Right: G.K. Warren’s statue, a favorite sunset subject, in the snow on one of the shortest days of the year.

Sharpsburg

I badly injured my index finger, so I have not been posting much other than the pre-published monument posts. However, a few weeks ago I journeyed down to Sharpsburg. You know, where A.P. Hill won eternal glory. :) I thought I’d take a break from Gettysburg and share some of the better pictures I took at Sharpsburg. You can click on them to enlarge. There are also some links to some extra pictures within the text.

Enjoy.

If for some reason you’d like to use any of the images, you may as long as you give a simple credit (a link back here would be super). Same goes for the Gettysburg pictures, by the way.

125th Pennsylvania Infantry

This is my favorite Civil War monument at Sharpsburg. It is located on Confederate Avenue behind the Dunker Church.

The soldier featured on the monument is Color Sgt. George A. Simpson. He was killed at Antietam, shot through the temple. His blood stained the regimental colors. (Detail of the statue here and here.)

This regiment was organized just six weeks before Antietam and this is where it saw it’s main service. It was mustered out after the battle of Fredericksburg.

The Maryland State Monument

(A more detailed view of the Maryland monument is here.)

This monument is located along the Hagerstown Turnpike near the Dunker Church. It was dedicated on May 30, 1900. It features several excellent bronze relief plaques. (An example of the bronze reliefs include the Charge of the 2d Maryland on Burnside’s Bridge.)

The Dunker Church

Of course, if you go to Sharpsburg, you just have to take a few pictures of the Dunker Church, right? (Here is a closer view of the Dunker Church.)

(Otherwise people will say “Dude, where’s the Dunker Church pics?”)

We have to get the government to appropriate some money to bury those power lines like they did along the Emmitsburg Road at Gettysburg.

Ohio Monument

I figured being from Ohio and all, I had to photograph the Ohio monument. This monument actually honors the 5th, 7th, and 66th Ohio Regiments. (They were also at Gettysburg and each have monuments located on Culp’s Hill.)

The monument isn’t all that noteworthy except it features the 7th Ohio’s fighting rooster and the 5th Ohio’s owl. The 7th Ohio’s Gettysburg monument does not feature a rooster, but the 5th Ohio (known as the Cincinnati Regiment) kept the theme going by including an owl on their monument in Pardee Field.

There are actually several other Ohio monuments, but the only other one I photographed this time was the 8th Ohio at Bloody Lane. I like the inscription. It is much better than the “Erected by the State of Ohio” inscriptions on many of Ohio’s monuments at Gettysburg.

34th New York Infantry

This monument, located near the 125th Pennsylvania’s memorial, looks suspiciously like the 150th New York’s monument on Culp’s Hill at Gettysburg. Monument copyright violation? The 150th’s monument was dedicated in 1889, while the 34th’s was dedicated on September 17, 1902. The Regiments came from Dutchess County (the 150th) and Herikmer County (the 34th).

It would be interesting to discover if there was any relationship. Anyone know?

20th New York Infantry

This regiment was known as the “Turner Rifles.” It is located near the Visitor Center and was erected in 1910. It is an interesting monument: a flag draped obelisk with an interesting and well-executed bronze relief on the front.

There are several New York regiments that have monuments at Sharpsburg, including the 14th Brooklyn and the newer monument to the Irish Brigade (detail of the relief on their monument located at the Bloody Lane).

Located near the 20th Infantry’s monument is the New York State Monument which was dedicated in 1919. It’s tall.

124th Pennsylvania Infantry

The monument to the 124th Pennsylvania. Like the sister 125th Pennsylvania, the 124th Infantry was only in service for six weeks before being thrown into the cauldron at Sharpsburg. It was commanded by Colonel Joseph W. Hawley.

For their monument, they chose a bronze sculpture of an infantryman. The monument was dedicated on September 17, 1904. It is located at the intersection of the Hagerstown Pike and Starke Avenue. A nine-month regiment, it mustered out after the battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863.

128th Pennsylvania Infantry

The monument to the 128th Pennsylvania features a stone statue of an infantryman advancing.

