Thoughts on Recent Conference

As promised, I have returned to offer some brief thoughts on the conference I attended with two colleagues two weeks ago. "Confederate Icons: History, Memory, and the Future of Our Past" was held at James Madison University and sponsored by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation. First, let me say that the facilities at JMU were top notch in every way, and that everyone we encountered was friendly and helpful. Having attended all seven Virginia Sesquicentennial conferences, I believe this was on par with those larger events, and I made sure to tell the organizers that. I am going to post links to each of the presentations so you can watch them yourself if you choose, but here's a brief synopsis.

James I. "Bud" Robertson, Jr. was first up and I hate to say it, but I was terribly disappointed. While his presentation started out moderately enough, he quickly went off the rails and stayed there. His talk lost all professionalism in my mind when he used the oft-heard conservative jab at young liberals, "snowflakes." And that was only the beginning. One colleague pointed out that he cited no historiography past the 1950s, though he certainly knows better. His worship (and there's no other way to say it) of Robert E. Lee and attack on the Episcopal Church was over the top. Basically, he came off sounding like an angry old white guy. There is so much to break down about his presentation, but I'll spare it and you can watch it yourself if you choose. Link


Caroline Janney gave what maybe should have been the first lecture of the day, which put every other presentation into historical context. Her presentation outlined the activities of both Union and Confederate veterans in the years following the war, up to about World War I. This offered a gentle corrective to some of Robertson's thoughts by taking the issue further back in time than he bothered to do. Link


Christy Coleman was nearly the polar opposite of Robertson in her presentation, though she didn't go spinning wildly off into left field. She did have a few miscues/stumbles, but offered the real counterpoint to Robertson. She proved elusive during Q&A, not really answering the one question that was posed, to which everyone wanted to know the answer (regarding the committee recommendations on what to do with Richmond's Monument Avenue). She also invited some pointed criticism during Q&A that the moderators fairly quickly shut down. Link

John Coski came in right where I thought he would - straight down the middle. He was easily the most moderate of the speakers, though not conciliatory in any way. He laid out the facts in a straightforward and honest way, and his conclusions fell squarely where they should have. He was pushed a bit during Q&A, but not to the extent that Coleman had been. Link

Keven Walker wrapped up the day by giving the SVBF official position on the matter. Link

Overall, it was a very balanced conference, with all sides represented in some way. Unfortunately, the audience for this was probably not the audience that needs to hear such reasoned debate. The demographic was about what one would expect for such a conference, 99% white and over the age of 50. Those of us in our 40s felt like the young ones in the room, save for a few grad students. One colleague mentioned on numerous occasions that he was surprised to see armed law enforcement presence at the conference and wondered what message that sent. The officers were JMU campus police and there were two of them in the facility throughout the day. I didn't find this too unusual, surmising that the campus probably requires law enforcement to be present at most events held on campus. Maybe it was their appearance that he noticed. They didn't look like contract security guards (mall cops/rent-a-cops), but were regular, uniformed police, one of whom was wearing a vest. I chalked it up to campus policy, but maybe they were hedging against any kind of unrest. Suffice it to say, it was a very low-key and respectful crowd.

I will definitely keep up with the program offerings from SVBF in the future, as I was very impressed with this event. If they do something that interests you, I would highly recommend attending. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Moving Day for One of North Carolina's Largest Artifacts

After many years, stalled planning processes, negotiation, hand wringing, and construction the day finally arrived for the remains of the Confederate ironclad gunboat CSS Neuse to be moved to the soon-to-be-climate-controlled facility that is being built as the last resting place and museum for one of North Carolina's largest historic relics. Moving day was yesterday, June 23, 2012 and things got rolling very early. The movers had been on site all week, preparing the ship to be moved, separated into three sections as it was on the previous occasions of moving it. Each section was placed onto house moving dollies that once disconnected from the trucks that pulled them, could be operated via remote control in order to move each piece into place.



