Allow speakers to examine various facets of the civil war experience. E shenandoah th valley offered that potential. Let me talk about the valley. Briefly. Most of you know it is a place of breathtaking beauty and agricultural bounty, then and now. It extends from the Potomac River in the north to beyond lexington in the south, with the blue Ridge Mountains on the east and the alleghenies on the west. The valley runs southwest to totheast and drops gently meet the Potomac River. This means someone traveling towards the potomac goes down the valley in an audit circumstance where north is always up, in the valley, north is always up. The massenet and mountain divides the valley. Shenandoahork of the meanders toward the potomac. In the east, the south fork runs through the page valley on its journey to join the north fork at front royal. Image of thea good valley in your mind, but that is how we conceived of it when we were talking about it. We settled on it because of the logistical and Strategic Value here that can scarcely be overstated. The agricultural riches promised sustenance. The wheat growing area in the upper south in most of the antebellum. In thed virginia production of grain, cattle, and contributed substantial qualities of leather, wooden products, textiles, and whiskey. It is a strategic avenue where either side could mount a threat to the western side of washington or richmond. Because of that the valley invited a great deal of attention from u. S. And confederate planners. That attention from planners that was the second reason we selected the valley. That resulted in a great deal of military activity, from the confrontation between johnson and patterson during the campaign for the first bull run to the battle of waynesboro in march of 1865. Almost continuous action of some sort violated the valleys pastoral countryside. Battles, innumerable skirmishes, and guerrilla activity carried on by mosby and partisan leaders the part ofed to her teletory hangings in 1864. Two campaigns stand out as the most important. Those by Stonewall Jackson between march and june of 1862, and june and october of 1860 four. The more famous, though not the more important, jackson is often singled out as a brilliant canple of how a commander use speed, aggressiveness, and deception to frustrate a more numerous opponent. Campaigns underscored the near impossibility of overcoming long odds against a capable opponent. Sheridan was that. His efforts helped to reelect abraham lincoln. The confederates never used the valley as a route of invasion or a vital source of food stuffs and livestock after the close of the campaign here the final reason for selecting the valley is the frequent presence of United States forces in the valley exposed the areas civilians to significant disruptions of their normal routine. There is a strong civilian component during the war. Though most white residents embraced the confederacy coming , including africanamericans, and some ctsbers of religious se often stood at odds with the administration from richmond that sometimes delt out harsh punishments unionists in the valley. Black people, and slaved and free, typically welcomed the arrival of United States troops. Many black refugees made their way to union lines. Military operations in 1864 brought considerable dislocation to the valley and its economy. The burning in september and october anticipated shermans march to the sea. Sheridan and sherman operated under virtually identical orders under grant. Sheridan and sherman are often singled out, but it is grants hand at work. What our speakers tell you will an appreciation of how the valley provides a fascinating window into the most turbulent period in American History. We will have three speakers in the morning and three in the afternoon. Following each set of three a panel we will have discussion and give and take with the audience. That will finish the mornings work, it will finish the afternoons work. We picked our speakers with care. You will see why as the day unfolds. Settle in. It is really nasty outside. Theres nothing you could do outside that will be as much fun as what is going on in here. On that note, i will let liz get the days programming going. Liz good morning. Panell be moderating the discussion and q a session after this morning. We are thrilled that we will be led by stephen cushman, professor of english. He is a pathbreaking scholar, author of bloody promenade reflections of eight civil war , he has published essays about numerous noteworthy civil war figures and events, including chamberlain, lincoln, and walt whitman. His current projects include discussions of philip sheridans memoirs, johnsons surrender to sherman, and Richard Taylors book. Professor cushman is a beloved and highly decorated professor at uva. He was named cavalier distinguished professor from one a state6 and council of Higher Education for virginia Higher Education faculty award in 2016. This give a warm welcome to professor cushman. [applause] prof. Cushman good morning. Good morning. Out on suchr coming a dazzlingly bright morning. I will be talking about one chapter of one book. That book is this one. Richard taylors 