Contents

19th Century

1. Professional Historians and the Black Confederate Myth: Part One by Brooks D. Simpson

"Over the last several months I’ve noticed a rather peculiar twist to the discussion of blacks who accompanied Confederate military forces during the American Civil War. Historians have long known that enslaved blacks did in fact accompany Confederate forces and were impressed into service for the Confederacy, not as soldiers, but to dig trenches, work [...]..."

2. Professional Historians and the BCM: a Further Response by Brooks D. Simpson

"I thank those posters who have contributed their own thoughts on this question during the past several days. In some cases, the conversation’s reinforced impressions I’ve had, including one that there continues to be a failure to communicate with those who seem skeptical of this whole enterprise. I say that because several of the points [...]..."

3. Frederick Douglass – “the Decision of the Hour” by Donald R. Shaffer

"For Frederick Douglass, Spring 1861 was a time of roller coaster emotions. As described in the May 5 edition of Civil War Emancipation, Douglass’ spirits were low in the early weeks of the Lincoln administration, dismayed by its policies, but were lifted by the outbreak of civil war in April and martial hysteria that followed, which he hoped would lead to the crushing of slavery along with the southern rebellion. By mid-June, Douglass had again turned pessimistic, as it became clear that slavery’s destruction would not be an aim of the northern war effort. His mood is well reflected..."

4. What a Difference Three Months Makes by Donald R. Shaffer

"Fort Pickens in Florida was a backwater of the Civil War. Built in the 1830s on a barrier island to protect the entrance to Pensacola Bay, Union forces manned it at the start of the Civil War, and unlike Fort Sumter, Pickens would stay in Union hands for the entire war despite at least one determined Confederate assault that tried to take it in October 1861. Like other Union military posts Fort Pickens became a magnet for slaves desperate to be free. As described in the March 10 edition of Civil War Emancipation, when confronted with the arrival of fugitive..."

5. Howard Avenue by Jenny

"Road Name: Howard Avenue Named For: General Oliver O. Howard, commander of the XI Corps. Location: The Plain. Built: 1882, 1895. Altered: 1934. Designer: E.B. Cope. Description: Originally constructed16′ wide with telford-base; paved in 1898. Widened & bitumenous asphalt paved in 1934 and measured approx. 30′ wide x 0.946 mi. long. Stretches from Mummasburg Road to Harrisburg Road with crossing at Carlisle Road. The crossing point divides the road into East Howard and West Howard Avenues. History: Howard Avenue allows visitation to Barlow Knoll, scene of 1st day of battle. Follows most of route laid out by GBMA in 1880s..."

6. Wright and Howe Avenues by Jenny

"Road Name: Wright and Howe Avenues Named For: Gen. Horatio G. Wright and Gen. Albion P. Howe, Union Division commanders in the VI Corps. Location: Near the Round Tops. Built: 1887, 1897. Altered: 1940. Designer: E.B. Cope. Description: Avenue measures 0.730 miles long by 18′ wide. Constructed of bituminous treated macadam with telford base. Runs from along Little Round Top and Sykes and Warren Avenues east to the Park boundary. History: Wright Avenue passes through position of Grant’s Brigade, which was held in reserve near US left flank. Southeast of the Round Tops, Wright Avenue extends from Sykes Avenue to..."

7. 21st Century Southern Belles by Kevin Levin

"This looks to be a fairly interesting documentary. Here is a brief description: The Civil War may be long over, but the spirit of rebellion is hard to extinguish even [...]..."

8. The Superwoman by light.sue@gmail.com (Sue Light)

"From the magazine of the 4th London General Hospital (King's College Hospital)..."

9. June Updates by matthew.t.eng@navy.mil (Matthew T. Eng)

"Marine Guard PawneeNEW PARTICIPATORY ORGANIZATION: MARINE GUARD PAWNEEThe U.S. Marine Guard Steam Sloop of War USS Pawnee works closely with the USS Fort Henry (our very own CWN 150 blogger Rob Mattson is a member of) and the National Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus doing reenactments and living history. According to Steve Fetherman, former Marine Corps Office and member of the United States Marine Corps Historical Company, they have 15 members and are growing. There information will be included on the Organizations tab on the top menu bar on this blog. Semper Fi and welcome!FIRST OFFICIAL CWN..."

