The Future of the Civil War Is Not Over

I've had a lot going on lately, and consequently have not had much time to spare for writing. I'm hoping to get a post or two up on the blog this weekend, but in the meantime I thought I'd provide some links to great content I've been reading this week. In my spare moments, I have attempted to keep up with the growing number of responses to the Future of Civil War History Conference earlier this month, and the ensuing debate to these responses. Many of my readers may have seen these on other blogs already, but for those who haven't - here's some links:

Brooks Simpson has offered his thoughts in three parts: here, here, and here. All have generated a great deal of discussion, including comments from the likes of John Hennessy and Anne Whisnant.

Kevin Levin has focused his comments on what he feels is an important component of the future of Civil War history. He argues that museum educators and public historians need to focus more on giving people the skill sets needed to make their own assessments of historical content, especially online.

Al Mackey argues that Pete Carmichael has accomplished his goal for the conference, because he left feeling slightly confused about what the conference was really about.

Nick Sacco, a public history student at IUPUI, has produced some really excellent reflections on the conference.You can find his latest here and here.

Finally, the Emerging Civil War Blog has asked several emerging scholars to report back on their experiences during the conference. You can find the first two installments in the series here and here.

Links and Updates

Hello all!

If you've come to the blog today looking for Material Culture Thursday, unfortunately I have nothing for you this week. Work and extracurricular activities have kept me quite busy lately, and will keep me busy at least through the weekend. That said, I thought I would offer up some links to some interesting reads I've seen this past week as a consolation.

First, for your material culture fix, check out the Mysteries and Conundrums Blog for an excellent investigative analysis of a photograph of Confederates on a Railroad Bridge along the Rappahannock River.

Second, yesterday's Washington Post ran a review of a new exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery, "Bound for Freedom's Light: African Americans and the Civil War."

Finally, in the last few weeks I've updated my blog roll a bit in an effort to keep it current. If you don't already follow some of these blogs, check them out (right side of the page). Or, if you follow a blog you think I might find interesting, let me know! I'm always interested in finding new stuff out there.

I have a few blog post ideas waiting in the wings, and I hope to be back up and running with Material Culture Thursday next week.

Fredericksburg Prepares for its 150th

I should have a new post up this weekend continuing my exploration of Alexander H. Coffroth and the 1864 election controversy in Pennsylvania's 16th district - which included Gettysburg.

In the meantime - the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Fredericksburg approaches, perhaps the low point of the Union war effort. In anticipation of the upcoming commemorative events, John Hennessy has a great post on a fixture of Fredericksburg's downtown landscape. It's a great exploration of how history surrounds us every day.

Your weekend read

A good post from Gettysburg National Military Park's From the Fields of Gettysburg blog, written by Park Ranger Christopher Gwinn.