Here is a picture of the monument in it’s entirety. Like the 124th and 125th, this was a nine-months regiment. It’s main battles were Sharpsburg and Chancellorsville. (The 51st Pennsylvania Infantry has a monument that is somewhat similar. Here is there marker near the Burnside Bridge.)

The lighting was not perfect on many of the monuments, but the brilliant blue sky (it cleared off while we were there) made for some excellent azure backdrops. The monuments look good highlighted against the sky.

137th Pennsylvania Infantry

Located near the monument to the 128th on “Cornfield Avenue” is the monument to the 137th Pennsylvania. This regiment was in the Sixth Corps. The monument features a statue of a soldier at the position “Handle Cartridge.” Here is a detail of the monument.

The 137th’s monument was also dedicated on September 17, 1904.

The Flag Bearer

This was probably the best and most striking shot of the day (so if you’re going to enlarge just one picture, I’d recommend this one). This is the monument to the 132nd Pennsylvania Infantry in the Bloody Lane. (Here is the entire monument.)

Nearby is the monument to the 130th Pennsylvania Infantry and the monument to Companies A and I of the 5th Maryland Infantry. It contains a good inscription: “Can their glory ever fade”?

Other Pennsylvania state monuments include the 4th Pennsylvania Reserves (Mansfield Avenue).

3rd Pennsylvania Reserves

Near the 4th Pennsylvania Reserve monument on Mansfield Avenue is the monument to the 3rd Reserves. This monument features a soldier doffing his hat, cheering the victory won (I’d assume that’s what he is cheering for anyway).

11th Connecticut Infantry

This one is located on a knoll near the Burnside Bridge. It is older than most of the Pennsylvania monuments featured, being dedicated on October 8, 1894.

Also located near Burnside Bridge is the monument to the 21st Massachusetts Infantry which suspiciously looks a lot like the monument to the 7th New Jersey’s monument in Excelsior Field at Gettysburg.

Burnside’s Bridge

And then of course, one has to take pictures of the Burnside Bridge. It is absolutely mandatory. Even more mandatory than taking pictures of the Dunker Church, I assume.

For more views of Burnside’s infamous bridge, click here, here, and here.

There are many more monuments and landmarks at Sharpsburg than I just featured here, but this will give you a taste. It is an awesome battlefield.

Chickamauga

Chickamagua means “river of death.” It was a battle during the Civil War. Its also the host of a marathon in November.

I picked up a copy of Blue & Gray (a Civil War glossy magazine) and they are currently running a series of articles on the battle of Chickamauga. The best part of Blue & Gray is, in my humble opinion, the driving tours. They are very good, at least the Gettysburg ones I’ve used are. Anyway, if I pick up a Civil War magazine, it usually is Blue & Gray because I like the tours so much. The current issue is on McLemore’s Cove. I’m a definite eastern-theater girl (my expertise, if I can dare say I have any, is most certainly with the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia), but I have done some reading on Chickamauga (Cozzens, mainly) and it is an interesting battle. It a western battle with some eastern flavor because Longstreet’s corps was there on the Southern side. I think I’m going to start collecting the Chickamauga campaign issues so if I ever take a trip to Georgia, I can be prepared and maybe have some idea of what I am looking at.

the Gregg-McGowan Brigade & history musings

A visitor asked what my favorite brigade in the Light Division was. I hate to play favorites, because I am sure Hill would have been careful not to show favoritism (he was a very good officer that way), but my favorite brigade is the South Carolina brigade of Maxcy Gregg and Samuel McGowan.

Just the visual of Maxcy Gregg, wielding his Revolutionary War scimitar at Second Manassas, lopping the “heads” off of the daisies, urging his men with “let us die here, my men, let us die here!” — that’s what makes history exciting, at least for me. The images. Maybe that’s why I liked the movie Gettysburg so much.

For historiography class — I was a history major in college — I had to write a paper on an historian. I was hoping for Douglas Southall Freeman.⁰ Yes, I was even an A.P. Hill fan back then and I was enthralled by R.E. Lee and then by the three volumes that made up Lee’s Lieutenants. But I ended up assigned with Allan Nevins who I had never read.

