Transcripts For CSPAN3 The Civil War 20141109

Which received the bronze award from forward magazine in 2010. In his 12 years at the National Portrait gallery, he wrote over 200 articles for print and the web. More than 40 of which were on the American Civil War. He recently received one of 10 secretarys Research Raises the 2013 from the Smithsonian Congress of scholars. We are very proud of him for that. He is founder and director of the Perry Library of theater. That is in knoxville, tennessee. I would also like to introduce amy bracewell, the site manager at the historical park. She will make a few remarks, and then well have warren come up here. Thank you. Thank you. I would like to thank you so much for coming out. Cedar creek and belle grove historical park was excited to partner with the smithsonian for this lecture. Thank you for agreeing to speak on this great history. We think it is such a perfect fit to be able to marry the resources that the smithsonian has with the battlefield. Cedar creek and Belle Grove National Historical park is a small park in the Shenandoah Valley. We are one hour outside of the beautiful valley. The park was established in 2002 to share the history and spectrum of history in the Shenandoah Valley. We have a 1790 Plantation House Plantation House, leading up to the battle of cedar creek and beyond, the modern culture and vibrancy of the valley. We will like to welcome you out to all of our 150th anniversary events. This part of our lecture series happening throughout august through november about various topics on the valley campaign. We will also be commemorating the battle specifically on the 19, ourof october anniversary. We encourage you to check out our website and our Facebook Page to the schedule and follow along on all of the events. As you may know, we have several items outside for information. The National Park service developed the free sentinel guide. This edition is for the washington invasion and the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1864. We have various materials on the events happening in october and also the latest event coming up this weekend is the battle of third winchester that we are commemorating this weekend in winchester. We encourage everyone to come out and visit and a special thanks to Elizabeth Wilke and the Smithsonian Associates for hosting us, and for warren perry for sharing this information in and for the great resources. Thank you. Hi, good evening. My name is warren. I would like to thank you for inviting me to talk about cedar creek and the smithsonian collection. I would also like to thank the Smithsonian Associates and the National Park Service Staff in virginia for allowing me to speak this evening. As i conclude my own time at the smithsonian, it was wonderful it is especially wonderful for me to be able to address this audience and tell everyone how much i have enjoyed this work. I would like to thank a couple of other folks. Iii, a greatr, colleague and friend who invited me invited many people along on the production of the smithsonian civil war book. I would also like to think jim barber, one of the smithsonians great civil war for, who has taken time to enlighten me over the years often. His door was always open to me. I am grateful to him for that. Michelle delaney made it is to happen and i am thankful to her , as well as to linda thrift, my boss at the National Portrait gallery. Linda is the chief archivist of portraits and she put up with me for 12 years. I have always been grateful to her. And ben bloom for being a great partner in a lot of our efforts, filming the battlefields them of putting things out on the smithsonian website. I would also like to thank the marty whothe late gave me a lot of time and assistance to complete a lot of lot of the work i wanted to finish. In the past few years, i have been to many battlefields and taken a lot of photographs. I have taken my wife, shannon, and my daughter. They have eaten a lot of National Park hotdogs. Shannons first battlefield with me was chancellorsville when we first moved to this area 14, 15 years ago. Our daughter was two weeks old when we dragged her out of the crib to go to antietam on anniversary of that battle. Also my brother, dr. Patrick perry, i have dragged them out him out many days after christmas for a trip from memphis to shiloh and nothing says christmas more than 100 mile jaunt to a battlefield. First, i want to talk about this war that we are produced. This work that we produced, this mighty work that so many smithsonian individuals participated in. And i am honored to have a part in producing this book here to a wrote fourpart i articles. There were 150 articles. There were editors, photographers, archivists, so many people. I want to speak briefly about the going ons after we talk about the book, about 150 years ago included in notes on sherman and the war in the south. Last, i would like to talk about the experience in the east, the siege of petersburg, and how that experience dovetailed into our discussion of the battle of cedar creek which happened 150 years ago next month. First, this book. Generations of americans are drawn to the history of the civil war. This volume, smithsonian civil war inside the National Collection, is indicative of the fact that war was more than battle. But the battles were central to the horror and experience. That is not all the war was about. It was about slavery, certainly, and states rights. Was aboutwar families, about men leaving to fight and homes being torn apart by separation and loss. And considering the obvious in the smithsonian collection, the objects which represent the war are as diverse as the experiences of the war. This work was assembled by 50 