Much for being here for the leadoff. [applause] david thanks. Great questions. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] American History tv recently visited longwood university. Next Michael Gordon talks about richmond in 1865 and what historians can learn from photographs. His talk is just under an hour. Our next speaker is Michael Gordon. He did a great presentation. Amazing photographs. You will see more of them today. He grew up in richmond. Working for the National Park service. He has been a permanent ranger and historian and Richmond National Battlefield Park since 2003. One thing he is well known for his his website, civil war richmond. I tell my students there are so much junk and garbage online in terms of civil war sources, this is one of the best websites relating to the civil war i have ever seen. I got a lot of good stuf
Yesterday got the magazine of virginia history and biography. The new issue is on lincolns visit to richmond at the end of the war. There is an excellent article. The talk this evening is on photo forensics. Richmond, 1865. Please welcome him. [applause] Michael Gorman i am miced up. Can anybody hear me . I hate podiums. First things first. Was anybody here for the last time i spoke in 2010 . Wow. We got some new people and some veterans. This is great. I was thinking about, what did i talk about in 2010 . I dont remember. So this is a completely new taking what i love to do picking apart the photographs. Finding the stories within them. The best of. There are over 500 images i could show you. I am showing you about 60. If you want more, we will hang out sometime and do that. [applause] [laughter] photo forensics. You might also call this a love letter to the library of congress. The reason is, in 2003 or so the library of congress digitized their original negatives and put them online
Stedman in 1865 where a general wants to launch an assault by having one of the pickets fire a warning shot. In doing so the century pauses and yells out before firing the shot, hey, yank were just out gathering some corn and then fires a shot because he wants to clear his conscious because they have inthis informal truce that no one will fire on either side. There are newspaper boys from richmond who go through the lines to sell papers. There are sketches in newspapers that even record it. Its not undmoncommon during the civil war in petersburg. It is interesting that the initial act was translated into english in 1859. One last question here. Im from michigan. I have a question about the desertion rate during the siege. Could you estimate the percentage . You know, i cant. I have no facts or figures as to a percentage of. However, it becomes such a concern for both armies that the confederates will do just about everything in their power because of the amount of desertion desertion,
Not a good place to be in when youre an officer in the army. That being said warren tends to not want to follow orders as grant gives them. Warren tends to want to interpret orders to the benefit of his men only do what he thinks is going to preserve his fifth corps. Thats not how grant wages warfare and it is certainly not how sheridan wages warfare. Sheridan instantly balks knowing that some of these are warrens men. When sheridan is told that he has to use the fifth corps as his support led by general warren, that order is instantly followed up by general grant with if you have any problems with the Corps Commander relieve him of one of the Division Commanders which you would say pretty much puts the writing on the wall that warren is not going to make it through the battle. Warren, as i kind of eluded to is late getting there through no fault of his own. But as the battle is ending, he will literally have as the sunsetting is his horse shot from underneath him. As he picks himself
I want to read through it more closely. Mikes talk this evening is on photo forensics so please welcome him. Thanks a lot. All right. I am micced up here. Can everybody hear me okay . I hate podiums. I would like to collect all the podiums around the world and pitch them over a cliff. Was anybody thats here today were you here for the last time i spoke in 2010 or Something Like that . Okay. Wow, we have some newbies and some veterans. This is great. I was sort of thinking about what did i talk about, what did i show you in 2010, and i dont remember, so this is a completely new sort of taking what i love to do, which is picking apart these photographs, and finding the stories within them, sort of the best of. There are over 500 images i could show you. Im showing you about 60 tonight. If you want more, well hang out sometime and do that. So, photo forensics, you might also call this or as i often do a love letter to the library of congress and the reason is because back in, oh, 2003 or