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Brian (Bryan) Farm House, Gettysburg

Walking with Enslaved and Enslavers at Pickett’s Charge (and Retreat)

Today, it’s still nearly impossible to see the Black people whose presence, tramped down for a century and a half, is why this commemorative landscape exists.

Ground Zero: The Gettysburg National Military Park, July 4, 2020

157 years after the famous battle, Gettysburg endured another invasion.
Paul Philippoteaux's cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg depicting the Union and Confederate armies fighting.

The Great Illusion of Gettysburg

How a re-creation of its most famous battle helped erase the meaning of the Civil War.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Chamberlain’s War

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is remarkable not only for his sacrifices on behalf of the Union, but also for the moral imagination that inspired him.
The Geologic Time Spiral showing different periods over millions of years.

Deep Time and the Civil War Dead

The Civil War's vast death toll joined Earth's deep time story, magnifying its meaning as part of God's creative acts across eons.
The Virginia monument, an equestrian statue on a pedestal with solders at its base.

The Contested Origins of Gettysburg’s Virginia Monument

Jon Tracey discusses the history of the creation of the Gettysburg Virginia Monument and the true reason it was erected.
President Biden visits Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on April 14.
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The History Shaping Memorial Services For Fallen Service Members

The way we commemorate those who have made the ultimate sacrifice dates to the Civil War.
Gettysburg cyclorama building.

Cycloramas: The Virtual Reality of the 19th Century

Immersive displays brought 19th century spectators to far-off places and distant battles. The way they portrayed history, however, was often inaccurate.

Southerners Tore Down Silent Sam. Now Northerners Need to Tear Down Confederate Flags.

Each one flown outside the slave states amounts to an admission that the flag represents whiteness, not Southernness.
James Longstreet's daughter visits his statue at Gettysburg.
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The Missing Statues That Expose the Truth About Confederate Monuments

Why Confederacy supporters erased the legacy of one its most accomplished soldiers.

150 Years of Misunderstanding the Civil War

As the 150th of the Battle of Gettysburg approaches, it's time to question the popular account of a war that tore apart the nation.

Making Sense of Robert E. Lee

“It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.”— Robert E. Lee, at Fredericksburg
Lincoln giving Gettysburg Address.

The Gettysburg Address

In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the most famous speeches in U.S. history.
Nicholas Said, an African American Muslim in his Union Army uniform.

Fighting for Freedom: The Little-Known Story of Muslims and the Civil War

The stories of two Muslim immigrants who fought for the Union show that the American Civil War was an international fight.
All-Black Lincoln Cemetery.

Black Civil War Veterans Remain Segregated Even in Death

Denied burial alongside Union soldiers killed during the Battle of Gettysburg, the 30 or so men were instead buried in the all-Black Lincoln Cemetery.
Henry Grady’s Vision of a “New South.”

Civil War Memory, Reconciliation, and Social Media: A Cautionary Tale

The importance of contextualization and critical evaluation in historical analysis.
A drawing of James Longstreet, zoomed in on his eyes.

The Confederate General Whom All the Other Confederates Hated

James Longstreet became a champion of Reconstruction. Why?
George Gordon Meade

After Winning the Battle of Gettysburg, George Meade Fought With—and Lost to—the Press

The Civil War general's reputation was shaped by partisan politics, editorial whims and his own personal failings.
Robert E Lee Statue being removed in Richmond

Captured Confederate Flags and Fake News in Civil War Memory

Fake news has been central to the Lost Cause narrative since its inception, employed to justify and amplify the symbolism of Confederate monuments and flags.
Gettysburg Battlefield, with monuments visible in the distance

We Need to Talk About Confederate Statues on U.S. Public Lands

At places like the Gettysburg battlefield and Arlington National Cemetery, there's a new, escalating conflict over monuments that honor the Lost Cause.
African Americans gather near a Confederate monument.

The Confederacy’s Long Shadow

Why did a predominantly black district have streets named after Southern generals? In Hollywood, Florida, one man thought it was time for change.

BookChat with David Silkenat, Author of Raising the White Flag

The Civil War started with a surrender, ended with a series of surrenders, and had several of its major campaigns end in surrender.

How to Forget

A review of Lewis Hyde’s “A Primer for Forgetting: Getting Past the Past.”

Moral Courage and the Civil War

Monuments ask us to look at the past, but how they do it exposes crucial aspects of the present.

The Class Politics of the Civil War

By naming a common enemy the Union Army was able to build and then steer a coalition of Americans toward the systematic destruction of slavery.

Say Goodbye To Your Happy Plantation Narrative

Only a small percentage of historical interpreters are black, and Cheyney McKnight is trying to change that.

Our Commemoration of the Civil War’s End Celebrates a Myth

The emancipation of black Americans has been written out of our celebration of the Civil War's end.

General Lee’s Sword

A graphic retelling of Robert E. Lee surrender at Appomattox Court House.

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