On July 1-3, 1863, Union and Confederate soldiers fought on the fields near the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. During that time, between 46,000 and 51,000 men on both sides were injured or killed.
The battle was a significant victory for the Union, having repelled General Lee’s entry into the North, but the Civil War was far from finished. The battle’s significance, and the war’s meaning, was further solidified several months later on November 19 when the Soldier’s National Cemetery at Gettysburg was dedicated, featuring President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
Of course, there are no survivors of Gettysburg on this anniversary. But on the fiftieth anniversary of the battle in 1913, some of the survivors of the war from both sides did attend a reunion. Ken Burns’s wonderful documentary The Civil War recounts that reunion as well as the seventy-fifth anniversary in 1938.
Have you been to Gettysburg? Leave your two cents in the comments.
If you have missed the first two episodes of the three-part PBS documentary The Abolitionists, you should check them out as well as the third and final part that airs this Tuesday on PBS (and is also available on DVD). The American Experience series — written, directed and produced by Rob Rapley — is an entertaining and informative look at some important people that you may not know much about.
The series focuses on some of the men and women who, leading up to the Civil War, fought for the cause of abolishing slavery. Through re-enactments by excellent actors and well-written narration, viewers learn about the hurdles, struggles, heartbreak, and victories of William Lloyd Garrison, Angelina Grimké, Frederick Douglass, John Brown, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Of course, many other abolitionists worked for the cause and a three-part series has to simplify the complicated story. But the focus on the individuals was a wise choice, making the anti-slavery movement more personal to the viewer.
In the first two parts, you learn about how the death of a child helped lead Harriet Beecher Stowe to write one of the most important novels in American history. You watch how the leading abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison became friends with former slave Frederick Douglass and how the two had a falling out, resulting in personal attacks and the two men not speaking to each other.
Despite the focus on individuals, the series also provides a good understanding of the years leading up to the Civil War and the steps that further divided the United States. The episodes accomplish that task while paying deserved attention to some important women and men in U.S. history. As the New York Times notes, when William Lloyd Garrison published the first issue of The Liberator in 1831, Abraham Lincoln was working as a store clerk. And while it is easy for us to watch today and believe that we would have been on the side of the abolitionists, the series helps show how difficult it is to be a hero too.
What did you think of the first episodes of The Abolitionists? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On today’s date of December 6 in 1865, Georgia voted for the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The vote provided sufficient state support to officially ratify the amendment ending slavery in the United States.
Earlier, after the U.S. Senate had passed the amendment in April 1864, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the measure in January of 1865. The vote sent the amendment to the states for ratification, with that process ending on today’s date.
The Thirteenth Amendment
Thus, on today’s date, after more than a century of bloodshed by the lash followed by several years of bloodshed on the battlefield, these words were finally placed in the U.S. Constitution: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
A Song of Freedom: Redemption Song
They are beautiful words, long overdue, of course. The words of freedom remind me of some other beautiful words that begin, “Old pirates, yes, they rob I;/ Sold I to the merchant ships.” In honor of the anniversary of the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, it seems an appropriate time to join in to sing a song of freedom. The song, of course, is “Redemption Song” written by the great Bob Marley, who sings it live in the following video.
Marley’s song, though, speaks in a broader context. He starts off singing about slave ships and ends with a plea for us to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery.
The powerful song is not locked in time or place, but it now belongs to the world. Earlier this year, Playing for Change created a cool video of performers from around the world — including Stephen Marley — joining in to create a beautiful cover of the song.
I suppose more Americans know the words to “Redemption Song” than to the Thirteenth Amendment. Yet, both continue to resonate around the world. Won’t you help to sing these songs of freedom?
On August 8 at 9:01 p.m. in 1974, Pres. Richard M. Nixon went on television to announce he was resigning. Although many had seen it coming, it was still a shocking moment in American history.
As impeachment proceedings were beginning from the Watergate investigation and Nixon’s involvement in the cover-up, Nixon realized that the end was near. He stated that a long drawn-out fight would harm the country, so, “Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office.”
Another Historic Offer of Resignation
More than a century earlier in 1863 also on August 8, Gen. Robert E. Lee offered his resignation as Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Although he ultimately did not resign, his offer signaled Southern concerns about the state of the war.