So I broke out “Ordeal of the Union” — that was Nevins’ main multi-volume treatise on the War. While of course no Lee’s Lieutenants (nothing measured up at that time for me with Freeman), I appreciated Nevins style. He wrote well. Not all historians can write well. And reading Nevins — who thought a lot about historiography — was the first time I had ever thought about the study of history.¹

My favorite Nevins quote came out of an address to the American Historical Association entitled “Not Capulets, Not Montagus”² in which he described history as like a painting. Some imagination, Nevins pointed out in some of his other works, was necessary to mix with the paint.

Nevins was concerned very much with the general public remaining interested in the historical field. He railed against boring academics. Nevins thought there was a large segment of the population out there who were interested in history, but needed it presented in a digestible form. He’s probably right, though I don’t think he was for the “dumbing down” of history. Nevins thought that a good knowledge of history was necessary to a democratic republic and though he thought history should be presented in an accessible way, I think it was a big part of his historical philosophy that historians shouldn’t automatically assume the public was dumb.

I’m not an academic historian — far from it. I think I am probably more of your Nevins prototypical, educated democratic republican … Hey, I admit I like military history and biography and my eyes always sort of glazed over when too much “academic” stuff was presented. And Then A.P. Hill Came Up has plenty of primary source material that stands on its own, but the point never was to produce an academic work. The point was to get people interested in history. Especially kids. Because history is a fascinating topic.

If And Then A.P. Hill Came Up has interested one person in history, then all the hours hacking away at it were worthwhile.

Anyway, I always liked the painting quote …. History can never be a photograph of the past — well, it can be, obviously as we do have what are snapshots of the past (be they film or recorded) — but once interpretation mixes in, history becomes more art than science. No historian is without biases. Its just not possible. Or at least that’s how I have always seen it. My favorite authors have always been the ones who could paint. Its nice to have the primary sources, of course, but without interpretation, without the images, history would be (as its critics point out) boring.

Hopefully And then A.P. Hill Came Up isn’t boring and hopefully it has the right mix of “real” history sources and narrative history to make it accessible and appealing to the general public, yet also useful to a large segment of the public, maybe even to a more academic audience. But I don’t really know. The site is unique because it has stuff written from Jenny at the tender age of 17 (still in high school, in fact) all the way to 27 — and you better believe my views on things (generals, battles, history) have changed. I think that’s inevitable with experience and with age.

The site was built partly for me — I admit it. It exists partly to fulfill a selfish interest in the Civil War period that I had no outlet for — I had the itch to write and create and I still do. But its never been about making money and I’ve always kept the site as a free source … sort of an internet A.P. Hill library. Its my little contribution to the world. (I’m proud of it, but I don’t pretend its a real work of art, like a book.)

I should also say that maintaining a Civil War website has been nothing if not interesting. The nature of the medium, the ability to change things totally at will, to evolve, is something authors of books don’t get as much opportunity for. I mean, an author can always publish a new edition, but nowhere near as easily as I can change my website. If I want to add stuff, I add it. Whenever I want.

I also love being able to trade information. Through my site, I’ve met all sorts of cool and interesting people. Everyone from Civil War historians and authors to just regular people who enjoy history (a few have even contributed to the A.P. Hill site). There is no better way to be found today than to be out on the world wide web.

I also have to admit to loving the technical aspects and challenges of having a website. I actually enjoy writing CSS code and changing the design from time to time — and I am a self-taught website designer (even more so than a historian; at least there I was a history major in college as an undergrad). Being a Civil War webmaster has involved not only learning about history but it has also entailed a lot of work learning to code XHTML and CSS (I am proud to say I hand-coded my A.P. Hill website). A Civil War webmaster is part historian, part techie. He or she has to be. Its rather cool and very 21st century.³

If you managed to wade through this widely rambling post, I am deeply impressed.

