Civil War Memory

Why Did R.E. Lee Have to Be Born So Far Out of the Way?

As I mentioned earlier, Michaela and I stopped off at Stratford Hall for a quick tour of the plantation on our way home from vacation.  We arrived at 3pm which gave us little time to stroll around the grounds before the start of the final tour of the day at 4pm.  We were only able to spend a few minutes in the museum but I noticed a wide range of exhibits that covered both the Lee family and the history of the estate following its sale in the 1820s and through the establishment of the R.E. Lee Memorial Foundation and later the R.E. Lee Memorial Association.  The grounds are quite beautiful and on a clear day you can see the Potomac River from the house.  The tour itself, however, was a bit of a disappointment.  Visitors are taken through the various rooms and vivid descriptions of various objects are shared as well as short overview of the more prominent members of the Lee family, but there is a minimum amount of information shared concerning life at the plantation.   While our guide did a competent job there was very little analysis to give visitors a deeper understanding of how plantations functioned on the Northern Neck.  At one point she commented that the building of the house was a team effort between the Lee's and their slaves.  I'm not sure this is the most accurate way of describing the relationship between slaves and the family that owned them. I should point out that there is an ongoing effort to piece together a more complete story of Stratford Hall which is somewhat hampered by a lack of documentary evidence.

That said, I liked the fact that the tour did not focus on R.E. Lee alone; after all, Stratford Hall served as his home only for a brief period of time.  This makes for an interesting challenge.  On the one hand most people, including yours truly, travel to the plantation because of R.E. Lee, yet the property has little to do with him.  On a somewhat related note, I noticed in the gift shop that while you could purchase an America flag there were no Confederate flags for sale other than a few items such as the hat that I am pictured wearing.  My wife suggested that it would have been inappropriate to sell such an item given that the house has nothing to do with Confederate history.  What do you think?

Interestingly, at one point our guide commented on the changing face of the Stratford Hall staff.  She jokingly said that a few years ago the directors all had white hair, while in recent years they are much younger.  I had to laugh when I heard this as I just met the new Executive Director, Paul C. Reber, at the recent meeting of the Society for Civil War Historians.  Paul discussed the challenges of doing public history in the 21st century.  Later that day I had a chance to talk with Paul and it is clear to me that a number of changes concerning interpretation at Stratford Hall are forthcoming.  Paul has some very interesting ideas about exhibits and interpretation.  One of the more interesting opportunities for interpretation at Stratford concerns the infamous cradle, which until recently was thought to be the R.E. Lee's.  The object was reason enough for many to visit Stratford Hall given its supposed iconic value.  When it was discovered that the cradle could not possibly be Lee's the family that loaned it to Stratford requested to have it returned.  Paul suggested that it would be interesting to do an exhibit on the history of the object throughout its different phases from sacred to ordinary object.  I agree.

What I find most interesting about the history of the site is the story surrounding Mary Field Lanier who helped create the R.E. Lee Memorial Association in 1929.  The organization assumed ownership of the property to turn it into an "ENDURING TESTIMONIAL TO THE STAINLESS LIFE AND GLORIOUS SERVICES OF OUR DEPARTED GENERAL." Lanier was the President of the William Alexander, Jr. Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Greenwich, Connecticut, which I also find interesting.  There is a library at Stratford Hall and I've already inquired into the possibility of doing some research on the subject, perhaps for next summer. 

Of course, Stratford Hall is a bit out of the way, but if you happen to be on the Northern Neck of Virginia do yourself a favor and visit this beautiful site.

American Civil War Center to Make Decision About Davis-Limber Statue in August

The most recent news suggests that the American Civil War Center at Tredegar will make a decision about the proposed monument to Jefferson Davis and Jim Limber by the Sons of Confederate Veterans in August.  I will keep you up-to-date as best I can, but my guess is that this statue doesn't have a chance.  See previous posts, here and here.  The SCV's problem is that they are dealing with serious historians who also understand historical memory.