scholars from the smithsonian and a handful of editors and the support of scores of other staff, photographers, researchers, librarians. Many historians would argue that the American Civil War was the most important event in our nations history and the moment that would take shape from the as early as the signing of the declaration of independence. Others would argue the possibilities of such a war found his first moment with the arrival of the first captured africans at jamestown. The civil war was transformative and horrible. While the goal was to keep the union together and eliminating slavery was met, more than 600,000 men were killed and land s throughout the south were ravaged. It is impossible, john meacham notes in the foreword, this was the time of too much importance to the civil war. History is not a fairytale and nothing is inevitable. The war started with cannon fire at fort sumter in 1861 and culminated in the death of president lincoln in 1865. Just as the nation was shackled to the tragedy, so the National Collection of the smithsonian is tied to the war. Director of the institutional history division, states in the first chapter of asithsonian civil war, storm clouds gathered over washington, d. C. , in 1861, the smithsonian which was a single building housing joseph henry and his family, along with the museum or library, and other facilities, experienced the first to mold of a divided nation. He faced questions about his loyalty to the nation. He had Close Friends who favor secessionist including regents who were expelled from the board for confederate sympathies. Even jefferson davis, the man who served as the president of the Confederate States of america, had ties to the smithsonian. He was a regent to the institution. The range of attention represented in the civil war collection is astonishing. It is not just guns and uniforms, though there are many both on display and in storage. Its not limited to photographs and flags. There are many of them, also. There are signs announcing slave auctions, and there are identification badge is worn by slaves which further signify the injustice of the time. There are political posters, printing plates, pistols, postage stamps on letters to soldiers and letters to those Soldiers Left behind, and there however, we will discuss the horse later. I should not flash general butler of their at the same moment. [laughter] first, i would like to talk about the object i am most familiar because i contributed for the volume. The first piece is the National Portrait gallery. Its called the vanity of beast butler. Few men on either side collect as much ire as Benjamin Franklin butler. When he arrived, his reputation was already in place. That was in new orleans in 1862. The administration of the city augmented with everyone already believed which was he was difficult and argumentative. However, he was also an inordinately vain individual and unskilled in the craft of generalship, widely accused of corruption in his administration of new orleans, though he displays a keen understanding of the marshall method of bringing a city into order. Butler came to be called beast butler by issuing edicts as general order number 28 which declared women in new orleans found to be overtly disrespectful to the occupied occupying union forces would be regarded at how liable to the treated butlers authority with mostly went mostly unchallenged. He was placed at odds. President lincoln removed butler from command in 1862. During a hiatus between assignments, butler selfserving biographyipated in a which was meant to increase his presence in favorable posture. Upon being reassigned to the army in virginia, he failed terribly in the assault on forces at fort fisher, and he was again discharged by president lincoln. This bust of general butler was the work of sculptor edward brackett. It concerns the generals vanity and the letter he sent to his wife in 1863 while on duty at fort munro, virginia. And the note, general butler stated do you want to see me . Do the next best thing. And gethat marble bust a handsome pedestal for it. After the war, he served as governor of massachusetts and a congressman it lost a bid for presidency. He died in 1893. As a biographer notes, both hated and loved, butler remains a figure immensely amusing and muchmaligned. Heres a great picture of the general. This one i particularly like it shows him on the field and you see his wearing slippers. Oops. I have got to go back. I might have messed something up here. There you go. My second contribution to this large collaboration is called a haunting relic of gettysburg. This object is a poignant piece. A confederate victory at gettysburg wouldve changed the course of the war. Many in the north were growing tired of the fight in 1863, and robert e lee believed that there were those in the north who would happily capitulate and bring it to a close. Denied to they approve or disapprove that notion. Lee outgeneral his union counterparts. The Confederate Army was out number at gettysburg and lee fought against long odds. He should have known the lesson of gettysburg instinctively, having fought hard to protect virginia. He fought hardest and protect the his own home. Also, Union General made chosen george meade widely chose the surroundings of gettysburg positions and many of the officers made excellent and brave decisions during those three days fighting. Historically, the great battle like gettysburg place a burden on war leaders to justify the carnage. In Shakespeares Henry the fifth, we died at such a place, some swearing and some crying. Some upon their wives. Behind left poor them. Some upon the debts they owed, some upon their children. There are few that i will in battle