—
0. I need to spend more time surfing the Civil War blogsphere. Somehow I missed Richard Williams’ excellent Old Virginia Blog. There is an EXCELLENT piece right up front currently on Douglas Southall Freeman. Having browsed through Mr. Williams’ blog, I think its right up my alley — and probably the alley of you other A.P. Hill “fans” out there (c’mon I KNOW theres more than just me)

1. Speaking of blogging. As an aside: If you’re interested in historiography of the War Between the States, then you definitely need to start reading Dimitri’s blog, if its already not on your regular list. I don’t always agree with him (does anyone always agree with anyone, ever?), but Dimitri WILL make you think and I think that’s one of the highest compliments you can pay a blogger. And that’s why his blog has been in my blogroll for as long as I can remember. He is also delightfully opinionated — sometimes acerbically so.

2. You can read “Not Capulets, Not Montagus” online at the American Historical Association website.

3. For an excellent treatment of what its like on an ongoing basis to have a Civil War website project, I highly recommend Behind Antietam on the Web written by Brian Downey.

Rhea - the Wilderness

This is an elbow-free zone. No pictures of my bloodied elbows, shoes, or other body parts in this post. You’re welcome.

I started reading Gordon Rhea’s book on the battle of the Wilderness again. For non-Civil War buffs, the Wilderness was a battle in May 1864 that pitted Grant versus Lee for the first time. The rest of this post will probably bore you to death.

Of Rhea’s books — he also has campaign histories out on Cold Harbor, Spotsylvania, and one other book that I don’t recall but its not Overland Campaign related I don’t think — the Wilderness book is my favorite. This is my fourth time reading it.

For an attorney — hell for a historian — Rhea writes really well and I like that. I find when I read I now pay a lot closer attention to word selection and “tone” — a combination of both legal training coming out and probably my minor in English lit. When I read Rhea, I get the feeling that he paid careful attention to his choice of words in each sentence. The Wilderness book seems like something very carefully created and crafted.

Anyway, apparently lawyers can write darned good history. If you want to see further evidence, I recommend my friend Sam Davis Elliott’s biography of General A.P. Stewart.

the sharpshooter

The Civil War was the first American war where the aftermath of battles was photographed. For Christmas, I got a book on “Early Photography at Gettysburg.” It was written by William Frassanito, an expert on Civil War photography. The book is really fascinating. I started flipping through it last night at 9:30 and before I looked up and knew it, it was after 11:00.

Its good to sometimes stop and reflect upon the photographs from the Civil War. I’m guilty, I know, of sometimes getting too caught up in study of the tactics. To look at the photographs of the dead, however, is to know the true, terrible human cost of the Civil War.

The photograph from Gettysburg that’s always struck me is <a href=”http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cwpb/04300/04337v.jpg”>this one</a>. There’s a lot of photos from Gettysburg of the dead. Most are truly horrible to look at. They depict bodies killed four or five days before that had been left exposed to the elements of summer in south-central Pennsylvania. The bodies are bloated, grotesque. Most show the soldiers laid out in long rows awaiting quick burial. Almost all but a couple pictures show the Confederate dead. The soldiers seen will be buried as quickly as possible by their enemies; not only have they given their lives for their country, they also have given up their identities.

Anyway, you’ve probably seen the sharpshooter photograph somewhere. Its a very famous photograph. Maybe it was even in your history book in school. I think this photo is so powerful because it is so different than most of the other death studies. While the scenes showing long lines of men awaiting burial are powerful, there also is a certain anonymity to the pictures — the features of the individual soldiers are bloated beyond recognigiton. But the sharpshooter is different. His face is a bit swollen, but he looks as if he has just recently fallen. He is obviously young — perhaps barely old enough to shave. Frassanito discovered that the photographer, Alexander Gardner, actually moved this soldier about 70 yards and placed him in this position as a sharpshooter.

