There’s an interesting series of opinion pieces over at the Washington Post’s House Divided site in which historians of various stripes expound on how they feel the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War should be observed. I’m linking here to this article by Mike Musick, who has been a friend to Bull Runnings. Links to the thoughts of other contributors can be found at the bottom of each article (I’d post each link, but it’s late and I’m tired). I’m making my way through them and am finding a mixed bag, both in variety and quality. One writer made the unusual declaration that any reenactments “must” include both black and white soldiers, while stressing that the “true histories” also “must” be presented. Hmm…I’m trying to imagine how a First Bull Run reenactment could pull those two things off.
Here’s a list of contributors:
Chandra Manning
Brent Glass
David Blight
Mike Musick
Joan Waugh
Waite Rawls
Harold Holzer
John Marszalek
Harry Smeltzer
Bull Runnings 
I wish you luck with this Harry. All the research I have looked at tends to be very contradictory. I read books on Irvin McDowell which say he was forced to take the Command of the Pacific because of his unpopularity. Other biographers say Irvin McDowell begged for the Command of the Pacific. Which is true?
I loved the CNN piece on the Fire Zouvares. My second husband William Francis Cole is a retired Phoenix firefighter. Our marriage lasted a whole nine months. Bill was the only surviving firefighter pulled out of a building that collapsed after a bad fire and suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He can not function because of the trauma he suffered from and we divorced about twenty years ago.
I wondered if the New York 11th was paralyzed by a similar disorder. One only has to look at the rapid demise by fire during 9/11 to understand that fire is a fierce and destructive force, second only to flooding. No one but a fireman would unerstand just how rapidly fire can destroy.
There has been very little research into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and there is not much help for anyone who suffers from it. Most medical research focuses on the big three: cancer, heart attacks, and stokes.
Susan Evelyn McDowell Cole
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[…] Dmitri has weighed in on the Washington Post’s panel of historians and their thoughts on the Civil War Sesquicentennial. Check it out here and here. As a reminder, I wrote about it here. […]
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