to charitably dispose of anything when blood is their argument. The number of lives lost in any of the major engagements is staggering. The descriptions of the troop movements, the engagements and encourage displayed at place like Little Round Top is the largest discourse of the glories of the conflict. Though the antiquated image here is clear enough, this is a mans loved ones was awaiting his return, his call. Again, poignant. Human resonance of this lost photo goes beyond the battlefield. Theot know the fight fate of this soldier, nor do we know if he was from the north or south. Our imagination tells us it might be the last object from home he consider before you marched to his end. Our imagination tell us it signifies that yearning of the woman pictured that yearning and waiting for her husband more presumably who has his last letter which spoke about taking part in a mighty battle in a tiny village called gettysburg. The third piece i have in this book is on the fall of fort fisher. Germane to the war immediately after cedar creek. Cedar creek occurring in october of 1864. This sums up the last of the major fighting in the deep south and the Northern Army seizing control across georgia and going up the east coast. One of the great names associated with the union naval success is doing the war is at role david dixon porter. Porter was a key player at both new orleans and vicksburg. Later, while sherman submerged georgia in complete war, a plan was devised by general butler and porter to take fort fisher by sending a boat with 215 tons andowder on to the water then to blast the powder, taking out the fort in one mighty explosion. Fort fisher, south of wilmington, was important to the southern supply line. Because of its unusual sand wall construction on the side that faced the water, it made it more difficult to penetrate. However, the powder plan, a , nottic design, failed only because the powder to not create the damage of which it was believed to be capable, but also because butler failed to follow up the explosion with a proper assault on the very dense fort. Ofecond attempt in january 1855 was more successful. Butler had fallen out of favor and was removed in command and replaced by Brigadier General alfred terry. Terry joined the order in executing a new attack. It was a deliberate shelling of the fort with dozens of ships porter had under his command, after which terrys men launched an assault. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. With the fall of fort fisher, the flow of goods which had been smuggled into wilmington, north carolina, since the earliest days of the war, suddenly stopped. Also, one of Robert E Lees chief sources of supplies was eliminated. In this photograph, admiral porter, actually, incidentally, gardner isurner imaged, but porter is on the ship where he planned to the assault on fort fisher. It sealed off the last major port in the south, assuring the union army that lees pipeline was severed. The last essay i contributed to this volume is the one which somewhat segues us into the battle of cedar creek. Grant andis called his generals. It is more than a painting. At the front of the group of mortals is ulysses s. Grant , while the men who saved the union ride alongside their field commander. None could have known the number of lives it would take. Armiesnderstood that would battle, and unlike mcclellan, he pushed his soldiers into the field. Grant was irreplaceable. This man fights, said lincoln. Understanding war, fighting and of the life were part price to be paid for victory. The unions heroes, pictured in this ride of glory, are not in formation, but they are keeping a pace of their leader. Is one inguration which we see a classical arrangement where the heads are kept level with each other, as the figures would be depicted on a adamant. Among the warriors represented, custer we seeng with the golden hair on the far left. There is a lightcolored horse, sherman off on our left, grants rate. And then again, you see general sheridan. This portrait captured it captured in this tribute were painted from life by a norwegian american artist. Not only is the scope of the war encompassing the portrait of no less than 27 jewels but also the 27 generals, but also the scale of the work is grand. 16measures 10 feet high by feet wide. The initial sketches of the men depicted in this painting were done in the autumn of 1854 at field headquarters in virginia gradually forced lees army into capitulation. He was a volunteer resident and completed the final final oil painting in 1865. Peter hansen bolling consider grant to be his masterpiece. President Abraham Lincoln granted him permission to begin work on this Group Portrait while he visited the generals after the various stations of duty. Mounted within a specifically, specially fabricated sitespecific curved frame, this work embraces the northeastern stairwell of an old building which is now the Donald W Reynolds center, home of the National Portrait gallery. The connection of his work to cedar creek can be found and the in the generals accompanying general grant not all of them, of course. This is a big picture. But those generals accompanying general grant into his legacy. Two of the critical players, we see sheridan and George Armstrong custer and well talk more about that in a few moments. Right now, i want to move up to cedar creek by look at things by looking at things that were going on. Where was the field elsewhere at this time . By early 1864, the endgame of the civil war was in progress. In the deep south, William Tecumseh sherman would be placed in charge of the army that will sweep through georgia and into the carolinas, and we talked for a moment about sherman. Shermans