Staff members from the Division of Historic Sites arrived on site at 5:00 a.m. to prepare for the move. A few members of the press were on site to watch the trucks pull out onto West Vernon Avenue and begin the journey to Queen Street. Our Division Director, Keith Hardison was interviewed by the Civil War News prior to the commencement of the activities. A small group of spectators gathered to watch this beginning. It was amazing to see the movers get the three sections of ship out on the road, the smaller guys jumping around underneath each section making adjustments as the trucks were moving. I believe "situational awareness" was the word that was used to describe this process and they proved to be very adept at what they were doing. Photographers and videographers were in place to follow the ship on its entire journey. More press and many more interviews would follow when the ship arrived at the downtown location.



Once the three sections of ship (weighing in at 18 tons, 50 tons, and 39 tons) were all on Queen Street the entire block between Gordon and Caswell Streets was blocked off so the delicate work of getting the sections into the building could begin. There was a much larger crowd of onlookers at the downtown location and many stayed to watch the entire process. One of the best views was from the mezzanine inside the museum building. With great precision and attention to detail the movers got each section moved in, set up, and perfectly aligned below the "ghosting" structure that will be suspended over the hull depicting the outlines of the ship's upper half. The entire thing was done within about 5 hours. Now the construction must be completed and exhibits will have to be built and installed. The hope is to have the building open on a limited basis sometime before the end of the year and hopefully have a grand opening next summer. The work is far from finished, but the biggest piece of the puzzle is now in place.




Many people who have worked for many long years around the ship were present to witness the move, some retired and some still working. Unfortunately, Guy Smith, site manager for the past ten years who had overseen most of the process of getting the ship to this point, passed away just a month ago. As the last piece of the ship was moved into place I couldn't help but think of Guy and how I wish he could have been present. His family was present and I am happy that they will be able to see the final result of all the hard work he put into this project. It has been a tough month, with Guy's funeral being held just four weeks ago, but I think yesterday may have brought some closure for me, personally. Guy's legacy, and the legacy of many others who came before him, is going to live on in this new museum. It is definitely overdue for Eugene and Jann Brown (pictured below), Guy, and everyone else who has worked so hard to preserve this one-of-a-kind artifact.

Adding a New Blog to the Roll

I received an email today from the Conservation Project Manager at the Monitor Center/Mariner's Museum. They are looking to spread the word to interested folks about what is going on with the conservation of the remnants of the USS Monitor. I'm certainly happy to oblige since this blog started out primarily as a Civil War Navies blog. The link to the Monitor conservation blog can be found here, as well as on my blogroll. Check it out!

Brandywine Battlefield to be Closed - Please Help!

Here's a link to the article in the Philadelphia Enquirer

Here's a link you can use to help Save Brandywine

In an update I saw yesterday, it appears that there's been a tentative agreement reached to keep the site open. Unfortunately, staff members are "volunteering" until a long-term agreement can be worked out. Please also see Eric Wittenberg's comment on this matter.

And, further updates found in this article. (8/21/09)

Monument Controversy in Raleigh

OK, I have to admit off the bat that my title for this post is probably a wee bit sensational. There wouldn't even be a controversy were it not for Raleigh News & Observer columnist Peder Zane stirring a pot. Without getting into too great a detail, here's a blog post about the controversy, as well as Zane's original column and a follow up in which Mr. Zane takes to task all the redneck responders to his original piece and reiterates his original argument. He got five pages of comments from the original post and eight more pages of comments from the follow up. Of the responses I've read (and admittedly, I've not looked at more than 10% of them) my favorite is this:

I do not think your logic -- or really the lack of such -- supports the assertion that the monument to the Confederate dead is somehow more pernicious than those nearby which honor former governors Charles B. Aycock or Zeb Vance. You allude to Aycock's role in the White Supremacy campaigns of 1898 and 1900, as well as the N&O's Josephus Daniels, and yet these men employed a rhetoric of race which was associated not only with disfranchisement of African American voters but also, statistically, with a peak in racial lynching in North Carolina. Vance, a former Rebel colonel & wartime governor, led the "racist Democratic machine [which] regained power" in 1876. Furthermore, you must appreciate the fact that many of the NC boys who gave their lives in the War did not own slaves -- in fact, probably the majority. You deserve credit for drawing attention to the complex history of the monument, but I just do not see how one can single it out for destruction while preserving others.

