CWI 2014: The conference continues

          Speedyleeway Research Month continues. When last we looked, our hero was preparing to attend the first day of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College…

The first full day of the 2014 Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College was mostly carried live by the cable television network CSPAN. The presenters were all very informative, leading us through the questions surrounding the theme of this year’s Institute, the Civil War in 1864.

          A day earlier, Brian M. Jordan started the event with a big picture look at 1864. Jordan made a complicated question easier to understand, linking events and people together. That keynote address set us up for the things to be discussed throughout during this year’s CWI.

          Later on Friday, Peter Carmichael and author Gordon Rhea discussed the campaigns of 1864. Carmichael heads up the CWI team.

          Saturday, we got deep into matters. Carmichael opened the day by discussing the generalship of Robert E. Lee. Lee’s aggressive approach to the war, Carmichael said, led to heavy Confederate losses.

Carmichael suggested that Lee should have retreated to Richmond and Petersburg earlier than the Army of Northern Virginia eventually did. Such a move would have saved 20,000 Confederate lives, Carmichael told us, making the defense of Petersburg and Richmond easier jobs.

 

Some clown, easily recognizable to readers of this blog, stood up and asked how falling back to the Petersburg/Richmond area earlier would have made a difference for the Confederates. Some people will do anything to get on television.

Brooks Simpson talked about U.S. Grant and the problems Grant faced in attacking Virginia in 1864. Simpson, who is among the most entertaining Civil War speakers, discussed Grant’s difficulty with his subordinates in the Union’s Army of the Potomac and the fact that Grant was basically fighting on Lee’s home turf. Simpson said, during the question and answer session following his presentation, that Grant did not give the order for the final Union charge at Cold Harbor.

Ari Kelman discussed the massacre of a group of Native Americans at Sand Creek in Colorado. Kelman argued the event was a part of the Civil War, since it happened in 1864. Whether you agree with that idea or not, and your loyal blogger does not, it was still an outstanding presentation. Kelman’s look into the event does allow for a discussion about how myth and memory about history can differ, depending on your point of view. That point resonates with any audience interested in the study of the Civil War.

Next on the schedule was a group of breakout sessions. Attendees were free to select the sessions of their interest. Brian C. Miller offered a look at CSA General John B. Hood and his ill-fated period as commander of the Army of Tennessee. Hood’s performance is easy to pick on and many historians have used his performance at the head of the AoT as a chance to make jokes. Miller, it seemed to this observer, avoided that temptation and instead studied the man and his career, the pluses and the minuses.

The next session was Megan K. Nelson’s look at the burning of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania by Confederates. Drawing from the material generated while writing her book on the subject, Nelson managed to put a lot of information into her presentation. Chambersburg was just one city of many to suffer major damage during the war but Nelson brought this particular event to life with some tremendous images from the period, along with a few others from the present day. It was interesting to learn the towns people were tipped off that the Confederates were coming and the people managed to send their valuables away, including the money from the local bank. The story of rebuilding the town is interesting. This was an excellent talk.

Susannah Ural was the final speaker of the day and her presentation mirrored the title of her latest book, Don’t Hurry Me Down to Hades. Ural discussed how soldiers and non-combatants back home coped with the issues we Americans know all too well today, starting with family separation. Ural quoted letter after letter from the battle front and from the home front and pointed out changing viewpoints that are obvious from the letters. But this was more than a letter reading party. Ural told the stories of everyday people in various walks of life before the war and how the war impacted them. To understand the war, you have to understand the era and Ural’s talk gave terrific insight.

Every speaker joshed with Carmichael on a wide range of topics, giving all of us in the audience the joy of humor in the form of unexpected jesting at opportune moments.

The CWI continues through Tuesday.

          Thanks for reading and happy Research Month!