Civil War Programs

Author Michael Weeks Comments on the Blog

2012-02-24T14:21:00.004-08:00

Michael Weeks, author of Civil War Road Trip, published by The Countryman Press, sent the following comment:

Hi guys. My name is Mike Weeks. A Google Alert for "Civil War road trip" steered me to your blog. I am the author of The Complete Civil War Road Trip Guide and Civil War Road Trip: VA, MD, and PA - volume II of which is due out in May.

I just wanted to let you know that it looks like you have a great program here at the library. Anything that encourages people to visit any of these sites, large or small, contributes to its preservation, so please keep up the good work.

If you haven't checked it out already, please take a look at the Civil War Trust - lots of great material there regarding preservation, as well as other educational materials.

I was very interested in your previous post about the use of technology at some of these places. A couple of comments:

I, too, felt strangely compelled to push the button at Malvern Hill, and was equally surprised that it worked.

The Civil War Trust, as well as Civil War Traveler (the folks responsible for those great Civil War Trails signs you see throughout your journey), have created some great podcasts and apps for touring; the Trust's latest release is at Malvern Hill. If you don't have the ranger with you, you can at least watch his video, based on your smartphone's GPS location, about exactly where you are and what you're looking at on the battlefield.

Finally, regarding the exhibits at Pamplin Park: We have had a similar debate here in Illinois regarding the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum. Yes, there may be sort of a "Disney" quality to some of the exhibits. But if I thought my kid might be interested in history, that's the first place I'd take them. Those interactive exhibits, as long as they're informative, light up younger minds much better than the old stuff-in-a-glass-case museum model.

Again, great program, have fun at Shiloh and Corinth, and happy and safe travels to you. (And if you ever need any help or advice on your tours, please don't hesitate to contact me - I've seen a lot of it.).

Michael Weeks is the author of Civil War Road Trip,volume 1, A Guide to Northern Virginia, Maryland & Pennsylvania 1861-1863: First Manassas to Gettysburg (published 2011) and Civil War Road Trip, volume 2, A Guide to Virginia and Maryland, 1863-1865 (to be published May 2012). For more information go Michael Weeks's blog at Civil War Road Trip.

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT

2012-02-22T13:38:00.006-08:00

Making Sense of the American Civil War
“Choosing Sides” with readings from
America’s War: Talking About the American Civil War and Emancipation on their 150th Anniversaries, a new anthology edited by Edward L. Ayers
Posted by Andrea Foroughi

Thank you to everyone who attended "Choosing Sides" on February 12th, which was the second discussion in the Let's Talk About It: Making Sense of the Civil War series at Voorheesville Public Library. What a wonderful way to commemorate Abraham Lincoln's 203rd birthday!

Over the course of our discussion, I mentioned a few books and other resources that participants might find of interest and am listing them here. If you'd like to learn more about...

Frederick Douglass and his "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July" speech, try James A. Colaiaco, Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July. Palgrave MacMillan, 2006.
John Brown's correspondence and how his contemporaries wrote about him, look for Meteor of War: The John Brown Story, edited by Zoe Trodd and John Stauffer. Brandywine Press, 2004.
Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address, visit America's Treasures of the Library of Congress.
The Virginia Secession Convention where Robert Montague and Chapman Stuart argued for and against secession, go to Digital Scholarship Lab. You'll find even more interesting media representations of historical issues.
Robert E. Lee and what Elizabeth Brown Pryor concludes about him, consider reading her Lincoln Prize-winning book Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters. Penguin, 2007.
Mark Twain during the Civil War, peruse "Mark Twain & the Civil War".
Sarah Morgan and her life during the Civil War, find a digitized copy of A Confederate Girl's Diary at "Documenting the American South".
People's views and experiences of the first year of the Civil War in their own words, check out The Civil War: The First Year Told by Those Who Lived It, edited by Brooks D. Simpson, Stephen W. Sears and Aaron Sheehan-Dean. The Library of America, 2011.
In the course of our discussion, I tried to clarify the Republican Party's position on slavery in the election of 1860. You might find helpful "The Road to War," which is an overview of political positions on slavery and the 1860 election. It contains an interesting discussion of the use of political cartoons in the 1860 election by pro-slavery and Democratic Party newspaper editors to present the Republican Party as "Black Republicans".
We also considered briefly Lincoln's personal and official position regarding slavery. Lincoln addresses this directly in the last line of his reply to Horace Greeley's "Prayer of the Twenty Millions." For the exchange of letters, see Civil War Home and Authorama.
I also mentioned that there has been a long-running debate among Civil War historians about Lincoln's views on race; it is often framed around the questions "Was Lincoln the Great Emancipator?" or "Did Lincoln Free the Slaves?" We will talk about all of this more thoroughly during our fifth discussion, "War and Freedom," scheduled for May 19th at 1:30 p.m.
One question that came up during our discussion on Sunday was about racial designations for people of African ancestry in the Civil War era. I recommend an interesting overview of racial categories in the U.S. censuses between 1850 and 1930 written by Jennifer L. Hochschild and Brenna M. Powell. In the 1850 census, three racial categories were used -- white, black, and mulatto. These three categories remained in place until the 1890 census, when enumerators received instructions "'to distinguish between blacks, mulattoes, quadroons, and octoroons. The word 'black' should be used to describe those persons who have three-fourths or more black blood; 'mulatto,' those persons who have from three-eighths to five-eighths black blood; 'quadroon,' those persons who have one-fourth black blood; and 'octoroon,' those persons who have one-eighth or any trace of black blood.'" Hochschild and Powell remark, "No instruction explained how to determine fractions of black blood." The additional 1890 classifications did not reappear in 1900 or in later censuses. See "Racial Reorganization and the United States Census 1850-1930: Mulattoes, Half-Breeds, Mixed Parentage, Hindoos, and the Mexican Race" Studies in American Political Development 22(1): 59-96.

