Civil War Memory

Robert E. Lee: "The Pride of the South"

[Hat-Tip to Mark Benbow, who passed along this article from the Sept-Oct, 1996 issue of the American Breweriana]

A few weeks back I shared an image of Robert E. Lee which was used by the J.W. Kelley Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee to market its Deep Spring Whiskey.  The whiskey was sold between 1903 and 1915.  Lee's image, as well as other high-ranking former Confederates, were used to sell a wide range of products throughout the postwar period.   Immediately following the repeal of prohibition the Seitz Brewing Company of Easton, Pennyslvania began marketing Dixie Beer which featured Lee astride Traveler.  Out of concern that few people in Pennsylvania would be interested in drinking such a  beer the company decided to market their product through a distributing company in North Carolina called  Southern Breweries, Inc.

Shortly thereafter a letter was sent to Seitz from the Virginia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy expressing disapproval over the use of the Lee's image:  "His name is too sacred for us to allow this without hearty disapproval.  Because he is enshrined in our hearts as the 'Pride of the South' The Division requests that his label be withdrawn."  They chose to comply.  It's unfortunate that more information is not available from the article, but it does reveal the extent to which the U.D.C. went to control public consumption of Lost Cause icons.  It is impossible to know whether the U.D.C. was concerned that Lee was being used to sell alcohol or that it was being done by a northern company.  After all they apparently had no issue with a southern company using Lee's name and image to sell whiskey.  It's an interesting story given our tendency to focus on the steps the U.D.C. took to control the content of school primers and other publications about the Civil War and the "Old South." 

American Experience Takes on Robert E. Lee

Many of you will be pleased to learn that Robert E. Lee will be the subject of an upcoming documentary for the American Experience series.  The episode is at least a year off, but I've had two telephone conversations with the director over the past few months.  Our discussions have centered on how Americans have chosen to remember Lee as well as broader issues related to Civil War memory.  It's reassuring to know that important issues related to Lee and historical memory will be addressed in this episode.  Based on the quality of our conversations it looks like this is going to be a nice addition to what has become a very valuable series of history documentaries.  Stay tuned for updates. 

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.

Using Ken Burns's "The Civil War" in the Classroom

This talk was presented today in Philadelphia at the 2008 Meeting of the Society of Civil War Historians.  The panel was titled, "Gearing Up For the Civil War Sesquicentennial in the High School Classroom" and included, James Percoco, Ronald Maggiano, and Andy Slap. 

When it aired in 1989 Ken Burns’s epic documentary about America’s Civil War garnered the largest audience in PBS history. Viewers who had little interest or knowledge of the Civil War were attracted to the powerful images and sounds as well as the narration by David McCullough and commentary by Shelby Foote - the combination of which served to introduce a heroic and tragic story to a national audience. While historians have spent considerable time analyzing Burns’s documentary as historical interpretation, little attention has been given to the ways in which the film can be utilized in history courses on the high school level.¹  All too often the film is used as a launching pad to other classroom activities or simply shown with little student preparation; such an approach renders students as passive observers rather than engaging them in trying to better understand the choices that went into the film’s script along with how the various elements come together to tell a coherent story.²   More importantly, students fail to see the film itself as a product of long-standing assumptions about the war that are embedded in our popular imagination and often guarded as sacred.  The beginning of the Civil War Sesquicentennial in 2011 will provide a unique opportunity to introduce questions of memory and interpretation in our high school history classes.  In the time that I have today I would like to talk briefly about how I engage my students with questions of memory and interpretation through a careful viewing of Burns’s The Civil War. 

Jim Webb Is No Historian (but so what)

The Politico has a feature on Senator Jim Webb's Confederate Heritage roots that is worth reading.  I guess this is what happens when you become a potential vice-presidential candidate.  There is nothing particularly new in terms of the views expressed or for those who are familiar with Webb's heritage studies.  We learn that Webb admires Robert E. Lee and has some choice words for those who would besmirch his good name:

The venerable Robert E. Lee has taken some vicious hits, as dishonest or misinformed advocates among political interest groups and in academia attempt to twist yesterday’s America into a fantasy that might better service the political issues of today.... The greatest disservice on this count has been the attempt by these revisionist politicians and academics to defame the entire Confederate Army in a move that can only be termed the Nazification of the Confederacy.

And it wouldn't be complete without the standard account justifying secession:

The states that had joined the Union after the Revolution considered themselves independent political entities, much like the countries of Europe do today.... The 10th Amendment to the Constitution reserved to the states all rights not specially granted to the federal government, and in their view the states had thus retained their right to dissolve the federal relationship

Yada, Yada, Yada, Yada... O.K...I get it.  There is nothing surprising about such views as they are the standard stock phrases that emanate from certain quarters.  The website also tried to make political hay out of a 1990 speech that Webb presented at the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.  Again, there is nothing surprising in it:

And so I am here, with you today, to remember. And to honor an army that rose like a sudden wind out of the little towns and scattered farms of a yet unconquered wilderness. That drew 750,000 soldiers from a population base of only five million-less than the current population of Virginia alone. That fought with squirrel rifles and cold steel against a much larger and more modern force. That saw 60 percent of its soldiers become casualties, some 256,000 of them dead. That gave every ounce of courage and loyalty to a leadership it trusted and respected, and then laid down its arms in an instant when that leadership decided that enough was enough. That returned to a devastated land and a military occupation. That endured the bitter humiliation of Reconstruction and an economic alienation from the rest of this nation which continued for fully a century, affecting white and black alike.

