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Today In “We’re Americans, We Don’t Have To Know Geography!”
The Ambassador of the Czech Republic is forced to issue statement clarifying that, no, his country is nowhere near Chechnya: As more information on the origin of the alleged perpetrators is coming to light, I am concerned to note in the social media a most unfortunate misunderstanding in this respect. Show More Summary
The Death of Luther Blanchard
As I described yesterday, Luther Blanchard was an eighteen-year-old fifer when the Revolutionary War broke out. He was wounded in the fighting at the North Bridge in Concord—but not badly enough to keep him from continuing to march with...Show More Summary
What Can Holocaust Memory Teach Us About Civil War Memory?
Next year I will be teaching a course that explores the Holocaust and historical memory as well as how our own Civil War has been remembered. I am excited and horrified given what little I know about the Holocaust and WWII. Perhaps I would feel this way about any historical subject next to my knowledge [...]
Always The Woman’s Fault
Because, of course, Mark Sanford was simply the hapless soldier, stuck in a minefield (on the Appalachian Trail, probably): Indeed, while Jenny has never come out and publicly opposed Mark’s congressional candidacy — choosing to remain officially neutral — she’s waged a brutally effective passive-aggressive campaign against it. Show More Summary
Luther Blanchard, Fifer
Yesterday I wrote about the Acton Minutemen marching toward Concord’s North Bridge, reportedly to the tune later codified as “The White Cockade.” The fifer in that unit was Luther Blanchard, son of Simon and Sarah Blanchard, born 4 June 1756 and therefore eighteen years old. Show More Summary
USPS Civil War Commemorative Stamps Show Clear Bias
Has anyone else noticed that the stamps released thus far by the United States Postal Service reflect a clear bias? Perhaps it should come as no surprise that an agency of the federal government would favor the United States during the Civil War. Next month the USPS’s Forever stamp marking the 150th anniversary of the [...]
This Blog Loves Vin Scully
During last night’s play-by-play, Vin Sculley (the legendary Dodgers’ announcer) invoked the Sword of Damocles to talk about Chad Billingsley, the pitcher: He pitches ‘with the Sword of Damocles over his head.’ That’s an old Greek legend. Show More Summary
The Questions of “The White Cockade”
In 1835, septuagenarian Charles Handley sat down with local historian Josiah Adams to relate his memory of the start of the Revolutionary War. Handley testified that on 19 Apr 1775 he was twelve years old and “lived at the tavern kept by Mrs. Show More Summary
Crater Talk at Virginia Festival of the Book
First things first. Thanks to all of you who emailed yesterday to share your concerns about our safety in light of the attacks that took place here in Boston yesterday. My wife and I have lived in Boston for close to two years. After watching the response of our community to yesterday’s tragic events, I [...]
Brought Us Safe Thus Far
Judy Collins, the Boston Pops, and the audience doing “Amazing Grace,” in Boston’s Symphony Hall, 1976:
The Aftermath
From William Diamond’s Drum, but Arthur Bernon Tourtellot:Later on the morning of April nineteenth. Captain [John] Parker reassembled his Lexington minutemen, to march toward Concord. Some of the wounded, now bandaged, formed in awkward but determined lines. Show More Summary
No Confederate License Plates in Texas
U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ruled earlier today that the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles did not violate the First Amendment when it denied an application by the Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans for customized plates that depicted the Confederate flag. Here are a few excerpts from the judge’s ruling. “The issue before the [...]
Comment Policy
This is one of those “So I can point to it later” posts. The comment policy here at Edge is fairly loose in some ways and fairly tight in others. I think of Edge as as personal space and commenters as guests. They’re very welcome, welcome...Show More Summary
Visit three Mosby sites on horseback
The Mosby Heritage Area Association in Atoka, Va,. is offering a tour May 5 of three of Col. John Singleton Mosby’s Civil War sites as seen from the back of a horse. Mosby, considered a terrorist by Union officials, was a Confederate hero on horseback who conducted surprise raids on Union camps. Show More Summary
The British Plan to Burn Harvard College
On 22 Nov 1775, the Rev. Isaac Mansfield, Jr., a Continental Army chaplain, preached a Thanksgiving sermon in the camp at Roxbury. He leveled this accusation about the British military’s plans the previous April:What, but the hand of...Show More Summary
Confederate Officers Beg For Food From Former Slaves
Following the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 4, 1863 a New York Times correspondent reported on the confiscation of Confederate camp servants and their enlistment into the Union army in full view of their former masters. I have already mentioned that in discussing the “terms of surrender,” as the Confederates call it, but [...]
The Mystery of James Nichols, Reluctant Soldier
One of the most striking anecdotes of the confrontation at the North Bridge in Concord is the story of an Englishman who mustered with his local militia, but decided to go down to talk to the redcoats at the bridge. After that chat he took his gun and went home, not wanting to be part of the fight. Show More Summary
Remembering that Historical Actors Looked Forward
There is a danger when we remember or imagine the past that we treat historical actors as static or stuck in a particular moment as opposed to dynamic and forward looking. We make an implicit assumption that since we are preoccupied with a particular historical moment that the individuals were as well. The recent history [...]
This Week in the North End
Patriots Day is a busy time in the North End of Boston, where Paul Revere’s journey on 18-19 Apr 1775 began, as well as out here in Middlesex County, where it ended. A new addition to the North End is Captain Jackson’s Colonial Chocolate Shop, in the Clough House on Unity Street. Show More Summary
The Social and Cultural Significance of Black Confederate Pensioners
As we all know one of the most misunderstood aspects of the debate surrounding the existence of black Confederate soldiers is the existence of pensions that were given by former Confederate states to qualified black citizens at various points during the postwar period. For the uninformed or those working primarily from a narrow agenda the [...]
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