1879 memoir destruction and reconstruction. For those of you who dont know much about taylor, i will say quickly that the link to the topic of today is he was a Brigadier General commander of the louisiana 1862 valleyng the campaign. You have in front to view a handout. On the off chance that your mind should wander from riveted attention over the next 40 minutes, feel free to look it over. I hope we have a good time. I will start with this sentence from the book and take it from there. This sentence is, tis dangerous to be out of harmony with the practices of one time. This sentence is in a late chapter in the memoir distraction and reconstruction with a subtitle personal experiences of the late war. Ways, destruction and reconstruction is about disharmony. The disharmony of the late war and reconstruction that followed. In addition to the collective public disharmony in the u. S. , there are many ways in which Richard Taylor himself was out of harmony with the practices of his time. The son of the u. S. President , brotherinlaw of a confederate one, a yale graduate, not distinguished, state senator, delegate to charleston in 1860 p. M. Beyond investor current seemed to set all the bells ringing. During the civil war and reconstruction he found himself out of harmony with his time at many moments. To all of these disharmonys, we could add the disharmony of his practices and worldview to the practices and worldview in our own time, destruction and reconstruction stands out for at least three reasons. Do you have your pen . This is good. The first is that it offers thanrs more selfjustification of the kind that soured joseph johnstons narrative of military operation. Taylors narrative is hardly free of selfjustification, but it contains more than that. The second reason that destruction and reconstruction stands out is because the author quoted the formulation of freeman in a book south of prosperity. Richard taylor was the one confederate general that possessed literary art that approached the first rank. A brief assessment of taylors book, praising the literary charm of a writer that was so observant and an analyst of character. And rich inating historical allusion and written with the unmistakable touch of cultured scholarship. 23 years later, 1962, supplemented freemans , part oft with 8 pages which goes to Stonewall Jackson. In the three pages devoted to tailor himself, wilson describes destruction and reconstruction that masculine document from the point of realistic intelligence is nearly comparable to mary chestnuts diary. He also commented on the aleutians to literature and military history, which he said showed a wide range of history. Even with all of the allusions decoded and defanged for contemporary readers, the question is why allude at all . The third reason destruction and reconstruction stands out lors fifth chapter entitled the Valley Campaign. It is the longest and unanimously considered the best. Vision concentration on the portrait of Stonewall Jackson speaks to the many ways to which readers remember destruction and reconstruction and freemans remark that the early chapters on taylors service to jackson is more thrilling than his check te campaign in louisiana confirms the appeal. This time and james mcphersons of freedom 1988 which echoes taylors portrait that lands affection, admiration, sympathy, and character in the mode of charles dickens. Taylorsrutiny of allusions to English Literature show when he drafted his book at the home of his sister in winchester, virginia, his wife in 1870 five,ed he often invokes writers of the 18th century. In the Valley Campaigns we encounter echoes to richard steele, laurence sterne, and samuel johnson. What mattersses, most with reference to the ispter the Valley Campaign that taylors inclination to the 18th century aligned him with a neoclassicism influenced by a famous tagline from the latin poet horace, usually paraphrased tingomething like good wri should delight and instruct. It should be a pleasure and teach. Mixing, Richard Taylor revealed his deep commitment to the neoclassical worldview of 18th century literaryness. Ist he set out to instruct evident from the beginning of the book. Now you get to play along. This is the first passage on your handout. This comes early in his book. If you, dont worry dont follow what he is alluding to. You can usually tap this grain and find out. These observations are not for the heaven born who scanned with eagle glance the fields of battle with thousands of 10 thousands, in who armies whole disappeared. It is hoped they could prove useful to the young adopting the profession of arms to be sure the details of the art of war are in scope for employment of all their faculties. Conscientious study will perhaps not make them great, but it will make them respectable, and when leadershipibility of comes they will not disgrace their flag or murder their men. The reader has to fight through a thicket of allusions to homer the king james version, paradise lost, and a letter of horse walpole. This book is intended to be useful. To the young adopting the professor of arms profession of arms. Extravagant as this makes out, taylor was not the only