record was marginal. He was a colonel at bull run in july of 1861. Against strong forces, he had rallied his men. Ultimately, his brigade left the field in much the same way as the rest of the union troops that day, fleeing from the rebel onslaught. His first large command was a colossal failure and many journalists consider him as having lost his mind. He performed well at shiloh in the spring of 1862 but managed a disastrous attack a few months prior to the 1863 seats to vicksburg. His march was plagued with problems. Thehis performance at battle of chattanooga was also questionable. Trusted his men in that relationship continued. Sherman marched through georgia and moved up the east coast which earned him his final status as a legend in the north. In virginia, grant would meet lee at the wilderness and begin a march towards richmond that would culminate in a massive siege at petersburg, virginia. 1864 was the last full year of the war. The army of Northern Virginia had had any victories under its belt. Fredericksburg and chancellorsville were the biggest. But attrition was taking a mighty toll on the south. Meanwhile, the war machine of the north seemed to be stronger every day. When the army of the potomac and lee; it in the wilderness beginning on may 5, only a few miles west of lees great victory, the first time the would face ulysses s. Grant. While the name of the battle would go down in history as the wilderness, it was really the beginning of one prolonged battle that would last an result in lees surrender in 1865. In poor supply. For junior was already stripped of many resources because of three years of war. If the confederacy had any hope, it was invested in his leadership. A civil war historian affirms that in this season of scarcity, lee was unquestionably the souths prime assets. The union also hung his hopes on this leadership. The president s Main Objective was to reinstate the union in and the people of the north look to the new commander, ulysses grant. He was the most recent in a string of qualified generals to take charge. Other generals, mcclelland, burnside, and meade looked good on paper, they fail us take the initiative would require of them. Mcclellan in his early days simply failed to prosecute the war. Burnside lost a crucial battle at fredericksburg. Meade, though a good leader, had failed to follow up on the retreat from gettysburg in 1860 3. Grant, however, came to leave the army after secured victory after victory in the deep south. The most recent and most important was the surrender at vicksburg in july of 1863, simultaneous to meades victory. They would pitch everything at the enemy. Grant intended to go at a leak e from all sides and assigned a primary role, the army wouldve you raised would be raised and hurledstrength across the rapid end. Grant brought in more than 100,000 men to the battle and would suffer casualties of more than eight teen thousand men. Lee would lose more than 11,000. The month of may would be one of the bloodiest times of the war. After the wilderness and Spotsylvania County and subsequent bountiful battle, lees army won victories and suffered fewer losses than the rebels and strategically maintained his army between grant and richmond. However, the losses he sustained were more than he could afford and it was getting more and more difficult for lee in the confederacy to live to fight another day. Grants mobility allowed him to shift south, and he would continue to maneuver around lee for a few weeks, failing to crush richmond, but successfully keeping lee in the field, further draining the Southern Army of men and supplies. Those battles would be known as grants overland campaign. There was the siege of petersburg, for junior. A strategy of grant continued to further whittle down lees numbers. This happened until the closing days of the war in 1855. The above events would reinforce the criticality of the last major event and out wartorn garden of the lands north of winchester, virginia, and descending through the fertile east and of the west by the alleghenies. In western and sylvania, home to the breadbasket, Robert E Lees army, the Shenandoah Valley would host large last battle. One an event that will be the final severe installment of combat in a theater of war that had seen many, many episodes. Why is his area called the breadbasket of the confederacy . Because it can grow anything. It is a real garden of eden. Many of you have been to the Shenandoah Valley. Some of you may live out there. We have a couple of our fine rangers here. It is a splendid area. With flowers and grapes, wheat grapes. [laughter] cattle. Of course. That is a llama. I was this morning spentg amy earlier i last night in lexington, virginia, and this and i spent the night at the holiday inn right across the hall from the general Thomas Jackson suite, and i went up route 11 this morning. Going up route 11, of course, you cannot stop to buy a soda without running into a historical marker. Then i took the ride on the 66 and tonight we are spending the night out at manassas. Every day in northern fridge and you is a battlefield tour, it really is. This is a llama, and it as part of a herd in the Shenandoah Valley. For the record, Philip Sheridan was not the last general to occupy the valley. This is the photograph of Brigadier General chester taylor, retired United States army air force, whose home you see behind general taylor and the llama, is regularly occupied since before the american revolution. Pacifism, they feigned pacifism when the union troops came through the area. These troops kindness paved the way for taylors family. And the herd of llamas some years ago. As i said, this land can grow absolutely anything. And this morning as