We regularly hear from educators, parents, and scholars how challenging it can be to teach the Civil War era and its legacies. From gulfs between the academic scholarship and public understanding of the history, to a politicization of the history, to heated public conversations about Confederate iconography, the Civil War era can be a difficult topic to understand and discuss, let alone teach. Yet, as those who think about this period on a daily basis, the topics feel more relevant than ever.
To further the American Civil War Museum’s mission to explore the Civil War from multiple perspectives, the Andrew W. Mellon team is traveling around the world! Our second Mellon project uses a Confederate story to explore the global stakes of the American Civil War. I would like to introduce you to Southern Ambitions: War For the Future.
One valley. Two towns, one Northern the other Southern. Their people had much in common: family ties, religious views, the soil they worked. Only one thing separated them: slavery.
Join us October 26 as we present a dramatization of Ed Ayers' new book, "The Thin Light of Freedom: The Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America." Co-written by award-winning historians Abigail Schumann and Sheila Arnold Jones, this presentation highlights the voices of diverse people and their reactions to war, its aftermath, emancipation, and freedom.
When many people think of the American Civil War they picture battles and campaigns, soldiers and generals, but there’s more to the story. The war affected every American, Northern and Southern, soldier and civilian, free and enslaved. The Museum’s mission is to cover all of those perspectives in the stories we share, which often leads us off the beaten path.
As interpreters, we often receive questions and comments from visitors about our work. Sometimes visitors want to know how we keep from being bored. “You say the same thing over and over each day; don’t you get bored?” is a common question.
In 1988 the White House of the Confederacy opened to the public for tours after a 12-year restoration. In preparing for public tours, staff had to decide how best to guide visitors through two floors of the house. Much thought went into making those decisions, and for almost 30 years, tours of the White House of the Confederacy have followed the same path.
By Patrick Saylor
Director, Marketing Communication
Historian William C. "Jack" Davis will introduce his latest book, "Inventing Loreta Valesquez: Confederate Soldier Impersonator, Media Celebrity and Con Artist," Saturday, Oct. 15 at 2:00 p.m. at the Museum of the Confederacy - Appomattox. Following his presentation, he will be available to sign copies of the book.