Posted by Leslie Pratch; written by Mark Johnson Watching one of his famous victories unfold, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee remarked, “It is well that war is so terrible—we should grow too fond of it!” That’s a famous quotation, but it doesn’t quite make sense. If war were not terrible, why shouldn’t we be fond [...]
Posted by Leslie Pratch; written by Mark Johnson If you’ve lived in the South, “The March” can be only one thing: Gen. William T. Sherman’s trail of destruction in 1864 from Atlanta to the sea 275 miles away, then north through the Carolinas. Sherman led 62,000 men on his infamous march, cutting a 50-mile-wide swath [...]
Posted by Leslie Pratch; written by Mark Johnson This entry reviews two related books. They are “Freedom Rising: Washington in the Civil War” by Ernest B. Furgurson and “American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies” by Michael W. Kauffman. It takes daring to remake a classic, yet that’s what Ernest B. Furgurson has [...]
By Leslie Pratch I don’t know if this entry belongs under “History” or “Art” so I am classifying it under both categories. I recently saw ROME, the HBO miniseries, sent to me by a dear friend. He warned me that “it sometimes plays a little bit fast and loose with history”—but it’s wonderful nonetheless. He [...]