civil war officer whose gift allowed him to read his way from private citizenship to the past that led the high command. Chamberlain did so, too feared beyond the instructional mission, he set out to delight and give pleasure in the chapter the Valley Campaign. The word the light may sound strange when it comes to narration of the military campaign that produced 8500 casualties. Especially strange and free talent to historians focused on the civil war as the dark war. The monstrous retaliate of which eclipses all other consideration. Douglas freeman chose to describe taylors narrative as , his words. Many others have testify to the pleasuregiving aspects of the chapter. Word,ight is the wrong the fault began with Stonewall Jackson himself. Juneylor depicted him on 9, 1862, the second passage on your handout. I will only hit the bold stuff. Jackson was on the road. ,e said, delightful excitement just as the title is beginning. A great passage. Youre welcome to take it with you and share it with your friends. Free of allusions to literature and military history, it anticipated the tonal achievements of ernest hemingway. In taylors hands, it is part of the braid of continuous otherion which includes strands. Among them taylors mistaken identification as a sunday, a mistake you may not have made that if he considered the sabbathminded jackson would not have allowed the excitement of battle on the lord today. By this mattered is the mistake appeared originally in an article called Stonewall Jackson and the Valley Campaign which taylor published in 1878. It remained uncorrected in destruction and reconstruction. Here is the point. One way to follow and appreciate taylors narrative rate is to consider the passages he added to the original article, Stonewall Jackson and the Valley Campaign, in expanding that article into the fifth chapter of destruction and reconstruction. Example, take this edition of the verbal equivalent of 18th century Landscape Painting to the original 1878 article. This is your third passage. You heard kerry mention massenet is, the glory of the valley massenet. They have a bold picture and the boldness of its slopes gives the appearance of greater altitudes. Samples apt briefly three page beside on the topography of the Shenandoah Valley. The Transportation Network and inhabitants of this region. Aria that opens with the sentence the great valley of virginia was before us beauty. S adding this lyrical appreciation of the Shenandoah Valley had nothing to do with the instruction of young military professionals. Everything to conveying the light in the landscape delight in the landscape. The many precursors of this passage are 18thcentury travel writing. The one that is interesting to re with taylors choice of the word which ar the word picturesque. It offers categories more and inve than the Light Delight and instructions. Irregularities emerged more sharply as taylor revised the chapter on Stonewall Jackson into the book. It also explains why destruction and reconstruction would find itself out of harmony with the dark turn of Civil War History of murphy which tends toward the unmitigated horror of negative sublimity rather than towards the variations of the picturesque. One such variation, abrupt variation, resulted from adding pages describing the Shenandoah Valley. Another came from the addition of a twopage digression about taylors servant, tom strother. Bes is your fourth you will able to follow the bolt, then i will disappear into something you dont have, then come back. Talking about tom, he said many slaves from louisiana accompanied their master and were a great nuisance on the march. I must pause to give account of my own servant, tom strother, who deserves honorable and affectionate engine and serves to illustrate a phase of now passedfe away. Tom, three years my senior was my foster brother and early playmate. His uncle had been body servant to my grandfather. He felt the same office to my father filled the same office to my father, following him to his indian and mexican campaigns and dying at washington one year before his master. A fancy there was a mute sympathy between general jackson and tom. Finally, the last sentence, my readers had so much fighting and about to have more to render unnecessary, apology for introducing toms history. The extended portrait of tom strother includes the first to protect taylors two references to Zachary Taylor as my father. , and we will come to the second one, in each case the reference to his father accompanies an illustration of what he calls a phase of southern life now passed away. These illustrations, with their nostalgic whift of where are they now elegy, has nothing to do with the young men in the profession of arms, and everything to do with the delig hts of the picturesque. Many modernterm rs as tomname of taylor slave was was pure coincidence. Taylors honorable and affectionate mention unapologetically reasserted a description of antebellum life attacked by Harriet Beecher stowe 27 years earlier and uncle toms cabin, probably was not. There is more to terrorist aggression on tom strother then picturesque entertainment. Taylorsis more to digression to tom