i was coming up route 11, i saw another herd of llamas. My wife actually saw them she that, llamas on parade. We had to turn around and take some photos to show our little girl. I want to revisit for just a the monumental work grant and his general spirit the theion can be found generals accompanying general grant in his ride. Two of the critical players in the victory can be found in this work indicated. Also, as were coming from our ift, and we can do this after finish up, but we also have on here thomas devins, kilpatrick, all playing a role in cedar creek. This image is just chalked full of the union greatness. If you have not seen it, i encourage you to go to the National Portrait gallery, to , theortheast corridor o stairwell over there, it is just a spectacular installation. The battle of cedar creek should not be considered an accident or afterthought. Cedar creek was a culmination and a capstone event. Amidst other events occurring at the same time, the significance of this moment on october 19, 1864, is often overlooked. To fail to consider one of the 10 seminal moments of the war is to fail to look at what stopped on that day and what follow that followed that day. Cedar creek is one the least recognize great moments in Civil War History and the larger history of the United States. The greatest victor of this battle let me go through a couple of these images with you. The greatest victor of this battle was was president lincoln. President lincoln had coming up on him the election. Sheridans victories coupled with his successes in the deep south provided the republican incumbent with great news to share with the american electorate. He always commit himself to the preservation, but his first task had been to bring it back through any means necessary. George mcclellan was lincolns choice to head the army of the potomac initially. There were problems with the battle plans, and he was demoted, only to face mcclellan as an opponent in the 1864 president ial election. As with other challenges, lincoln faced off and won. Lincoln would live for only one week after the conclusion of the war to see his union united following Robert E Lees surrender. Many of lincolns writings and speeches were well known and quoted but it is doubtful that anything lincoln can ever say would better sum up his thoughts that has set the speech march of 1865. I am quoting. With malice to none and charity for all, with firmness in the right and god gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nations wounds. Who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and orphan. To do all which may give a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. Lincoln is the alpha and the omega of the American Civil War. General grant wrote in his memoirs the following. You can tell my memphis just jumped out. [laughter] general grant wrote the following characterization of the fight of cedar creek. Sheridan having left washington reached winchester that night. He had scarcely got out of town when he met his men returning and panic from the front and also heard heavy firing from the south. He ordered the calvary at winchester to be deployed across the valley, leaving members of his staff to take care of winchester in the public property there, he set up with a small escort directly to the scene of battle. As he met the fugitives, he ordered them to turn back, reminding them that they were going the wrong way. Presence restored confidence, finding themselves more frightened than hurt, the men often returned back. 10 mileshose returned to redeem their reputation as a gallant soldiers. When sheridan got to the front, he found getty and custer Still Holding their ground firmly. Everything in the rear was now ordered up. By 1 00, early was so badly damaged that he seemed disinclined to make another attack. About the middle of the afternoon, sheridan advanced. The contest was closed for a time. Disintegration soon followed. Our cavalry having pushed on had gotten to the rear of the calvary, that 24 pieces of the artillery. This picture pretty much close the campaigning in the valley of virginia. Arly lost more men that was general grant. Monument as you enter the road to belle grove. The monument placed there as a memorial to Major General stephen ramseur. That is a really nice little monument. There are not a lot of monuments on that battlefield. This one is one of the more interesting pieces on route 11 as you are going south from winchester. It just pops right out at you. The entrance to belle grove and that farm is a spectacular entrance. It is one of the places where you stop and look at the mountains beyond the beautiful home and these fields it makes and it just makes you want to sing god bless america. A really amazing property. Plaque on that monument. That is cedar creek. A tributary to the shenandoah. What stopped with jubal earlys defeat is a supply chain to the east. From beginning of the war the Shenandoah Valley served. s army. Sioned lee earlys loss at cedar creek into this. Although places like winchester had seen a lot of work, winchester had changed hands dozens of times in the conflict. Without the confederate breadbasket, lee would be without bread in a literal sense. As it is noted in the treatment the battle of cedar creek, victory from the jaws of death, sheridan began scorching the earth, and before by having troops destroyed over 1000 bar hundred thousand bushels of wheat. Very hungry, hungry people. There is a smaller work on the battle of cedar creek victory, the jaws of death, and then a larger work on the subject. One is the guns of cedar creek. Sheridan wonly and late. I know there are these scholars who is studying for years and years. If custer had not been there