Examines and documents the effects of the Civil War upon the citizens of Cortland County, New York, especially those who served in the 23rd New York Infantry, 1861-1863.
In the 1920s there were over a million coalminers working in over 3000 collieries across Great Britain, and the industry was one of the most important and powerful in British history. It dominated the lives of generations of individuals, their families and communities, and its legacy is still with us today _ many of us have a coalmining ancestor. ??Yet family historians often have problems in researching their mining forebears. Locating the relevant records, finding the sites of the pits, and understanding the work involved and its historical background can be perplexing. That is why Brian Elliott's concise, authoritative and practical handbook will be so useful, for it guides researchers through these obstacles and opens up the broad range of sources they can go to in order to get a vivid insight into the lives and experiences of coalminers in the past. ??His overview of the coalmining history _ and the case studies and research tips he provides _ will make his book rewarding reading for anyone looking for a general introduction to this major aspect of Britain's industrial heritage. His directory of regional and national sources and his commentary on them will make this guide an essential tool for family historians searching for an ancestor who worked in coalmining underground, on the pit top or just lived in a mining community.??As featured in Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine and the Barnsley Chronicle.
Both a historical examination and a tribute to the men who bore these colors. “A wonderful resource for any Civil War enthusiasts!” —Doc Kirby, “Book Bit,” WTBF-AM/FM Flying high above us and waving in the wind, flags are reminders of what we stand for. They stir the most patriotic emotions within the human heart, and the battle flag often evokes those as strong today as during the War for Southern Independence. Every flag has a unique story. Those that survived the war are featured in this book with color illustrations and a brief history of their units. They are presented chronologically, and each flag is shown in its original design. Cavalry, infantry, artillery and naval flags are included, along with those that did not belong to any particular unit. There are photographs showing patterns of wear, damage, or artwork associated with each. Those that did not survive are illustrated—recreated from the thorough description that is left of them. “Colorful, well-illustrated, and contains much information about each flag.” —Civil War News “Outstanding! It is a credit to Dedmondt that he manages to keep up the stringent demands of scholarship and to keep the book within most readers’ abilities to browse, read, and devour!” —Smoke & Fire News
In his book The Legacy of the Civil War, Robert Penn Warren remarked that "the Civil War is, for the American imagination, the great single event of our history." This volume reconsiders whether, fifty years later, Warren's influential claim still holds true. Essays from scholars in art, literature, and history examine how the Civil War is represented and interpreted in contemporary culture. They look at the works of more than thirty artists and writers as well as multiple political movements to reveal the many and provocative ways in which Americans engage the Civil War today, including chapters on the importance of Abraham Lincoln to Barack Obama's presidential campaign, controversies over the Confederate flag, and the proliferation of "Juneteenth" observances. Special attention is paid to the works of African Americans and white southerners, for whom the Civil War was a revolutionary and defining moment. Such prominent scholars as Robert H. Brinkmeyer Jr., W. Fitzhugh Brundage, Kirk Savage, and Elizabeth Young explore the works of major artists and less well-known figures, including Bobbie Ann Mason, Kara Walker, Dario Robleto, and John Huddleston. The authors repeatedly find that Americans today openly and playfully manipulate familiar images of the Civil War to explore the malleability of traditional social categories such as national identity, gender, and race. With the sesquicentennial of the Civil War upon us, this collection continues the conversation Warren began fifty years ago, albeit in unorthodox and challenging ways, to offer fresh and stimulating perspectives on the war's presence in the collective imagination of the nation.
A detailed examination of the making of a new province in China's Inner Asian borderlands in the early 20th century providing new insights into the spatial and territorial aspects of modern Chinese state and nation building.
The natural and cultural history of an iconic plant The palmetto, also known as the cabbage palm or Sabal palmetto, is an iconic part of the southeastern American landscape and the state tree of Florida and South Carolina. In The Palmetto Book, Jono Miller offers surprising facts and dispels common myths about an important native plant that remains largely misunderstood. Miller answers basic questions such as: Are palms trees? Where did they grow historically? When should palmettos be pruned? What is swamp cabbage and how do you prepare it? Did Winslow Homer’s watercolors of palmettos inadvertently document rising sea level? How can these plants be both flammable and fireproof? Based on historical research, Miller argues that cabbage palms can live for more than two centuries. The palmettos that were used to build Fort Moultrie at the start of the Revolutionary War thwarted a British attack on Charleston—and ended up on South Carolina’s flag. Delving into biology, Miller describes the anatomy of palm fronds and their crisscrossed leaf bases, called bootjacks. He traces the underground “saxophone” structure of the young plant’s root system. He explores the importance of palmettos for many wildlife species, including Florida Scrub-Jays and honey bees. Miller also documents how palmettos can pose problems for native habitats, citrus groves, and home landscapes. From Low Country sweetgrass baskets to Seminole chickees and an Elvis Presley movie set, the story of the cabbage palm touches on numerous dimensions of the natural and cultural history of the Southeast. Exploring both the past and present of this distinctive species, The Palmetto Book is a fascinating and enlightening journey.
In recent years, the Confederate flag has become as much a news item as a Civil War relic. Intense public debates have erupted over Confederate flags flying atop state capitols, being incorporated into state flags, waving from dormitory windows, or adorning the T-shirts and jeans of public school children. To some, this piece of cloth is a symbol of white supremacy and enduring racial injustice; to others, it represents a rich Southern heritage and an essential link to a glorious past. Polarizing Americans, these flag wars reveal the profound--and still unhealed--schisms that have plagued the country since the Civil War. The Confederate Battle Flag is the first comprehensive history of this contested symbol. Transcending conventional partisanship, John Coski reveals the flag's origins as one of many banners unfurled on the battlefields of the Civil War. He shows how it emerged as the preeminent representation of the Confederacy and was transformed into a cultural icon from Reconstruction on, becoming an aggressively racist symbol only after World War II and during the Civil Rights movement. We gain unique insight into the fine line between the flag's use as a historical emblem and as an invocation of the Confederate nation and all it stood for. Pursuing the flag's conflicting meanings, Coski suggests how this provocative artifact, which has been viewed with pride, fear, anger, nostalgia, and disgust, might ultimately provide Americans with the common ground of a shared and complex history.