Looking forward to our third discussion on the Battle of Shiloh on Wednesday, March 21st at 6:30 p.m.! In fact, Suzanne and I are so inspired by this, that we're taking a mini-Civil War Road Trip to visit the Shiloh, Corinth, and Franklin battlefields, cemeteries, and related historic sites. Watch for our updates in the Road Trip section of the blog.

Animated map of the Battle of Shiloh.

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT

2012-02-17T12:25:00.001-08:00

Making Sense of the American Civil War
“Choosing Sides” with readings from
America’s War: Talking About the American Civil War and Emancipation on their 150th Anniversaries, a new anthology edited by Edward L. Ayers
Posted by Suzanne Fisher

We held our second discussion session on February 12, Abraham Lincoln’s 203rd birthday.

Andrea brought maps showing the sectional divisions before and during the Civil War. The maps are ones previously used in the history department at Union College and are labeled “War Between the States.” Andrea said this shows how the way we view history changes.

The discussion revolved around several aspects of the theme “Choosing Sides.” One of the things people were choosing sides about was what would happen to the newly-acquired western territories and would slavery be allowed to expand there. Andrea pointed out the building of the transcontinental railroads and the importance of rivers, both of which moved people and goods westward. This expansion increased the polarization over the question of the expansion of slavery.

What are people choosing sides about in 1861?

1. Moral vs. natural nature of slavery
Frederick Douglass’s speech, “What to a slave is the Fourth of July” was delivered in 1852, two years after a series of laws (collectively called the Compromise of 1850) that reinforced the Fugitive Slave Law. At this time, free blacks have to carry documents to prove they are free; white people do not. Douglass is speaking to a largely white audience that is sympathetic to the cause of abolition and telling them it is hypocritical to celebrate freedom when so many are still in bondage. Douglass asks whether “the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?” (pages 24-25 of America’s War). The Fourth of July, he concludes, is not for black people.

Andrea gave background on the life of Frederick Douglass. He was born about 1818 in Maryland, a slave state at the time. He believed his owner was his father, and he did not feel attachment to his mother. His slave mistress originally thought it was desirable for him to learn to read, and so he was taught, but she later changed her mind. Once when he was going to be punished for refusing to do a task, he fought back. He escaped to New Bedford and worked as a caulker on the docks. He was not treated as an equal by white people. He was a dynamic speaker, adept at using rhetoric from religious sermons in his speeches.

Alexander Stephens gave his speech seven years later. His words show how he interprets the past and the natural order of things in a different way. You can have slavery and freedom at the same time, he asserts, because it is the natural order and the will of God for blacks to be subservient. Blacks are not equal to whites, he says, and therefore slavery is a natural and normal condition. Pro-slavery people like Stephens held that blacks were taught Christian ideals and that therefore slavery was a positive force in “civilizing” them.

Andrea pointed out that racism was also prevalent in the North. Only five Northern states allowed black men to vote, and some didn’t allow blacks to reside there (Illinois and Indiana). We hear a lot about the commitment of the abolitionists, but in fact only about 2% of whites held abolitionist views.