earlier in the morning, the whole damn thing [laughter] hear it. T but it is true, there was this surprise attack early in the day. And somehow, the union army managed to stay in place not completely, but there was a huge plight, and later in the afternoon, sheridans troops rise to the occasion. It was like an epic tale by the way. By the way, this one of the sites. I took this off the bridge there on 11, just really nice land. Im not trying to politicize this by any means, i really hope that as we continue to look at places like chancellorsville and manassas and this beautiful k, out ately new par cedar creek, that we are taking into account the advice of people like the National Trust in the Civil War Trust and were doing the responsible thing with the lands. There are Beautiful Moments of battlefields that have got to be protected. This is from the National Portrait gallery collection, i wanted to have a couple more images. I do not believe these are in the catalog. Jubal early. A great image of custer. The more you read about custer, the more you have got to go, wow , what a guy. [laughter] one of the historians i was reading talked about him in terms of being a viking, you know, he would just roar into battle and was not afraid of anything. He was not exactly a scholar. That gusto and lust for battle. Just, damn, anything that gets in my way. And then there was general sheridan who was himself a young man at the time of this fight. And last, of course, is the horse. [laughter] [laughter] oh, we are going to do it here tonight, folks, you just wait. ,eneral sheridan horse winchester. Ready to go to battle. Kathy golden writes the horse was named ramsey. But it was renamed winchester after the 1864 battle. And waser died in 1878 preserved in a museum in new york for years and years per day think the story is the museum burned down and the horse came into the smithsonian collection. One of the Great Stories about this horse is one of the pieces poetry, thatce of accompanied this course horses trip into legacy, and those are both the painting and the poem, the work of Thomas Buchanan read. In 1996, there was a really nice reed talks about rates in both feet poem and painting the painting, and this comes from the article reed spent a month in new orleans doing preliminary sketches and then he finished up in italy. There may be poets i could write a better poem, but could another man paint a better picture . There could be dangerous to could produce a better picture, but could that same artist rate a better poem . [laughter] here we go. Going to wrap it up. Drama fromfa in Catholic University in america. Great dismay to the chieftains door. Telling the battle was on and sheridan 20 miles away. And still does the lows of war thundered along, louder yet to winchester rolled the roar that red sea uncontrolled. Making the blood cold. The fiery freight, and sheridan, 20 miles away. But there is a road for winchester town. A good highway leading down through the flush morning light. Night seemslack as to pass with eagle flight he stretched away with his utmost speed. His heart was gay with sheridan 15 miles away. Still sprung from those hoofs, the dust like smoke from the canons mouth. The trail of a comet sweeping faster and faster, foreboding the doom of disaster. Of these steed and the master were beating, impatient to be were the battlefield calls. Only 10 miles away. Road his burning feet the and the landscape sped away behind like an ocean. Wild eyesn with his full of fire. Smoke, withng the sheridan only five miles away. The first of the generals saw were the troops of stragglers and then the retreating troops. Do . Was to what was done . Striking his spurs. Oath. Ible both his wife would have been very disappointed. He dashed down the line. The wave of retreat. The site of the master compelled it to pause. The black charger was gray. With the red nostrils, he seemed to the whole great army to say, i have brought you, sheridan, all the way from winchester, down to save the day. Hurrah for sheridan. Horse and man. When the statues are placed under the dome of the union sky, the american soldiers with the glorious generals name, be it said bold and bright, here is the steed that saved the day. By carrying sheridan into the fight thank you. From 20 miles away. [laughter] thank you. [applause] i had to do it. [laughter] ok. Thank you. Questions . I have a microphone in the back. Yes, sir. I think i said in the introduction, one might graduate one of my graduate degrees is in medieval literature. What i was reading that form a while back, i just had to do it. It reminds me of the green knight and also has the moments that are like paul reveres ride. And you can hear the [clacking sounds] that is really neat. Meter abouthas this a that kind of reminds me of satire that chaucer wrote which is making fun of the epic pieces. I thought it was, i thought is oftill ran with the rhythm the horse. Is a nice 19thcentury poem. Its not one of these things like when we all look at poetry now and we go, oh, yeah, its not cool enough. It is a very good poem. I really enjoyed it thank you enjoyed it, and thank you for letting me read that. Not that you could stop me. Real quick question. How did the horse survived 20 miles of fast riding . That is part of the great discussion on the horse. It is real funny. There are folks out there they , there are folks out there and they will just take it to death. You know, in my car and i have an audi and it is only several miles from the holiday inn. [laughter] some citizens and soldiers after it came out, so people were saying, no, it is only 12 miles. Other people were saying, there are different discussions about it. He did. He survived it. He went