Jefferson Davis and Jim Limber: A Response to Richard Williams

Fellow Civil War blogger and author, Richard Williams, seems bewildered by some of the responses to the proposed statue of Jefferson Davis and Jim Limber by the SCV in Richmond.  [Read the Richmond.com article here.] It's impossible to know which academics he is referring to, but no doubt he read my earlier post on the subject, which included a number of objections.  Williams's objections are all over the place and for the most part make little sense.  First, let's dispense with his whining about the legality of the Lincoln-Tad statue.  Williams is indeed correct in pointing out that the organization responsible for the statue is having some difficulties with the IRS and have recently lost their status as a tax-exempt organization.  I'm not sure why this is important, but let's admit it and move on.

Second, Williams refers to the Museum of the Confederacy's year-long program to commemorate the life of Jefferson Davis.  No doubt, the MOC should be engaged in such programs and I only wish that other organizations were able to muster the resources and interest to mark the bicentennial of Davis's birth.  That said, it is not the case that the MOC is "celebrating" Davis's life as Williams points out.  Anyone who visits the MOC knows all too well that their mission is to present exhibits and public presentations which reflect the best in Civil War scholarship.  Their line-up for a recent symposium on Davis's life included, William Cooper, Joan Cashin, William C. Davis, and Donald Collins.  I've read all of their books on Davis and Mrs. Davis and I can state with confidence that they are not engaged in celebrating.  Again, it is hard to know what this has to do with a proposed monument to Davis at Tredegar.  Finally, Williams suggests that Gary Casteel, who has been hired to sculpt the statue, is a sufficient reason to approve the final product.  Williams is "confident [that Casteel] will produce a beautiful and historically accurate statue.

Not once does Williams comment on the design.  I have absolutely no problem with another statue of Davis in Richmond; the question, however, is whether this particular design, which acknowledges Davis's relationship with Jim Limber, is appropriate.  [Background on this story can be found here.]  I am willing to grant that everything in that story is true, though Davis scholars have noted that some of the details are sketchy. 

The question that I would like Williams to address is whether he believes that a statue depicting Davis holding hands with his adopted black child reflects his broader views on race.  I understand that race relations were incredibly complex in the antebellum and wartime South, and it is important to understand the context and background for this particular decision on the part of the Davis family.  I wonder, however, whether this is the best way to proceed since so little has been written about this incident.  What do you think Mr. Williams?  More to the point: What message does Williams believe that visitors with little background in American history will walk away with?  Does Williams and the SCV believe that this statue reflects Davis's overall beliefs about race?  Will visitors know that Davis was a large slaveowner, president of a government whose expressed purpose was the preservation of slavery, and that he remained committed to a racial hierarchy to the end of his life?  Does the SCV plan to include some kind of plaque that will assist visitors in their attempt to understand this statue?

As I stated in the earlier post, it is easy to see what is behind this particular statue.  The SCV is engaged in a conscious effort to distort the history of the South and the Confederacy to a point where issues of slavery and race are moved to the background.  Their world is inhabited by friendly slaveowners and loyal black slaves and soldiers.  This self-gratifying view of the past comes at a heavy price, however. 

One wonders what Jim Limber or one of Davis's own slaves would think of such a statue.  Unfortunately, in the hazy world of the SCV such questions have little weight.

Congratulations to Paul Levengood...

 who has been named as the new chief executive officer at the Virginia Historical Society.  I had the good fortune of working closely with Paul a few years ago when he was managing editor of the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography.  The search committee has made an excellent choice and I wish Paul all the best.

Lee and Grant: An Exhibit

I will discuss my day on the Petersburg-Richmond battlefields yesterday at some point soon, but for now I want to encourage those of you in the Richmond area to see the Lee and Grant exhibit at the Virginia Historical Society.  It has got to be one of the most visually stimulating Civil War exhibits that I've seen in some time.  The narrative takes Lee and Grant from their antebellum years through the Civil War and into the postwar years and reconciliation.  The text is informative and places the various images and artifacts, including their uniforms, in their proper context. 