10. Introducing the Timberclads by noreply@blogger.com (Caleb Greinke)

"To confirm the veracity of the old idiom that "necessity is the mother of invention," one need look no further than the Union's summer 1861 naval buildup in the West.There was certainly no shortage of owners willing to sell their steamboats to the Army for a handsome price. In a stroke of luck for the United States, most of the shipping on the Mississippi and its tributaries was under Northern ownership. And after the introduction of non-intercourse laws, many vessels were left idle in port, barred from trading with the new Confederate enemy.So with a glut of available shipping..."

World War I

1. In Honor of Elmer Holmes, 538th Engineer Battalion, Aef by noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)

"On Memorial Day, some of you may recall reading this tragic story about the rediscovery of an African American Doughboy’s final resting place.To give a brief recap, this spring a Spotsylvania resident who commutes to the Pentagon via the local bus network happened to notice a military headstone in an overgrown area directly beneath the major road he passes over every day. After investigation, he found out that it was the grave of a black World War I veteran. The grave is located across the street from the church that the soldier belonged to and is sadly within spitting distance..."

2. War Poetry and the Blogs by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Kendall)

"George Simmers reports here the appeal by the Rupert Brooke society to raise enough money to buy a painting by Brooke's inamorata (well, one of them), Phyllis Gardner (far left). And, here, George picks up on my blogpost denouncing the AQA GCSE syllabus , this time to point out that its prose is as bad as its poetry: 'The AQA policy seems to be that teenagers should be protected from difficult, troubling literature.' We can't have impressionable minds subjected to Kipling's sadistic masterpiece, 'Mary Postgate'.Gists and Piths I discovered relatively recently. Here it is on Bernard Bergonzi and war poetry..."

World War II

1. World War II: Before the War by n/a

"The years leading up to the declaration of war between the Axis and Allied powers in 1939 were tumultuous times for people across the globe. The Great Depression had started a decade before, leaving much of the world unemployed and desperate. Nationalism was sweeping through Germany, and it chafed against the punitive measures of the Versailles Treaty that had ended World War I. China and the Empire of Japan had been at war since Japanese troops invaded Manchuria in 1931. Germany, Italy, and Japan were testing the newly founded League of Nations with multiple invasions and occupations of neighboring countries..."

2. Nazi Sympathizer Wins Oscar by Charles McCain

"German actor, Emil Jannings, the very first leading male actor ever to receive an Academy Award, was an ardent supporter of the Nazi Party and made movies which glorified their cause. He was a friend of Josef Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment, who appointed Jannings as head of a film production company. After the war, his close association with the Nazis led to his disgrace and he died in obscurity in 1950. + Joseph Goebbels (center left) and actor Emil Jannings (center right) during a boat trip on the Wolfgangsee in 1938. In 1924 when he starred..."

3. History Never Repeats by Brett Holman

"But sometimes, it rhymes. The above map, accompanying an article entitled 'BOMB THESE TEN TOWNS!', was published on page 4 of the Daily Mirror on 29 August 1940. It rhymes with this map published in the Daily Mail twenty-three years before: A REPRISAL MAP. -- The shaded parts of this map show those parts of Germany within reach of Allied aeroplanes similar to those used against London. All the large towns shown could be attacked. So too does this, the cover of the Illustrated London News for 21 September 1940... BOMBERS' PREY. GOERING'S ATTACKS ON LONDON ACHIEVE LITTLE BUT THE..."