2. Moral choices
The theme of Henry David Thoreau’s speech in defense of John Brown is that actions count more than words. He describes Brown as a man of action and principles, while others are saying he is a terrorist. John Brown acted on what he believed, and unlike many anti-slavery proponents, he truly loved and respected black people as equal to whites. Thoreau is reminding listeners that John Brown embodies principles that others say they believe in, but he actually does something.

John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry came at a time when people were already on edge. Brown was not the only person who turned to violence. There were clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the Western territories, with violent acts by both sides.

3. Political choices
The election of 1860 was a four-way race. The majority chose Abraham Lincoln. In his first inaugural address, Lincoln advocates for keeping the status quo. He says he will not take away the property rights of Southerners. He is trying to keep the Union together. No one in government at this point is trying to end slavery where it exists.

However, Lincoln also says he will defend and supply federal property (meaning the forts). Lincoln is making it clear that the Southern states that have seceded are in violation of the Constitution. To Lincoln, secession is anarchy. He has a “patient confidence that justice will prevail.” Lincoln has taken an oath to defend the Constitution. Southern secessionists interpret the Constitution differently and assert that states have a right to leave.

Various compromises about slavery in the territories had been tried. Southerners wanted popular sovereignty to decide whether new states will be slave or free. Southern expansionists had an eye on Cuba, with a plan to make it a Southern slave state.

This clash of principles that came to a head in 1861. As Shelby Foote said, “They ran out of compromises.”

In response to a question about Lincoln’s views on slavery, Andrea said our perception of Lincoln as the emancipator comes from the Emancipation Proclamation, which is two years after the period we are talking about.

When did Lincoln change his mind about slavery? Andrea talked about Lincoln’s 1862 letter to Horace Greeley, in which he says “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union…” Andrea said that Lincoln’s stance has to do with the course of the war. In 1862 he uses his executive power to issue the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

As the war continues, Lincoln learns more about black people’s attitudes. He invites Frederick Douglass to the White House. There is a process he goes through that leads to the final Emancipation Proclamation.

The speeches by Robert Montague and Chapman Stuart represent the two opposing sides in Virginia’s 1861 convention to decide on secession. A majority of the delegates originally voted to stay in the Union, but a later vote went for secession. The speeches present the opposing arguments. Stuart’s “Speech for Remaining in the Union” says that slavery is right, but secession is not okay. In the minds of the delegates, the issue of secession is not about slavery at this point.

4. Diplomatic choices
Andrea talked about England, which did not want to get involved, even though they were economically linked to the South.

5. Personal choices
In the excerpt from Elizabeth Pryor’s book about Robert E. Lee, we learned that the Lee family, a very prominent one in Virginia, split over the war. Some family members were unionists. In fact, many military men from the South stayed with the Union.

We talked about how the United States was a young country in 1861, and about Lee’s notion of honor being linked with his concept of home, which was Virginia, not the United States. Lee became commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. His troops never left Virginia except to push north.

Lee had to think about what a nation is and how he conceived of what he is fighting for.

We talked about the choices civilians made, highlighted by Mark Twain’s semi-autobiographical humorous piece. In it, Twain claims he joined up as a Confederate soldier, but found that war was not for him. In fact, Twain did not choose a side; instead he went west to escape the conflict.

After the discussion we celebrated Lincoln’s birthday with a cake and punch and a reading of the Gettysburg Address.

2012-01-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

Hear Our Own Andrea Foroughi Interviewed on Civil War Talk Radio
Friday, January 27 at 3:00 p.m.

Click "January 2012" under "Episode Directory".

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT

2012-01-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

Making Sense of the American Civil War
"Imagining War" exploring March by Geraldine Brooks

Historical Figures in March and
U.S. Literacy Rates in 1860
Posted by Andrea Foroughi

Thank you to Suzanne for her summary of our first discussion!
[Suzanne's summary begins below.]

As promised, I am supplying additional information regarding the Alcotts and their reform-minded friends, "non-fictional" figures in March, a timeline for the events in the novel, and literacy rates for 1860.