strother then picturesque entertainment. A model serving in wartime, tom also served to illustrate during postwar reconstruction a phase of southern life now passed away. Once again, taylor employed him not to brew coffee and wash linens come but to make a point that extends beyond mere entertainment. Readers have had so much fighting lately, and are about to have so much more, as to render unnecessary an apology for introducing toms history. This is the only appearance of the phrase my readers. The only moment when taylor commented so explicitly on his own narrative. Context, so much more fighting about to come, was the 1862ing on sunday june 1, with jackson near strasburg as well as the later battles of the campaign in the following 8 days. Then there was the fighting in the louisiana after taylors transfer in 1862 as major general, still to be narrated. Taylors reference to future fightingointed pointed to another direction. After the pages on the beauty of the Shenandoah Valley, and appearing destruction and reconstruction in, but not in the earlier north American Review article, suddenly turned the Valley Campaign chapter into a kind of chronological pal and member that time present, he is narrating 1862. Now we have a flash forward. War closed, there was a cruelty surpassing that inflicted on 200 years ago. We have seen the official report of a federal general, where in our recounted barnes, mills, and destroyed saying the crow flying over the valley must take his rations with him. That is general sheridan. We not well ask that religion, education, science, havert, have combined lessened the brutality of man since the days of all in stein and tilly. Considered as an isolated strand, apart from the braid of the chapter of the Valley Campaign. This paragraph might give a pc and not as of the dark war approach risk for grinding. There is nothing delightful or charming or humorous, or picturesque, about his recalled avulsionouldnt through midoctober of 1864. The denseore about layering of references to 17 century military history that is complicated and eliminating. Following a delete of new york correspondent, taylor adopted the rhetorical strategy of sheridans strategy of the Shenandoah Valley to military operations carried out from the french under louis the 14th. Already there are problems, or complexities. Taylor has told of two campaigns against what is now southwestern germany. War, of 1672tch 21678, and the grand war alliance. Tour, french troops destroyed 20 towns and villages in the spring of 1689. Down ofs much tracking his historical references makes it hard to believe he was all control of his material. Or was shaping its with anything like the scholar he pretended to be. The swerving accumulation of widely different historical comparisons is an carefully i have found no confirmation of this. A tale that didnt appear in the footnote comparing cheriton to the french. The point is not to go, gotcha. To catch themot out of the military history which, i bet none of us could get. The point is to recognize that in the operations against the Shenandoah Valley, two years after the delightful excitement of Stonewall Jacksons campaign. Taylor confronted large problems. Piling up of historical comparisons may have been his conscious or unconscious message for trying to manage those problems. There is the problem of who is responsible for the destruction of the Shenandoah Valley. The blame on sheridan, taylor made the error of mistaking the agent for the principle. And ever still common in many civil war circles. It is understandable that an te southern asterisk rat might find other did assheridan as others well. It is less understandable that he did not recognize the hand of ulysses s. Grant. Taylor understood the chain of that theny understood Shenandoah Valley could not have been operating wholly. True, shannon fully endorsed the wisdom and efficacy of the Shenandoah Valley program. His instructions clearly came from grants. Those are dutifully reproduced in his own memoirs. After sheridan had reports of david hunter, grant wrote him in if the wars terms, to last another year, we want to the Shenandoah Valley to remain a barren waste. Infamous linens of the crow, its source is also grant. Letter according grant, if the enemy has left maryland, he should have upon his heels veterans, militiamen, men on horseback, and everything that could be got to eat out virginia beat out virginia as far as they go so that crows flying over it for the balance of the season will have to carry their province are with them. Order, or not he saw the sheridan cannot have helped grants a vision along with the figurative language in which he voiced it. Saward taylor never anything in an official reports about a crow. The closest he came to saying such a thing was this sentence. When this is completed, the winchester winter up to shenton will have little ford for man or beast. The infamous line attributed to cheriton past and present is apocryphal. The selfreliance crow of the Shenandoah Valley was holy grants invention. As it turns out, taylor himself may have been the source or the conveyor of the line seen by thousands of readers in the pages of the