I’ve often wondered about this sharpshooter. Who was he? What state was he from (I imagine from where he was killed that he was either a Georgian or a Texan)? Did he die right away? I wonder about this because for the book, Frassanito actually interviewed a coronor to establish exactly when Gardner took his death study photos. Gardner himself dated his pictures as July 6 and 7. The coronor surmised the pictures were taken about five days after death due to the decomposition of the bodies. That is in line with when Gardner was on the battlefield; these men were killed in fighting that occurred on the night of July 2, 1863. But the book mentions that the coronor thought the sharpshooter picture was taken probably only two days after death. Indeed, if you compare him to the photos taken at say, Sharpsburg, only two days or so after the battle, the sharpshooter looks more like those bodies. So I wonder if he suffered horribly for days on the battlefield before meeting his end. Perhaps caught between the lines, no one could help him.

To quote Shakespeare, “There are few die well that die in battle.”

The poor Sharpshooter. Almost certainly he was buried without a name attached to him. What was his name? Did anyone see him fall and tell his parents or family of his fate? Did he have a wife? Did he have brothers or sisters? Why did he choose to fight? I wonder if somewhere in the South, his family was able to identify him through the picture.

Sharpsburg

Someone emailed me and asked where <em>Cold Mountain</em> and <em>Gods and Generals</em> were on my top 20 movie list. To be honest, neither came close to making the final cut. <em>A Few Good Men</em> did. But not GG or CM.

As for the latter, I really didn’t like <em>Cold Mountain</em> at all. I thought it was gratuitously violent. I am not much for foul language or sex scenes. I didn’t find any of the characters very appealing and felt zero emotional attachment to any of them. To me, a movie succeeds if I feel involved, attached. <em>Cold Mountain</em> didn’t do anything for me at all. I plain, flat-out didn’t like it.

As for <em>Gods and Generals</em>, you know … I tried so hard to like it. Its rare we Civil War buffs get a real Civil War movie about battles and history and the generals who fought. <em>Gods and Generals</em> was a huge disappointment. It covered too much of the War and skipped too much important stuff. It focused far too much on Jackson and neglected to show his evil, fight-with-everyone side. It made hideous historical mistakes — and it was terribly cliched. The movie completely lost me when they chose to mutilate Jackson’s last words. Dr. Hunter McGuire, Jackson’s surgeon, carefully recorded what Jackson said while he lay dying. We have a very accurate record. There was no excuse for the contrived tripe they had Jackson say instead.

[And. Yes, I'm a <em>bit</em> bitter also about how Hill was protrayed. In my opinion, <a href="http://suvcw.org/ny/archive/encampment01/gettysburg.htm">Patrick Falci</a> should have played Hill, and Hill's rank at Chancellorsville shouldn't have been messed up, AND it was stupid to cut out "Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action" from Jackson's final words.]

Anyway, the Civil War battle I think they could make an outstanding, <em>Gettysburg</em>-style movie about is Sharpsburg. Sharpsburg lends itself well for a few reasons. First, its a battle you can pretty easily break down into parts — there are three major phases to the battle. Second, its a battle with fascinating characters. Third, it was an extremely important battle just like Gettysburg — both politically and in men’s lives. Plus, the Sharpsburg battlefield is nearly pristine and is studded with less monuments than Gettysburg. It would be the perfect place to shoot a movie.

I’ve been to Sharpsburg several times. Next to Gettysburg, its my favorite battle to study. Its a beautiful battlefield, probably better preserved than even, say, Gettysburg. I imagine only Shiloh or maybe Chickamauga in the west rival it. But its also a very small battlefield compared to Gettysburg. Cramped. Its hard to believe how much carnage happened in such a small area.

Sharpsburg is a fascinating story. Working backward, you could focus on A.P. Hill (yeah, you knew there was an ulterior motive … not my fault A.P. Hill was the Southern “hero of the day” to quote a certain sell-out washed up metal band) coming up at the nick of time versus his old classmate, Ambrose Burnside who owed Hill $8,000 and the difficulty the Federals had taking the bridge. In the center, you could focus on “Greasy Dick” Richardson or the Irish Brigade versus John B. Gordon — who suffered six terrible wounds on that warm September day. At the Dunker Church, you could focus on Jackson or on Hood’s men versus the Iron Brigade or you could focus in on Hooker or any number of interesting Union generals. Just pick one.