More than a month before Lee’s offer, Lee’s army had suffered 23,000 casualties at Gettysburg. And the Union Army was once again in Virginia. Lee was physically exhausted and questioned his ability to lead the army to victory.
But Jefferson Davis refused Lee’s resignation offer. He realized that it was impossible to find someone more fit than Lee to lead the army.
Susanne Sundfør’s Song “I Resign”
Lee and Nixon both made big mistakes, but in the song “I Resign” from the album Take One (2008), Norwegian singer-songwriter Susanne Sundfør reminds us that sometimes there is relief in resignation. In the song, she sings: “I have found peace / Where it’s impossible to rest.”
Nixon was embarrassed and hated to give up the power of the presidency. But he also must have felt a little relief to have that responsibility removed from his shoulders.
By contrast, Lee must have taken Davis’s refusal as validating his worth to continue the fighting. Yet, he also he may have felt some disappointment that the burden of men’s lives and the the war’s outcome remained on his shoulders.
Although Sundfør is not a household name in the U.S., she has won awards in Norway and won a talent grant for aspiring musicians from the Norwegian music icons a-ha. The reviews on her website are in Norwegian, so I do not really know what other people are saying about her music. But from the music, I think we may be hearing more from Susanne Sundfør. Here is her song, “I Resign.”
On July 21, 1861, the First Battle of Bull Run — or First Battle of Manassas — was fought in Virginia. It was the first major battle of the Civil War. A little less than a thousand men were killed on the battlefield, and a few thousand were injured or missing.
Impact of the Battle
The North was shocked that they effectively lost, and both sides suddenly realized that the upcoming war was going to be much longer and brutal than they had expected during their early rallies.
The war touched many families during the next four years. And the First Battle of Bull Run touched many too, including the families of Wilmer McLean and Sullivan Ballou.
Wilmer McLean
Wilmer McLean was touched by this start of the war as well as the end of the war. During this first battle of the Civil War, Confederate Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard set up his headquarters in the farmhouse owned by the 47-year-old McLean. During the battle, McLean’s house was hit by a shell.
After the battle, McLean decided to move his family farther from the war. So, he packed up his family and moved from northern Virginia to a small town in southern Virginia. His new home was in Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
But he could not escape the war. Just as his home was at the beginning of the war, so would it be at the end of the war. On April 9, 1965, General Ulysses S. Grant and General Robert E. Lee used McLean’s home in Appomattox Court House to sign the terms of the surrender of the Civil War. Although this time McLean’s house was not hit by shells of battle, much of his house was soon ransacked by souvenir hunters.
Sullivan Ballou’s Letter and Bull Run
The documentary series The Civil War (1990) by Ken Burns is an astounding piece of television. A moving segment from the series is the reading of a letter written by Sullivan Ballou to his wife before the First Battle of Bull Run.
It is difficult to believe that Ballou’s letter was written by a soldier and not by a poet or a famous writer. But in reality, Major Ballou was well educated and had worked as a lawyer and as an elocution teacher. He also had served as speaker in the Rhode Island House of Representatives.
Below, is a video from Burns’s series that features Ballou’s letter. Actor Paul Roebling, who passed away in 1994, reads the letter accompanied by the music “Ashokan Farewell,” which was composed by Jay Ungar in 1982
I always get something in my eye somewhere around the time the letter gets to: “How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.”
Ken Burns has explained that it appears the Ballou letter was saved for future generations by friends of Ballous’ family. At some point, friends of the Ballou family began copying the letter by hand and passing it around in those pre-Internet days.
Sullivan Ballou’s original handwritten letter is lost to history, as the letter probably was buried with his wife. But it is fortunate that the words were not lost. His personal words help us to better understand the impact of the First Battle of Bull Run, the Civil War, and, by extension, all wars.
Bonus Version of Sullivan Ballou Letter: I imagine the organizers of this reading were very moved when they heard the letter read in the Ken Burns series and wanted to do a nice tribute. But in the future, high schools should note that the intimacy of the letter is lost with a guy yelling Ballou’s words while a college pep band plays during a half-time break at a basketball game.
On July 1-3, 1863, Union and Confederate soldiers fought on the fields near the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. During that time, between 46,000 and 51,000 men on both sides were injured or killed.
). The American Experience series — written, directed and produced by Rob Rapley — is an entertaining and informative look at some important people that you may not know much about.
(1990) by Ken Burns is an astounding piece of television. A moving segment from the series is the reading of a