Southern Historical society papers. In march 1878. This leads to the second largest aboutm proposed by taylor the destruction of the beautiful valley. It is not difficult to understand why taylor found sheridan loathsome. Nor is it difficult to find why he may have shied away from charging u. S. Grant with brutality he attributed to sheridan instead. Grant was a great admirer to do Zachary Taylor who served under in mexico. Richard taylor died before grant but his admiration on record. Personal memorize, grant made his admiration during their washington meetings in 1865 summer. Its may have tempered taylors attitude toward him prompting taylor to flee instead. The larger challenge was to plumb the implications of Richard Taylors question prompted by what sheridan had rocked in the Shenandoah Valley. Aske may we will not whether religion, science, and art combined have lessened the brutality of man sincerely. Imposing such a question, taylor opened his knowledge of military youth to scrutiny. From a Vantage Point of the 20 to sayew would be likely any combination of religion education science and art has lessened the brutality towards one another. Counterexamples are so numerous that the question is hard to take seriously. What could someone have seen from the vantage of 1877. What could taylor have seen, apart from the american civil war, and what he thought of as the singular brutality of this stonewall valley. If you look all the way back, to the classical antecedents he , you would have seen the sacking of troy, and the uncompromising policy of in the book herem of josh. Jonathan. In the book of joshua, the destruction of jericho, undated in the king james version. All that was in the city, both man and woman, sheep,nd old, ox and the with the edge of the sword. Sheridans conduct in the Shenandoah Valley approach neither of these in degree. Nor did it come close to the moral in normandy of the French Campaign against civilians of people. Ve own presentrs which is 1877, as he is writing, he just had to look closer at the francoprussian war and the to seeurkish war abundant evidence of what he might have considered view brutality. These, heo both of chose to focus on leaders and their strategies, but he could have focused on the thousands of civilian casualties during the siege of paris, or on massacres of muslim and christian populations in the second. If he needed evidence of continuing brutality closer to home, he had the bear river massacre of 1863. The sand creek massacre of 1864. Washington massacre of what tschida he would not be alive for the massacre of 1890. Taylor hads, richard overwhelming evidence that the answer to his question, may we will not ask whether religion, and the others have lessened the brutality of man, was clear. We may well ask indeed, but the answer is no. Religion, education, science, art, have done nothing to lessen the brutality of human beings. Suggestsf the question that he knew the answer was no. His highly selective use of ,ilitary history also suggests taylor chose to view it as an exceptional lapse. Instead of seeing events is continuous, taylor opted for marshaling the righteous indignation of enlightened enlightenment belief of human improvement, if not perfect ability. And theis way, sheridan valley represented the failure of civilized standards of refinement and cultivation. Of which taylor was the selfappointed apostle. Unlike the 21st century student of history, who might find the himself and, taylor ,he question of the readership staunchly affirmed the values underlying this underlyingness. We will do one more section and we are done. Readers that Richard Taylor had in mind, return us to my original question of, white you allude atl why all . There are many reasons to allude. It can increase the residence of a specific passage is the one were pressing on the pedal while playing the piano. S, dont allusion ever be intimidated by them. Through it, one can hide or conceal it by indirection. A given instant of it may one or best may reflect more of the intentions. Heres the point. Through it, one can project creatingal readership a community of shared values. Taste,of education, cultivation, and refinement in taylors case. Through allusion one can assume ann exclaim believably inescapablyee it was his method of reconstruction. Many readers might take the second term of his title referring to nothing more than that. The u. S. From 1865 21877 o 1877. Here is the definition. To construct a new in the mind. To restore something past mentally. We use the word in this sense when we speak of reconstructing events or the purpose of analyzing or interpreting them as in a court of law. And Richard Taylors hands allusion was reconstruction. Tradition as he thought of tradition from his geographical and political Vantage Point. Many readers agree with the final sentences of the it whiched review of is 39 pages in manuscript. Katie and gary by providing me with a copy of this monster. Heres the relevant sentence from early. I dont know why this wasnt published. There is often too great a straining after effect. Too great a propensity for pedantic display for history. Callll be much red and forth sharp