On the high level command side — gosh, you have Mr. Audacity, Robert E. Lee. If any battle proved that Robert E. Lee had guts of steel and was a gambler at heart, Sharpsburg probably is it. Why he stood and fought … beyond me. Either he was completely audacious or he just had total and utter contempt for his opponent McClellan. Probably a bit of both.

I’d also like to see McClellan protrayed. You could also work in that great story about how Hill and McClellan pursued the hand of the same girl in the antebellum period. What a great story. This was a “Brothers War.” I’d like to see a nod given to the fact that things weren’t quite as easy being the commander of the Army of the Potomac as they are made out to be sometimes by historians. In other words, I’d like to see a somewhat fairer version of McClellan than just the common view of historians that he was slow and incompetent. I actually think McClellan was a complicated individual and has gotten a mostly bum rap. After all, although he didn’t beat Lee, McClellan actually did better than Burnside and Hooker. [Then again, maybe that isn't saying much.]

So the 150th reunions are coming up. SI want a Sharpsburg movie. Made like <em>Gettysburg</em>. No boring love stories. Keep the politics mainly out. Tell the story of the battle, the command decisions. Someone out there with some writing ability, get to work. Write a Sharpsburg screenplay. Don’t make it have to be me.

on preservation

“Some kid a hundred years from now is going to get interested in the Civil War and want to see these places. He’s going to go down there and be standing in a parking lot. I’m fighting for that kid.” - the late Civil War historian, Brian Pohanka [I was watching an episode of Civil War journal tonight and I still have trouble believing that Pohanka died this past June.  What a terrible loss to our little fraternity and sorority of Civil War buffs.]

Mr. Pohanka would be pleased to know that the city of Franklin purchased and knocked down the infamous Pizza Hut located on the ground where famous Confederate general Patrick Cleburne was killed on November 30.

lawyer as historian

Reading again. And, no, this time not just drooling over the males in “Surfer Magazine.”

I picked up Gordon Rhea on the Wilderness today and started to carefully read it. I haven’t carefully read a Civil War book since I started law school. I have breezed through many history books during law school, but my careful reading for pleasure days were lost in a sea of poorly written and edited cases that I was forced to read until my eyes nearly bled.

One reason I chose Rhea — I also strongly considered Freeman’s “Lee’s Lieutenants” and I imagine that set will be next (I absoutely refuse to read an abridgement) — is because he’s a lawyer just like I now am.

I think lawyers bring an interesting set of skills to historical writing. To have even made it through law school and the bar exam, all lawyers have to be good readers and at least fairly decent writers. But beyond that, law school teaches us a different way of thinking. We refer to this as “learning to think like a lawyer.” Law school isn’t really about memorizing a body of law. Oh, sure, we do memorize the basic rules of the “black-letter” law in particular areas. But mostly, law school is learning to question, to think carefully and critically, to consider options, to research a problem thoroughly. The art of law is taking a legal problem, knowing where to look for the answer, finding what the law is, and then carefully applying the law to that particular problem. We learn to build arguments and argue our side zealously, but we also learn that you cannot ignore contrary evidence: you have to either distingush it or show how it does not apply to these particular set of facts. (In fact, as lawyers, we have an ethical obligation to disclose adverse authority.) We also learn when its simply not worth making an argument because we cannot win. With those skills in place, you can tackle any area of the law or any legal problem.

Anyway, that’s an interesting set of skills for a historical writer. Different from say, a journalist writing history.

I’d love to someday tackle the task of telling the story of A.P. Hill’s Light Division; I’d like to someday write a book. I have my website on Hill; if I had the time and inclination I’d rewrite the entire thing, foot-noting it and inevitably changing and reconsidering some of my conclusions and choice of words. Mostly created when I was an undergrad, it’d reflect someone who now thinks like a lawyer. I’m still kind of proud of the site even though I feel it deficient in many respects. But I’d like to make it better. Perhaps that’s a task I’ll try and at least start on since I don’t have a job and the hiring season is probably going to be dead until January now that the holidays are rolling.

But for now, I’m just enjoying carefully reading Gordon Rhea, a lawyer-historian, with a slightly new set of eyes and a new way of thinking.