My general opinion is that if we start going around and tearing down monuments, where does it stop? The monument itself is a piece of history and can be used to tell multiple stories. It can tell the story of the 40,000 boys that were lost to the Old North State, and it can also tell the story of the turbulent 1890s (along with the monuments to Aycock and Vance that are mentioned in the above response). My question is, why does Peder Zane feel the need to stir this particular pot? Our country has much bigger things to worry about.

French and Indian War Forts

Most folks probably wouldn't think about French and Indian War forts when they think of North Carolina, but we have one (or at least the site where one once stood). One of our least known state historic sites, Fort Dobbs is an interesting site with a lot of potential. Efforts are currently underway to raise the funding necessary to reconstruct the fort near Statesville.

On my recent trip to Pennsylvania I visited a terrific example of French and Indian War fortifications, Fort Ligonier. I had not been to this site since I was a child and boy has it changed! They have done a tremendous job restoring the fort, installing excellent exhibits in their museum, and putting together an artillery collection unsurpassed as far as I can tell. I was told by a staffer there that they've put $5 million into the work there and I wouldn't be surprised if they have $500,000 or more tied up in reproduction artillery alone. They've got everything from swivel guns (probably 20 of them) mounted on the fort walls to 8-inch howitzers on field carriages. They've got a mortar wagon, a howitzer mounted on a sled, and ammunition wagons. Its just plain damn impressive! The photos show a few examples.


One of the fort's many swivel guns



8-inch howitzer


Howitzer on a sled

Fort Ligonier was an active fort from 1758-1766 and was named for Sir John Ligonier, commander in chief in Great Britain. The fort restoration is excellent and is based on sound archaeological research. The museum exhibits are very nice and include two of the most unique artifacts I've ever seen - a pair of pistols given to George Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette. The same pistols were later owned by Andrew Jackson. The museum also has some other Washington artifacts. It is a unique site all around and well worth a visit if you are anywhere close by. The only downfall to Fort Ligonier is that they are only open to the public May through October. I assume this is a money saving effort as they are a private, non-profit and receive no government funding.

I think that the folks who are trying to rebuild Fort Dobbs could learn a lot by visiting Fort Ligonier and spending time with their staff. The staffer I talked to said he has had a number of phone conversations with the site manager at Fort Dobbs. That is a line of communication that will be beneficial to North Carolinians in the future, as the Fort Dobbs project moves forward.

For more information on the French and Indian War go to the website for the 250th anniversary celebration.

More F&I links include:
#1
#2
#3

Conserving a Ship (or at least part of one)

For almost six years, I worked as the Assistant Site Manager at the CSS Neuse State Historic Site in Kinston, NC. We had on display the hull of the ironclad and were working on developing a new museum to house it in a climate controlled environment to prevent further deterioration.



The project is ongoing, pending funding of course, and my new office is actually in the building that will eventually house the new museum. Working with such a fragile artifact that has such a definite time limit on its preservation was sometimes very frustrating on a number of levels. I'll never cease to be amazed at how many visitors would ask if we planned to restore the ironclad to its original condition. Of course, that would be impossible given the current state of the hull, and the goal is to preserve what we have left rather than try to restore something that cannot be restored.

Thanks to Kevin Levin at Civil War Memory, I have found another organization that has been working to preserve a hull. It seems that they've got the whole issue of climate control handled at this point. It makes me wonder how many visitors ask if they plan to restore the vessel to its original condition. After reading the article, its obvious that they can't.

Oh, and as a side note, the whole idea of reenacting the funeral is interesting as well, but that would take us in a totally different direction. Maybe later.