replies, weber undertakes to read it might have an encyclopedia and biography at hand. Others, will find themselves closer to agreeing with douglass affirmative assessments. Either way, enclosing the chapter, taylor extended the north American Review article one last time. Closed to the chapter by reconstructing a memorable thekfast not long after battle of porch republic in Orange County virginia at whats taylor called the barbarous hour of sunrise. The march toward the seven days battle. You notice some skipping number six wartime. Fourtime. For time. Thats night we camped at the birthplace of my father. A distant kinsman who i had never met invited me to his house in the neighborhood. It was a fine old mansion surrounded by wellkept grounds. This region had not been touched by war. Plants, and rose trees in full bloom attested the glorious mess of june. Sness of june. This is breakfast. Quantities of cracked ice rattled refreshingly in the goblet, fragrant mint above its room, a massive white sugar rested on the meant meant, and luscious strawberries crowned the sugar. Thats a julep. Breakfast was announced and what a breakfast. A beautiful service, snowy above all, a lovely woman in chris down with roses on her cheek. In the stern reality of war. Case of wonders forms, inventions of the tropical imagination of africa inflamed by virginia hospitality. For the second time in the Valley Campaign, taylor turned a my father, when depicting phase of southern life now passed away. In closing, the best chapter of this, he elected to give the last words to an idol in the midst of the stern realities of war. Of past andnce present of Shenandoah Valley in siteand 1864, a delightful of delightful excitement, of reconstruction of southern life passed away and reconstruction of the postwar u. S. , a vital and stern reality, was and is what makes the Valley Campaign unique among the chapters of destruction and reconstruction. Harmonize taylor to momentarily the disharmonys around and within him. The harmony did not last. Not in his book, not in the life that ended with his publication, and not in the june 1862 breakfast somewhere in Orange County virginia. The harmony was necessarily precarious and temporary, that does not mean it was not fundamental to what taylor called in his preface an interior view. All harmonies are precarious and temporary. Few stories would have value without reference to them. As one of the final sentences of the Valley Campaign put it, duty friend us dragged us from this eden. Youll have to look up this illusion. We know the plot too well. [applause] youre watching American History tv, all weekend, every weekend on cspan3. To join the conversation, like us on facebook at cspan history. He once called for the removal of pluto as a planet, and on sunday, the author neil the grass tyson will be our guest on indepth. Allow me to tell you that our moon, as small as it was compared to earth, has five times the mass of pluto. Pluto lovers were never told her that. [laughter] welcome to the company of informed people. Regarding pluto. During the live threehour conversation, we will take the question for mr. Tyson who is also the director of the Hayden Planetarium and author of several books. Watch indepth with astrophysicist newly grass tyson live from noon to 3 p. M. Eastern sunday on book tv on cspan2. Sunday night, on afterwards, the Pulitzer Prize journalist telling cooper discusses the life and presidency of liberias first elected president in her book, madam president , the extraordinary present. When did you first meet madame president . Ive known about her all my life. She became famous, she was minister of finance in 19 1979 and a 1980. And, shemy parents, was somebody come as a child growing up, i had heard of. She was always criticizing the things that she worked for. In 1985, when she was arrested and thrown into jail, i heard all about that. She became, at this time, a political icon. Watch afterwards, sunday night and 9 p. M. Eastern. Thats on book tv. All weekend long, American History tv is joining our Charter Communications Cable Partners to showcase the history of reading california. To learn more about the cities, iestourspan. Org cit buried we continue our look at the history of reading. At the height of californias gold rush in the 1850s, this little town had seven hotels. These were also businesses, retail businesses, and you can see the shell of the businesses across the sheet. Often times ones abandoned between the 1880s when the seat moved from the courthouse in this building into downtown redding. At the historic park, we show the history with our visitors as well as telling stories of how the area was first settled by the First American pioneers. To the area ine 1840. At the time, he worked for another prominent california resident, john sutter in the sacramento area and was with a small group of men early during california and the gold discovery on the american river. ,e realized that the terrain the geology, angiography, along the river was similar to the river he had passed through earlier and had established. Exican he came to the area earlier and discovered gold south of here on clear creek. Word