|
Showing 1 - 5 of
5 matches in All Departments
Public historians working at museums and historic sites focused on
the Civil War era are tasked with interpreting a period of history
that remains deeply controversial. Many visitors have strong
connections to historic sites such as battlefields and artifacts as
well as harbor strong convictions about the cause of the war, its
consequences and the importance of slavery. Interpreting the Civil
War at Museums and Historic Sites surveys how museums and historic
sites approached these challenges and others during the Civil War
sesquicentennial (2011-2015). In doing so, this book offers museums
and history professionals strategies to help shape conversations
with local communities, develop exhibits and train interpreters.
With the ongoing controversy surrounding the display of the
Confederate battle flag and monuments, there has never been a more
opportune moment to look critically at how the Civil War has been
interpreted and why it continues to matter to so many Americans.
Each chapter is written by a professional public historian
currently working at a museum or historic site. They cover topics
such as: *Building relations with the public *How specific museums
interpreted the war and overcame challenges of location, audience,
funding *How the National Park Service and Georgia Historical
Society approached commemorating important anniversaries
Public historians working at museums and historic sites focused on
the Civil War era are tasked with interpreting a period of history
that remains deeply controversial. Many visitors have strong
connections to historic sites such as battlefields and artifacts as
well as harbor strong convictions about the cause of the war, its
consequences and the importance of slavery. Interpreting the Civil
War at Museums and Historic Sites surveys how museums and historic
sites approached these challenges and others during the Civil War
sesquicentennial (2011-2015). In doing so, this book offers museums
and history professionals strategies to help shape conversations
with local communities, develop exhibits and train interpreters.
With the ongoing controversy surrounding the display of the
Confederate battle flag and monuments, there has never been a more
opportune moment to look critically at how the Civil War has been
interpreted and why it continues to matter to so many Americans.
Each chapter is written by a professional public historian
currently working at a museum or historic site. They cover topics
such as: *Building relations with the public *How specific museums
interpreted the war and overcame challenges of location, audience,
funding *How the National Park Service and Georgia Historical
Society approached commemorating important anniversaries
More than 150 years after the end of the Civil War, scores of
websites, articles, and organizations repeat claims that anywhere
between 500 and 100,000 free and enslaved African Americans fought
willingly as soldiers in the Confederate army. But as Kevin M.
Levin argues in this carefully researched book, such claims would
have shocked anyone who served in the army during the war itself.
Levin explains that imprecise contemporary accounts, poorly
understood primary-source material, and other misrepresentations
helped fuel the rise of the black Confederate myth. Moreover, Levin
shows that belief in the existence of black Confederate soldiers
largely originated in the 1970s, a period that witnessed both a
significant shift in how Americans remembered the Civil War and a
rising backlash against African Americans' gains in civil rights
and other realms. Levin also investigates the roles that African
Americans actually performed in the Confederate army, including
personal body servants and forced laborers. He demonstrates that
regardless of the dangers these men faced in camp, on the march,
and on the battlefield, their legal status remained unchanged. Even
long after the guns fell silent, Confederate veterans and other
writers remembered these men as former slaves and not as soldiers,
an important reminder that how the war is remembered often runs
counter to history.
The battle of the Crater is known as one of the Civil War's
bloodiest struggles -- a Union loss with combined casualties of
5,000, many of whom were members of the United States Colored
Troops (USCT) under Union Brigadier General Edward Ferrero. The
battle was a violent clash of forces as Confederate soldiers fought
for the first time against African American soldiers. After the
Union lost the battle, these black soldiers were captured and
subject both to extensive abuse and the threat of being returned to
slavery in the South. Yet, despite their heroism and sacrifice,
these men are often overlooked in public memory of the war. In
Remembering The Battle of the Crater: War is Murder, Kevin M. Levin
addresses the shared recollection of a battle that epitomizes the
way Americans have chosen to remember, or in many cases forget, the
presence of the USCT. The volume analyzes how the racial component
of the war's history was portrayed at various points during the 140
years following its conclusion, illuminating the social changes and
challenges experienced by the nation as a whole. Remembering The
Battle of the Crater gives the members of the USCT a newfound voice
in history.
The battle of the Crater is known as one of the Civil War's
bloodiest struggles -- a Union loss with combined casualties of
5,000, many of whom were members of the United States Colored
Troops (USCT) under Union Brigadier General Edward Ferrero. The
battle was a violent clash of forces as Confederate soldiers fought
for the first time against African American soldiers. After the
Union lost the battle, these black soldiers were captured and
subject both to extensive abuse and the threat of being returned to
slavery in the South. Yet, despite their heroism and sacrifice,
these men are often overlooked in public memory of the war. In
Remembering The Battle of the Crater: War is Murder, Kevin M. Levin
addresses the shared recollection of a battle that epitomizes the
way Americans have chosen to remember, or in many cases forget, the
presence of the USCT. The volume analyzes how the racial component
of the war's history was portrayed at various points during the 140
years following its conclusion, illuminating the social changes and
challenges experienced by the nation as a whole. Remembering The
Battle of the Crater gives the members of the USCT a newfound voice
in history.
|
|