Real People in March

First, I recommend the website for "Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women" (www.alcottfilm.com) for information on the author and her family. If you click on "Archival Picture Gallery" under Louisa May Alcott, you'll find a series of images, including those for Bronson Alcott (Mr. March), Abigail May Alcott (Marmee), and their four "little women." You'll also find an image of Reverend Samuel J. May, Abba's brother, and John Pratt, on whom the characters of Reverend Daniel Day and John Brooke, respectively, are based. Under "The Alcott Circle," you'll see the images of many of the non-fictional characters who lived in or visited Concord that were mentioned in March. A picture of the Union Hotel where Louisa May Alcott was a nurse also appears in this gallery.

Second, a list of the not-as-famous real people in March with the page number on which they first appear:

p. 64 Dr. [William E.] Channing: an American theologian and philosopher; his collected works filled five volumes in 1841.

p. 65 Hector Tyndale: was on garrison duty at Harper's Ferry in 1861; he later achieved the rank of general in the Union Army.

p. 66 Thomas Wentworth Higginson: a noted theologian and abolitionist; one of the "Secret Six" who supplied John Brown with funds for his war on slavery; served as a colonel in the 1st South Carolina Volunteers (later the 33rd U.S. Colored Troops).

p. 71 Benjamin Butler: appointed as a "political general" because he was a Democrat before the war; in May 1861, he declared three escaped slaves "contraband of war" and refused to return them to their master, who had come to claim them; this became the policy of the Union Army under the Confiscation Act of 1861, signed into law in August of that year.

p. 169-170 Frank Sanborn and Gerrit Smith: two of the "Secret Six" who supplied John Brown with funds for his "holy war." For more information on the Secret Six, see "The Trial of John Brown" or "John Brown's Holy War: American Experience".

p. 180 [Francis] Edwin Bigelow: an early abolitionist in Concord who participated in Shadrach Minkins' flight to Canada in 1851 in defiance of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

p. 204 Sister Mary Adela [Moran]: one of the Sister of the Holy Cross from Notre Dame who served on the Red Rover, a Union hospital ship. Geraldine Brooks took some liberties with this because the ship served in the Mississippi [River] Squadron of the U.S. Navy and wouldn't have conveyed Mr. March to Washington, D.C.

p. 227(named on p. 230) Cephas White: possibly Cephas A. White, a private in Company C of the 28th Virginia Infantry Regiment; that regiment fought in the Peninsula Campaign in the Army of Northern Virginia.

Timeline

Third, if you're interested in a timeline for the events in March, see CNY Reads.

U.S. Literacy Rates

And last, literacy rates for the free and slave states in 1860, from Ordeal by Fire by James McPherson (3rd ed., p. 28):

Free states: 94% of total population were literate; 72% of population aged 5-19 enrolled in school; average number of school days per year = 135

Slave states (incl. border states): 58% of total population were literate; 83% of total free population were literate; ~10% of slaves were literate; 35% of population aged 5-19 enrolled in school; average number of school days per year = 80

2012-01-20T11:54:00.000-08:00

Let’s Talk About It:
Making Sense of the American Civil War
"Imagining War" exploring March by Geraldine Brooks
Posted by Suzanne Fisher

DISCUSSION SUMMARY

Twenty-nine people attended the first session in our five-part reading and discussion series. I introduced Andrea Foroughi, Associate Professor of History at Union College in Schenectady, who will be facilitating the discussions.

It was a spirited conversation with many viewpoints expressed. In general, participants found the novel March, by Geraldine Brooks, contributed a feeling for the “civilian and military experiences – what it was like to live at that time,” and that “personal glimpses of events through the eyes of accessible characters" made the events more meaningful.

This post is based on some of what was said at the first session. This is not by any means a complete account of everything that was discussed. If you have other comments, or if I’ve missed something you think should be included, please click on “comment” at the end of the post to add your remarks.

Talking about the Civil War: Then and Now

Andrea referred to the passage in the essay by Edward Ayers in which he discusses how we interpret past events. “History," he states, “has roots in its own time as well as in the past.” One person pointed out that new information and new ways of looking at past events can uncover new perspectives. For the people who lived from 1861 to 1865, events of the war were occurring in real time. It was not history to them. With the passage of time later generations, including ours, interpret the same events differently.

"If we don’t try and know the past," one person asked, "how can we know where we are going?"

As we talk about the Civil War in 2012, “we are entering a conversation that is ongoing,” in Edward Ayers’ view. The perspective is always changing, and will continue to do so.

Andrea asked if the readings portrayed the history as we learned it in school. Edward Ayers thinks it probably is quite different. There have been shifts in the way we look back.