on to live practically another generation. Yeah, i guess well have to leave that to equestrian scholars to recreate that route. I would imagine the answer to my question will be an impression, rather than anything solid. But in the United States, there must be hundreds, probably thousands of battle sites from the civil war. I am wondering, how do organizations such as the National Park service or the Civil War Trust or any similar organization, how do they sort it all out . To do they decide which site preserve . And, well, you cannot win every battle, bring on the suburbs. A great question. Apparently, it is kind of an old park service joke or something where the guy comes in and asks the ranger, all of these battles were fought on National Park service land and isnt that strange . [laughter] i have heard that at shiloh in and at cedar creek and a guy said that. Would one of you guys from the National Park service like to address that . I could take a couple of guesses. I would guess the scale of the fight would be part of it. If there isnt interstate and mcdonalds nearby [laughter] i do not think i would have an official grand suggestion for that are there have been great studies done on the health of battlefields and the history of the great title fields. Some great mapping had been done in the 1990s for all of the fields that have not been recorded. As you alluded, there are probably levels of priority at the significance of this site. The National Park service tries to preserve and protect nationally significant areas. Obviously, every battle of the civil war was nationally significant for the fight for america. But some are more significant than others or have more indepth history. This also instances where it may be a local community that has a nonprofit or a county government that can do a great job at preserving and protecting. If there are those places in place, then the communities should definitely be involved in protecting their community history. It is a mix of many factors of how it comes to the National Park system. A great question. I remember years ago going from memphis to nashville and your lexingtonexits for and waverly, and i have been in washington for the past 15 years and they put up a sign for parker crossroads, a site right off the i40 corridor outside of jackson, tennessee. There was a big effort to bring that into place. I believe it is a staterun park. But there is Community Interest in keeping the spirit and keeping that. Winchester, virginia, it seems like you should just wall the whole place off. Something amazing happened all over that community. And if you run out of civil war sites, you can go find patsy cline sites. [laughter] place where history happens. I love that question. I enjoyed your presentation and i loved the reading of the poem. It is one i know but have never heard out loud before. I am concerned there is so much more to the battle of cedar creek and what led up to it and to jubal early, the confederate general. Two months ago, we celebrated here in washington the battle of fort stevens. That was jubal early trying to tab washington and noted as early as the park service had a wonderful magazine which tells the whole story from when jubal early started violently on way of the Shenandoah Valley. Andtt to Harpers Ferry others and then came down to d. C. And a battle for two days. Grant had sent troops from petersburg. Then early went back over to the Shenandoah Valley at the head of and they had many skirmishes and battles. Then we can to the big rattle of was,weekend or whenever it what day of the week was it . I do not know. Anyway, you are right. Sheridan was phenomenal. What he did, when he saw the soldiers coming at him i have never fully understood the words rallying the troops in this way, but he did. He got to them and turned and they won. Early was a Major General. That was in the Confederate Army. He was at gettysburg and these major battles including shiloh. He was all over the place. Peace of the story needs to be told, as well, even though i am a yankee. [laughter] you are certainly right. Early, right after this battle, was removed he went to richmond and was taken down. Lee did not want to do it. But early was so unpopular at that moment because thats battle meant so much and you are very correct. There are many parts of the story. This is the first installment of good timectures a to do an advertisement for those upcoming lectures that will be out at the battlefields, throughout the valley. Our National Park Service Folks here have information on that. This this is by no means the complete story. What we represent here are some of these nice moments where that battle dovetails with the smithsonian collection and the pieces in this large work, that we just put out. Very good though. Thank you very much. Wellinformed comments. Yes, maam. I am curious. I wonder if you could speak to a comparison between the battle of cedar creek and its significance to the end of the war in terms of shermans march to the sea. Obviously, there was a difference in scale. I was surprised when i first started learning about the Shenandoah Valley battles that this battle, nobody knows about this. Nobody knows. It was a large battle. Nobody knows that the valley was burned. It was burned to the ground. Some long memories out there. Can you suggest why we hear a lot about one and not about the other . It is an excellent question. This is purely my opinion. I believe it is because that path of destruction was so wide, so long, and it lasted forever. Some people say there are many parts of the south that have never recovered from the civil war. It takes i am sure this is not the case and i would have to read up on the agricultural history