After closing at the VHS on March 31, 2008, Lee and Grant travels to the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis (May 17, 2008–September 7, 2008); the New-York Historical Society in New York City (October 17, 2008–March 29, 2009); the Museum of Southern History in Houston (May 23, 2009–September 20, 2009); and the Atlanta History Center (November 7, 2009–February 28, 2010).

Do yourself a favor and see it before it leaves the VHS and if you are in any of these other areas set aside a few hours to see it.  I would also encourage purchasing the exhibit book.

Lincoln Museum Scheduled to Close in June

I am sorry to hear that the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana has decided to close its doors this coming June. 

The local museum faced the same struggles many non-profit historical museums face as tight finances force schools to reduce field trips. Plus, the museums face competition from other education venues that offer interactive displays.  In 1996, about 12,000 children visited the museum, [Priscilla] Brown [vice president and chief brand officer for Lincoln Financial Group] said. In 2006, the number had dropped to 7,500.  Overall yearly attendance at the museum is about 40,000, Brown said. Museums in larger cities often boast six-figure attendance figures.

Given the content of the article it is difficult to believe that the decision was not made for financial reasons.  Read the article here.

American Civil War Center at Tredegar Announces New Director of Education

I am pleased to see that the American Civil War Center has been able to find a new director of education.  The staff is passionate about its mission and committed to bringing the museum to a national audience.  Howell has a diverse background that bridges both an interest in scholarly and public history, which is just what the museum needs.  Hopefully an announcement for the position of Executive Director is not too far in the future.  Here is the official announcement:

RICHMOND, Va. – The Board of Directors of The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar is pleased to announce the addition of Mark Howell as director of education.

Howell has worked in the museum field since graduating from the College of William and Mary in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts in Colonial American Studies. He earned his Master of Arts in American Studies in 1994 from the same institution.  He worked for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for more than 20 years, serving in capacities as varied as bookbinder, staff trainer, dancer, artilleryman, and director of program planning.

Mark was most recently the president of Howell Consulting where he served the museum industry since 2002. His clients ranged from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s newest acquisition, Villa Finale in San Antonio, to Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage in Nashville. Locally, he has served as a consultant for Maymont, Historic Polegreen Church Foundation, and Heritage and History of Hanover County, Inc.

Howell will be responsible for developing and implementing the Center’s school and public programming as well as educational outreach initiatives, including digital and web-based projects. “We are glad to have Mark join our staff and are eager to work with Mark to spread the Center’s mission and to launch the new Digital History Website,” said Adam Scher, the Center’s interim director and vice president of operations.  The website is designed for teachers and curriculum specialists and has been designed in partnership with the University of Virginia Center for Digital History.

Through the education department, the Center served more than 6,300 students during its inaugural year 2006-2007 including a summer institute for teachers sponsored by New York’s Gilder Lehrman Institute.  Howell is also an active participant in the museum and history fields, having served on the council of the Virginia Association of Museums and as chair of the National Awards Committee for the American Association for State and Local History. He and his wife, Katherine, reside in Williamsburg.

An Overlooked Civil War Memory Study

Somehow I overlooked Thomas Brown's The Public Art of Civil War Commemoration for my proposed course on Civil War memory.  The book is part of Bedford/St. Martin's "The Bedford Series in History and Culture" which covers a broad range of subjects in American history.  The nice thing about these books is their length which makes them ideal for classroom use.  The chapters are short and include an excellent selection of primary sources.  Thomas Brown's book will be perfect for my course as it includes chapters on Civil War soldiers, Lincoln, Lee, the 54th Massachusetts, and women.  The primary sources include inscriptions, paintings, statues, monument designs as well as public addresses and two perspectives on the public display of the Confederate flag.  The book will also be very helpful in preparation for day-long trips through Charlottesville and Richmond, which will include stops along Monument Avenue and Hollywood Cemetery.  This is going to be an awesome class.