Communicating Events

Andrea pointed out that today we get news as it happens, through television, the internet and sources such as twitter. During the Civil War, the presence of the press was revolutionary, even though not everyone had immediate access to media reports. The soldiery were a lot more literate than in past wars. The literacy rate among those born in the United States was 95%, slightly lower in the South. Harper’s Weekly had a circulation of over 100,000 going into the war and had a large circulation in the South before the war.

Someone asked about news blackouts, and Andrea pointed out that the war reports in the North were not censored; there were only 2 or 3 instances when Lincoln tried to control what was published.

March

Andrea posed a question about whether it is limiting or brilliant to use a fictional character who interacts with real historical figures, as Brooks does in her novel. In March this device is effective, perhaps because March is based in part on Bronson Alcott, a real person.

“I am super-romantic about the 19th century,” Andrea said, “but in fact it was grim. There was a lot of death; there was inequality. In the novel Brooks tries to get the reader to not romanticize the period.”

Brooks employs multiple viewpoints to raise key historical questions.

Andrea asked what opinions people had about topics such as abolitionism and women’s rights before reading the book. The novel illustrates how ideals clashed with reality and pragmatism. John Brown was committed to freeing the slaves, but his methods were violent. In teaching the slave child to read, March ignores the negative consequences his “noble” action will have. His idealism conflicts with common sense.

Marmee was an ardent opponent of slavery and took risks to help black escapees, perhaps because that was a situation she could control. When she goes to Washington,the large numbers of black people in the city make her uncomfortable. “There are so many Negroes everywhere,” she laments. “ In Concord we are used to see but one or two colored citizens, carefully dressed and decorous in manner. But Washington is flooded by the ragged remnants of slavery…”

How can we know the reality of what went on in the war? March carefully edits his letters home to spare his family the horrors he is experiencing. Why then should we expect that soldiers wrote truthfully about their wartime experiences in their correspondence and journals? Andrea pointed out that it is precisely these documents, letters and accounts by soldiers, that historians use. Are they accurate accounts of events, or “stories?”

Behavior of the Soldiers

“War didn’t take place only on the battlefields,” Andrea pointed out, and in March there are many instances of bad behavior by soldiers on both sides. She said that the destruction caused to civilians and the land by Sherman’s March was not a new way of waging war. These methods were used in other 19th century wars, and before, such as in the Napoleonic Wars.

The scene in March in which Union soldiers trash some of the homes in Harpers Ferry is realistic. Andrea asked of the group how many were Northerners (almost everyone) and of these, how many thought the Union soldiers in the war were spotless heroes (no one).

John Brown – Hero or Terrorist?

Andrea asked whether the “real life” people who appear as characters in the book (Brown, Emerson, Thoreau, etc.) fit in with 19th century ways, or whether Brooks presents them from a 21st century perspective.

Someone pointed out that just as Emerson, Thoreau, and others spoke about freeing the slaves, not everyone with these enlightened views went to war, just as in the 20th century there were many people in the North who were advocates of extending civil rights to blacks, but did not put themselves on the line by going South. In every century there are people who live their ideals and other who just talk. This is a theme Brooks brings out in the novel.

African-Americans in the Novel

What is Grace’s role? She educates March to the realities of life in bondage. She represents integrity. She speaks to the experience of slavery. She is an important character because she is one black person March can have access to. Grace is strong, despite being one of the least powerful people in the book, but she is reserved rather than outspoken. Andrea pointed out that we live in a confessional time, but in the 19th century, times and behaviors were different, and Grace is a reflection of that.

Sacrifices

Men who went to war gave up their lives. What did women sacrifice? We discussed the scene in which March says publicly that he plans to sign up for the war. Marmee is raising her hands to implore him not to join, but he thinks she is cheering him on. Marmee and her children sacrificed much, even before the war.

This question led us to examine Louisa May Alcott’s journal entry.

Andrea asked whether Alcott self-edited, as March did in his letters home. For a 19th century diary, her account of hospital life is fairly graphic. Alcott was 30 and a pragmatic woman. As a woman, nursing was the closest she was going to get to the war. She comments that when she set off, “feeling as if I was the son of the house going to war.” She was swept up by “war fever.” “A solemn time,” she says, “but I’m glad to live in it…”

Many Stories Yet to Tell - Road Trip, December 2011

2011-12-19T15:34:00.000-08:00

December 19, 2011
Our road trip is over. Yesterday Andrea and I spent 13 hours on the road from Richmond, Virginia, to Albany, New York. We were reluctant to end our Civil War odyssey, so we added hours to the trip by making several stops along the way. Instead of heading straight north, we deviated to the west toward Winchester, stopping at the sites of the Battles of Spotsylvania and the Wilderness and driving through Culpepper and Front Royal. Once we left Virginia, we drove straight back, although it was difficult resisting the urge to stop at Antietam.