Open up Webb's high school history text and I guarantee that you will find a sentence that reflects his referencing of Reconstruction as "bitter humiliation".  As in the case with his earlier comments they are standard stock.  It's ashame that Webb reduces further inquiry as stemming from nefarious motives.  I assume Webb is an intelligent man; what does he see when he looks closely at the Confederate Memorial's friezes?  Is this really just a monument to the common Confederate soldier? Is there really nothing more to think about given that it was Woodrow Wilson who addressed the audience at the unveiling of the monument in 1914 and who ordered federal office buildings to segregate employees along racial lines.

We could allow Politico to suck us into a silly debate about Webb's views on history, but I am not going to make too much about the fact that he is not a historian and has little to teach me about how we as Americans remember the past.  To tell you the truth, I am much more interested in his proposed legislation that would offer full college tuition to those military personnel who serve three years and which is being resisted by the Bush administration and other Republicans in Congress. 

"I Am Heritage, Not Hate"

Just in case you couldn't make the annual Gathering of Eagles event in Winchester, here is a preview with our favorite black Confederate, H.K. Edgerton.  By the way, Pickett's Gamecocks "are specifically recruiting African-Americans interested in black Confederate or civilian portrayals."  I assume by civilian, they mean slave portrayals.  This year participants will debate the legality of secession.  Here is a description of the event:

The "Civil War Gathering of Eagles" is an educational event brought to life by living historians from across the country. The Civil War personas, discuss the events of the war brought to life through their first person portrayals.  Issues discussed during this two and a half day event range from the tactics used to the causes of the War and the occasional heated discussion concerning the legality of secession based on the Constitution and other sources used by our Founding Fathers to establish the "united States of America". (1)

Why the footnote, you ask?  Well, they want to make sure you know that "united States of America is a direct quote taken from the Declaration of Independance. [sic]"   Sounds like a real whoot. 

"Deep Spring Tennessee Whiskey, 1903-1915"

Did Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson Subscribe to the Theory of Evolution?

My guess is that the good people at Exploration Films Television probably don't think so.  They make films and documentaries for a Christian audience:

EFT believes that life is a wonderful discovery and they serve those who are willing to embrace life to the fullest... those who are curious, risky and insightful... people who love truth: true thinking, true ideas and true facts. EFT's powerful, high-quality stories are some of the most unique around. Some of its titles include Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution, a three-volume series that exposes the lies and assumptions of evolutionary theory; Warriors of Honor, a look at the life and faith of two of America's legendary generals Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson; First Love, an historic reunion of Jesus-Music pioneers; and Rebellion of Thought, a chronicle of two brothers and their heart-rending struggle for authentic faith in a post-modern culture.

I assume that Lee and Jackson are two of the "Incredible Creatures" that we can watch in the documentary challenging the theory of evolution.  After all, Lee and Jackson are the paradigm examples in favor of Intelligent Design since it is impossible to imagine that they were both simply the result of some kind of accident within the primordial soup.  More telling, however, is the listing of the Lee and Jackson film smack in the middle of two films that point to the dangers of a secular world. It gets us right back to my previous post which pointed out that we are wedded to an image of the Confederacy as defying the modern tendencies of the North during the war.  It's the standard ahistorical distinction that we've grown accustomed to and which provides the moral framework for understanding the war that a large number of people continue to utilize.  This is a wonderful example of the ways in which history can get sucked into the culture wars: on the one side we have Lee, Jackson, God, and morality and on the other we find Grant, Sherman, atheism, and pragmatism.  For a sense of just how pervasive these assumptions surrounding Lee and Jackson are, keep in mind that EFT is based in Colorado and not in the South. 

Demobilization, Reconciliation, and Johnny Yuma

About two weeks ago I shared my very rough introduction to my essay on the demobilization of the Army of Northern Virginia. I took on this project with few prior assumptions about what I would find.  Problems abound in trying to track down sources from the period immediately following Appomattox.  Few soldiers had the time or the interest in cataloging their journeys home.  Most surprising of all was the level of violence that pervaded sections of Virginia, specifically along the Blue Ridge Mountains where those Confederates who deserted during the war continued to hide.  Others headed for the hills in hopes that elements of the ANV would regroup and continue the struggle.  The sudden surrender and dispersement of the ANV taxed an already depleted landscape and placed those civilians living in close proximity to roads in a precarious situation.  Competition for limited resources inevitably led to clashes between soldiers, civilians, and the newly-freed slaves.  Couple that with the humiliation of defeat and a sense of uncertainty regarding the future and you've got yourself a potentially explosive situation.  Many of the soldiers learned of Lincoln's assassination during their travels and this only added to that uncertainty.  I was surprised by how many Confederates viewed the president's death as a loss for the South.  A farmer in Nelson County anticipated much harsher punishment for former Confederates under the new president, Andrew Johnson, while others could only speculate as to how they would be treated.

What Is Lee Thinking?

I appreciate the recent comments on memory and R.E. Lee  as I am working to complete an essay on how the Civil War, and the Confederacy in particular, is taught to high school students around the world.  The spectrum is broad and there were a few surprises along the way.  Discussing with students how their peers in other countries learn American history helps to bring important interpretive themes into sharper focus and makes it easier to see them as assumptions worth analyzing. 

How about one final image.  This one is titled "The Christian General" by William A. Maughan.  You will be sad to hear that the limited edition print is SOLD OUT.  I've said it over and over, but it is worth repeating, that you can't imagine a painting which depicts Grant or Sherman reading from the "Good Book" to an innocent child.  I can't help but wonder what is on Lee's mind as he stares beyond the pages of the Bible.  What do you think?