New Course: Civil War Memory

It's that time of the year again when I have to decide what courses to teach next fall.  We are moving to a trimester schedule which will present a number of challenges relating to the amount of material which can be covered.  I thought about teaching the Lincoln course once again, but decided against it given the number of students who will have already read William Gienapp's biography in the survey course.  I also played around with a course centered on the history of children, which would use Steven Mintz's Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood.  In the end I decided on a survey course on the Civil War in the first trimester and a course on memory in the second.  Students will be encouraged to register for both classes and should prove to be quite an experience given the amount and range of material which can be covered between the two courses.  Keep in mind that this is a rough description and outline.  Feel free to offer suggestions and remember that this is an elective for high school students.

Course Description for Civil War Memory

“The Civil War is our felt history—history lived in the national imagination” wrote Robert Penn Warren in 1961.  Indeed the Civil War occupies a prominent place in our national memory and has served to both unite and divide Americans.   This course will explore the various ways in which Americans have chosen to remember their civil war through literature, monuments and memorials, histories, film, art, as well as other forms of popular culture.  We will examine how memory of the war changed over time as well as the political implications for Civil War memory.  Specific subjects to be addressed include the role of reunion and reconciliation in shaping memory of the war, the place of slavery in our national narratives of the war, public disputes over the display of the Confederate flag, changing perceptions of such notable figures as Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and “Stonewall” Jackson, as well as other controversies surrounding the way in which the war has been remembered in public spaces.  We will pay particular attention to the way in which the war has been remembered and commemorated here in Charlottesville in such places as the Confederate cemetery at the University of Virginia, Lee and Jackson Park, and Courthouse Square.  Additional field trips may include the Museum of the Confederacy, American Civil War Center at Tredegar, and Hollywood Cemetery – all in Richmond, Virginia.  Students are encouraged to take the Civil War course, which will be offered in the first trimester.

Texts:

Robert Penn Warren, The Legacy of the Civil War (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, reprint, 1998).

David W. Blight, Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001).

Gary W. Gallagher, Causes Won, Lost & Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know About the Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008).

Thomas J. Brown, The Public Art of Civil War Commemoration: A Brief History With Documents (Boston: Bedford-St. Martin's, 2004).

[Additional readings will be made available by the instructor.]

Outline [very rough]:

Week 1: Early commemorations and Reconstruction
Week 2: Competing Memories of the War
Week 3: The Soldiers' Memory
Week 4: Americans Remember Lee, Jackson, Lincoln and Grant
Week 5: Black Americans Remember in the Jim Crow Era
Week 6: Reconciliation and Reunion at Gettysburg
Week 7: The Civil Rights Movement and Civil War Centennial
Week 8: The Civil War in Film
Week 9: The Civil War in Art and Reenacting
Week 10: Displaying the Confederate flag and other public controversies

Three WHITE Teens Arrested For Vandalizing Confederate Statue in Montgomery: (Is this still a hate crime?)

A few weeks ago I commented on the assumptions being made about the individual[s] responsible for painting a Confederate statue in Montgomery, Alabama in black-face.  Not surprisingly, editorials made it clear that many assumed the perpetrators must be black given the details of the defacement.  Here is what I stated in that earlier post:

On the other hand, what both statements have in common is the implicit assumption that the perpetrators are black.  Now if I were a betting man I probably would agree, but it is worth asking whether that assumption tells us more about ourselves than anything about this particular crime.  It could very well be white southerners that are responsible for this incident, and it may also be the case that they are making the very same point that might motivate black southerners.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans offered a reward for any tips that may lead to an arrest and apparently it paid off.  Assuming this leads to charges and a conviction I will be interested to see if anyone takes the opportunity to comment on the racial component of this incident.  I am curious as to how the Sons of Confederate Veterans, specifically, will attempt to explain the motivation of these young white men. Perhaps they can schedule H.K. Edgerton for a series of public talks and visits to local public schools.  Meanwhile, the restoration of the monument continues.