Stay tuned – we haven’t finished blogging about our trip. We have more episodes and observations to add.

Because we did not visit battle sites in the order in which the engagements took place, I’m including a list of those we saw and talk about in the blog in date order.

I took the dates from two excellent websites where you can find the stories of the battles described in detail.
National Park Service
Civil War Trust

Suzanne Fisher

Ball’s Bluff
October 21, 1861

Gaines Mill
June 27, 1862

Malvern Hill
July 1, 1862

Fredericksburg
December 11-15, 1862

Chancellorsville
April 30-May 6, 1863

Gettysburg
July 1-3, 1863

The Wilderness
May 5-7, 1864

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
May 8-21, 1864

Cold Harbor
May 31-June 12, 1864

Petersburg
June 15-18, 1864

The Crater
July 30, 1864

Sailor’s Creek
April 6, 1865

Battle of Appomattox Court House
April 9, 1865

"On to Richmond" Road Trip - December 10-17, 2011

2011-12-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

Andrea Foroughi, "Let's Talk About It" project scholar, and Suzanne Fisher, project director, take a Civil War road trip with the intention of visiting as many battlefields, sites and museums as possible in one week. Read about it in the "Road Trip" section of this blog.

Andrea Foroughi writes about “Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War” and about March by Geraldine

2011-12-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

In this first year of the 150th-anniversary of the American Civil War, I have been in Civil War mode for the past six months. Last spring, Suzanne Fisher contacted me about serving as the local scholar to help facilitate discussions for a grant-supported program about the Civil War at Voorheesville Library. I was very pleased to learn that Voorheesville was one of 65 libraries around the nation to be awarded the grant for "Let's Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War." In October, Suzanne and I attended a training session hosted by the American Library Association and National Endowment for the Humanities in Chicago. We met Edward Ayers, President of the University of Richmond, who selected and organized the readings for the discussion series. What a great opportunity to learn from the author/editor directly about his reading selections and goals for "Making Sense of the American Civil War"!

Over the same six months, I co-curated an exhibit at the Mandeville Gallery in the Nott Memorial at Union College, on display from October 6 through November 27. Titled "Illustrating the War: Selected Engravings from Harper's Weekly and Leslie's Illustrated Civil War," the show featured over 50 prints and some reproductions of correspondent-artists sketches, with accompanying labels written by myself, a Union student and the interim director of the gallery. During the fall trimester, I taught two Civil War-focused courses at Union College.

My busy Civil War autumn is culminating on a high note. On Sunday, December 5th, I watched "Little Women" (1994) with other library patrons, who were taking advantage of the library's Civil War film series. I must confess that Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women (first published as two separate books in 1868 and 1869), is one of my favorite American authors and this film version of her novel is my favorite of the three that have been made, although Katherine Hepburn's portrayal of Jo March in the 1933 version is inspired. Beyond my personal enjoyment of Alcott's semi-autobiographical story of four sisters coming of age in New England during and after the Civil War, the film is timely as a jumping off point for the first set of readings in the "Making Sense of the Civil War" series.

For the January 17th discussion, "Imagining War," we are reading March (2005), a novel by Geraldine Brooks, and selections from Louisa May Alcott's Hospital Sketches (1863). In Little Women, Mr. March is away at war through much of the first half of the book and movie. Over the course of the novel, we do learn that he helped Marmee, his wife, manage her temper when she was younger; lost the family's money in a transaction with a friend before the war; was serving as an army chaplain, became ill, and returned home; and held strong convictions about abolition, temperance, education, and moral goodness. But who was Mr. March? Brooks decided to probe and flesh out Mr. March, not only as a character but also his moral character as a man whose beliefs and behavior are sometimes at odds; in doing so, Brooks explores how one year of war (Fall 1861-Fall 1862) affected Mr. March and his relationship with his family. I look forward to discussing March and Alcott's Hospital Sketches with those of you who have signed up for the January 17th discussion, and I encourage you to read (or re-read Little Women or watch the film as a way to more fully appreciate March and imagine the war.
Andrea Foroughi