4. Looking Backward, 1944-1941 by Brett Holman

"In May 1941, after nine months of German bombing and the evacuation of yet another British army from Europe, the Daily Mirror printed a fascinating little piece of futurism, in the form of a letter written as though it was May 1944, with Britain victorious and Germany prostrate. The headline itself gives some idea of this future shock: '"On our television set we saw CHURCHILL in BUSTED BERLIN!"'1 -- the television transmitters at Alexandra Palace had been switched off since September 1939. Invoking the early television experiments functions here as a promise of a better world to come, and not..."

5. German Light Cruiser Köln by Charles McCain

"I have written about the German light cruisers previously including the Köln. The Köln was the third of the three 'K' class light cruisers built. The K class light cruisers suffered from many design problems since they were designed and built in the late 1920's and had to adhere to the strict limit's imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. As the design problems became increasingly apparent, the duties of the ships were limited to compensate and they increasingly failed to serve in the role they were intended to. The Köln patrolled the coasts of Spain and Portugal..."

6. German Propaganda Posters - Foreign Policy by Charles McCain

"Tad found a great collection of Nazi Propaganda that has been collected by a college professor in Michigan, Randall Bytwerk. I've shown plenty of WW2 propaganda posters but the majority have been from the Allied side of the war and I'm using this opportunity to showcase the types of propaganda used by the Germans and will be highlighting some of these posters over the next few months. A series of posters used by the Nazi's during World War Two to gain support focused on the foreign policy issues surrounding the German people during this time. Here are Randall's posters and..."

7. German Light Cruiser Köln by Charles McCain

"I have written about the German light cruisers previously including the Köln. The Köln was the third of the three 'K' class light cruisers built. The K class light cruisers suffered from many design problems since they were designed and built in the late 1920's and had to adhere to the strict limit's imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. As the design problems became increasingly apparent, the duties of the ships were limited to compensate and they increasingly failed to serve in the role they were intended to. The Köln patrolled the coasts of Spain and Portugal..."

8. Incompetence, Stupidity, and Cowardice: the Royal House of Savoy and the Governance of Italy, 1861-1946 by Charles McCain

"Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 When last we left the Italians, a remnant of the Royal Italian Army had finally struggled out of the Don Pocket, created by the Soviet encirclement of the German 6 Armee at Stalingrad. Other Italian units on the Eastern Front had been cut to pieces as well. In the summer of 1942 and through the early fall, the King had..."

9. Beloved Children'S Author Revealed as a Spy! by Charles McCain

"Roald Dahl, author of many classic children's books including James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, worked in Washington, DC during World War Two as an intelligence agent for the British government and in that capacity spied on the United States. Ostensibly an assistant air attache at the British Embassy, Dahl actually worked for William Stephenson, better known in history by his code name, Intrepid. Stephenson was the chief of an immense and mainly clandestine intelligence organization set up in the US by the British before America's entry into the war. The organization was known as..."

10. Fall of France, 4: the Armoured Division, II by elunderik@netscape.net (lawnmower boy)

"Now where was I?Trashing Basil Liddell Hart? Well, he was a pundit, after all. His job was to give professional cover to the Prime Minister's decision to neglect the army during the rearmament boom. That was a mistake on Neville Chamberlain's part, but hardly an ill-considered one. Naval and air rearmament was complicated. It crowded out exports and threatened the balance of payments, but the reason that it did so was that these services bought items produced by the high tech export industries of the future. Service contracts could capitalise factories, and just meeting those contracts would build..."

11. Fall of France, 4: the Armoured Division, III: (the Lack of) a Lincoln Connection by elunderik@netscape.net (lawnmower boy)

"The city of Lincoln in Licolnshire. Or Lindsey, if you're in an antiquarian mode. Wikipedia.Here's a town, on a hill, cut off by fens and marshes to the south and forests to north and west, connected by river to the sea. Saint Paulinus visited a "Praefectus Civilis" here in 629, and some archaeologists entertain misty fantasies of Roman British bishops gradually transitioning into Anglo-Saxon bishops. Here be fen-folk who resist the hegemony of the state and of statebuilding historical narratives alike.I like the map because it shows the wet bits. They're not unimportant.In 1840, two Lincoln families operating..."