of the valley, the shenandoah is such that a couple of growing seasons, it is the garden of eden all over again. It is that prolific. Georgia lost a city in atlanta, and the sherman cut across georgia affected so many people for so long. When we look at Flannery Oconnor and William Faulkner talking about the destruction of the south, the literature certainly reaffirms the fact that it was a 100 year disaster. Least a 100 year disaster. If youre African American in the south, the Civil Rights Act is signed by lyndon b. Johnson, it was supposed to end the problems that lincoln was supposed to have ended. As we know, there are still problems. With respect to sherman versus cedar creek, it was a huge body of land that he went through. It was absolutely it was huge. And it was being followed by the press. Imagine a tornado wearing blue coats. It just last for weeks and weeks. Cedar creek was not featured in a major film. [laughter] now we are calling hollywood. That could happen. I believe public consciousness over what has happened in our history, more people know about atlanta and its role in that loss cause. Gone with the wind. I have a question. Am i right . Did they allow reenactments on that property . Most National Parks dont. Someone told me they did. That is correct. The National Park service has a policy that we do not allow reenactments on National Park service land as a respect for the fallen and the horrors that happened. And for accuracy to what we understand the battle truly was back then. Unique park. S a we are unique park in that the National Park service does not own much of the land inside our park boundary. It encompasses 3000 acres and National Park service has 90 of those acres. The rest is a mixed of our land owning key partners. We have five key partners that own land and manage their land and interpret their land. And we have private landowners within the park boundary. Our Park Partners are allowed to do reenactments on the battlefield that they own. Part of our 150th anniversary is a reenactment on the battlefield. That is a very unique situation in National Parks. As you alluded to National Parks , to not have reenactments. That is the unique situation with us and allows our partners to interpret their site as well. Thank you. Thank you very much. Yes, sir . One reason that is problematic about cedar creek is that you had private landowners who needed their provisions to get through the winter and the theory a lot of the grain might have reached lees army, but the systematic destruction of private property meant a lot of these farmers starved in the winter. One book i read was called atrocities this was in the 19th century, destroying private food from those who might of the unit, it was considered an atrocity. Im not surprised it is not as widely known as it was. There was a phrase that a crow flying over the valley must the other point is we commemorate those events which we wish to commemorate. Mobs seize control of the city, it is not marked at all. You need your own guidebook because there is no park service. Onument anywhere in manhattan the other point, it is often , thatbut totally false Oliver Wendell holmes said to ful ln, get down you dam fool. That did not happen. Its interesting how they can raise a monument. You see a whole community or moment enshrined. Im trying to think of the most amazing things. In dublin, the monuments to the nonexistent womb. Bloom. You can fall all over dublin, and this is where bloom spent this part of the day. This is to the work of james joyce ulysses. There are monuments of this fictitious character. It is something that has interested me for a long time. You see some communities do this. They raise monuments to fictitious people. To dart a monument canyo to in the United States we have our own take on this. The monument to mary richards, Mary Tyler Moore in minneapolisst. Paul. And the monument to rocky. [laughter] they took it down . A shame. [laughter] yes, sir . The story of someone who combines this with james joyce, he said yes. [laughter] we have entered the postmodern. This is more of an anecdote. My greatgrandfather was at cedar creek with cavalry. He was from middleton but chose to go north to join a cavalry regiment. In his last year, his son, my grandfather had moved up north and was working for the state of new york and albany. My greatgrandfather came up and was visiting. They walked up state street to the capital, and there was a statue. I dont know what sort, of sheridan. The capital guide was saying to the small crowd something about sheridans ride. It may not be true. My grandfather, who was a modest , oh no, it was true. I was there. [laughter] he was from middle tennessee . He moved north. Yes, sir . Gone with the wind, it that is coming back to the movie theaters. Check your newspapers. Thats right. Thank you all once again for coming out. [applause] the cspan city stewart takes book tv and American History tv on the road, traveling to u. S. Cities to learn about their history. Withweekend, with partner Charter Communications to visit madison, wisconsin. It is a glorious service. It is service for the country. The call comments to every citizen. It is an unending struggle to make and keep governments representative. He is probably the most important political figure in wisconsin history. Important andt history of the 20th century in the United States. He was a reforming governor. He defined what progressivism is. He was one of the first to use progressivism to self identify. He was a united take senator. He was recognized by his peers in the 1950s as one of the five senators and American History. He was an appointed world war i. He advocated for free speech. He was about the people