The Past That Persists: The Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument Designation
On August 16, 2024, in the presence of civil rights leaders, community members, and elected officials, President Biden used his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument. The designation was made during the 116th anniversary of the racist riots in Springfield, IL that resulted in ...
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Researching Northern Black Families’s Civil War: An Interview With Michelle Marsden
When I began examining the lived experiences of northern United States Colored Troops (USCT) soldiers, I thought it was critical to emphasize their lives and familial dynamics beyond their time in the U.S. Army. My book-The Families' Civil War: Black Soldiers and The Fight for Racial Justice-details northern freeborn families ...
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The Most Heroic Day You’ve Never Heard Of
When I first heard of the Civil War Day of Action led by the Journal of the Civil War Era, I was ecstatic and excited at the prospect of bringing forgotten and ignored history to people. I also knew my location. It would be 156 years almost to the day ...
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Commemorating the NYC Draft Riots: A Call to Action in the Classroom
Who would guess that progressive, self-regarding New York City would fail to mark the scenes of the 1863 Draft Riot? The riot was the most destructive urban uprising in US History and featured a virulent days-long assault on the city’s Black community. Yet not a single plaque or marker notes ...
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Poetry Not Yet Written: Revisiting Glory Thirty Years Later
Glory begins as so many Civil War films do: the sun rises on a vast battlefield, brave Union men march into war, and a ferocious battle ensues, American and Confederate flags billowing in the background. Despite its adherence to well-worn tropes, however, Glory tells a tale that is often obscured ...
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The Contested Memories of General Nathaniel Lyon in St. Louis
The removal of a Confederate monument from its original dedication spot in Forest Park almost two years ago aroused a great deal of controversy among St. Louis residents. Like the debates taking place in other cities that have Confederate iconography, supporters praised the removal of a monument they considered to ...
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Freeman Tilden’s Interpreting Our Heritage and the Civil War Centennial
On March 30, 2019, a group of public historians will convene at the National Council on Public History’s Annual Meeting to discuss the interpreter Freeman Tilden’s 1957 publication, Interpreting Our Heritage. My fellow NPS colleague Allison Horrocks and I created this conference panel to discuss Tilden's ideas in historical context ...
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The Grave and the Gay: The Civil War on the Gilded Age Lecture Circuit
This is our final field dispatch from correspondent James Marten. We have greatly enjoyed his contributions to Muster and it has been such a pleasure having him on our team. We will be announcing his replacement in 2019, so stay tuned! For decades before and after the Civil War, thousands ...
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What the Name “Civil War” Tells Us–and Why It Matters
What do Americans call the conflict that tore their nation apart from 1861 to 1865? And what difference does it make what name they use? Today most call it the Civil War, but as I discuss in my recent article in the September issue of the journal, Americans have not ...
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