12. With the Marines at Tarawa by Mark Grimsley

"From TIME Magazine, Monday, Mar. 20, 1944 The New Pictures With the Marines at Tarawa (U.S. M.C.; edited by Warner Bros.; distributed by Universal) is war in the least expurgated form most U.S. cinemaddicts are likely to see. It has long been a question how much battle experience should be communicated to civilians. With [...]..."

Cold War

Post-Cold-War

Misc/Thematic

1. Bataan Arg Sails in the Wake of History by Galrahn@yahoo.com (Galrahn)

"As told by Kennedy Hickman here.In 1804, during the fourth year of the First Barbary War, the former American consul to Tunis, William Eaton returned to the Mediterranean. Titled "Naval Agent to the Barbary States," Eaton had received support from the US government for a plan to overthrow the pasha of Tripoli, Yusuf Karamanli. After meeting with the commander of US naval forces in the area, Commodore Samuel Barron, Eaton traveled to Alexandria, Egypt with $20,000 to seek out Yusuf's brother Hamet. The former pasha of Tripoli, Hamet had been deposed in 1793, and then exiled by his brother..."

2. Book Review: Guerrillas in History by n/a

"Book Review: Guerrillas in History by Lewis H. Gann Published by Hoover Institution Press, 1971, 99 pages, Stanford, CA. Out of print, ISBN: 081793281X Reviewed by Mike Mourouzis Download the Full Article: Book Review: Guerrillas in History Guerrillas always win – at least that was the popular narrative that created an era of infatuation with guerrilla uprisings during the 1960s and 1970s. Consequently, Lewis Gann wrote his monograph on “small wars” to dispel the growing myth that partisan warfare was romantic or novel. His work, Guerrillas in History, follows guerrilla warfare from Biblical times to the book’s publishing in 1971. Gann..."

3. Following Up, Part III. Down the Rabbit Hole: Qaddafi's Cluster Munitions and the Age of Internet Claims - NYTimes.com by n/a

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4. Our Crucial Deterrent by NHHC

"The development and deployment of the Polaris and Poseidon submarine launched ballistic missile systems is the subject of this 1973 U.S. Navy documentary. The film features extensive footage of missile launches. Source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Photographic Section, UM-23 ..."

5. Call for Papers: Society of Civil War Historians Conference, 2012 by Mark Grimsley

"Cross-posted from Civil Warriors The Society of Civil War Historians will host a conference from June 14 through 16, 2012, at the Hyatt Regency in Lexington, Kentucky. The SCWH welcomes panel proposals or individual papers on the Civil War era, broadly defined. The goal of the conference is to promote the [...]..."

6. Battle of the Philippine Sea by NHHC

"While June 1944, is most remembered for the events that happened in Normandy, the month also marked the launching of another pivotal D-Day in the Mariana Islands, the inner ring of the island strongholds defending Japan. As expected, the Imperial Japanese Navy contested the invasion of the Marianas, confronting the U.S. Navy in what became [...] ..."

7. The Navy/Marine Corps Team Sails for Iceland, 22 June 1941 by NHHC

"By late spring 1941, with the war in Europe a year and a half old, Britain’s back was against the wall and Prime Minister Winston Churchill asked President Franklin D. Roosevelt to send American troops to Iceland to replace the British Garrison there. Roosevelt agreed, and on 5 June directed the Chief of Naval Operations, [...] ..."

8. Movies in Old Hospitals by thomaslsnyder

"Since the 1997 closure of the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo city officials have enjoyed modest success in “repurposing” parts of the island as a movie shooting site. Just in the past week or so, a movie company working on a project tentatively named The Master used a portion of the Mare Island Naval Hospital, buildings H-80/81, Mare Island Naval Hospital (1944) Official U S Navy Photograph NARA II, College Park MD (cropped) for their work. They also used the ex-Presidential yacht, USS Potomac. Blogger Patricia Kutza, who writes about Vallejo, California, has written about the movie..."