No one should be surprised to find an overwhelming amount of online assistance for Civil War tourism, with one of the most popular sites being civilwartraveler.com. Twenty-six of their podcasts, which provide walking tours by Park Service historians, are available on their website or through the iTunes store. The Civil War Traveler recommends the 1861 Project, providing contemporary takes on Civil War music, as something to listen to while driving between Civil War sites.

That’s a point that we’ve been stressing since we released Volume I last summer: if you’re planning on driving to any Civil War sites, take The 1861 Project with you. So it’s nice to get an endorsement from no less an authority to AHA.

And thanks to Civil War Traveler for the recommendation!

Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox

It is curious how many of the pivotal events of the Civil War occurred during the month of April.

The war started on an April day — April 14, 1861, when Confederate batteries bombarded Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay.  Just last week, we observed the 150th anniversary of the great Battle of Shiloh.

And yesterday, April 9 (as I was just reminded), marked the 147th anniversary of Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House in Western Virginia.

To mark that occasion, we thought we’d offer visitors an opportunity to listen to (or download) our tribute to that historic occasion, a song called “Greater Gentlemen.”

Written by 1861 Project producer Thomm Jutz, and renowned singer/songwriter Dana Cooper (who also sings the lead vocals) “Greater Gentlemen” describes the events of April 9-12, 1865 as they might have been witnessed by one of the rank and file soldiers on either side of the surrender:

Grant raises his hat his officers too
to pay a respectful farewell
Lee rides back again to be with the men
that followed him through fiery hell

Grant let them keep their horses
he ordered “there’ll be no cheers
these soldiers are our countrymen
though we fought them for four long years”

(chorus)
and they’re standing there in the april air
bound by courage and chivalry
it’s clear to me i will never see
greater gentlemen than Generals
Grant and Lee

And here is the actual song:

From Wikipedia:

The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing on the west bank of the river. Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard launched a surprise attack on Grant there. The Confederates achieved considerable success on the first day, but were ultimately defeated on the second day.

And from The 1861 Project, listen to “Shiloh,”  written by Thomm Jutz, Charley Stefl, and Jon Weisberger:

I spent the first weekend of March camped out (well, no, not really, I spent the two nights in motel…) near Erin, Tennessee, where I witnessed and photographed a re-enactment of the fall of Fort Donelson, which was the first big Union victory in the war, and marked the beginning of Ulysses S. Grant’s ascendance into the American Pantheon.

And I got to spend some quality time with “General Grant” himself.

OK, obviously not “General Grant” himself (after all, somebody has to be buried in ‘Grant’s Tomb’), but with a gentleman named Dr. E. C. (Curt) Fields, who portrays General Grant at some of these events.

“General Grant” met us (myself and Ken Gray, a photographer colleague) at the Federal encampment before dawn on the second day of the event.  We got to shoot lots of photos of he and his troops as they rose and prepared themselves for what would be that day’s climactic battle re-enactment.

While we visited with the camp, the General and his comrades regaled us with all manner of stories and history.  Their insight into this pivotal time in the nation’s history is impressive, to put it mildly.  It was a real privilege to spend that much time with all of these gentlemen (and at least one equally knowledgeable and garrulous lady) and observe their dedication to the art and craft of historical re-enactment

I have yet to make it through all the photos I brought back from that event, but here’s one of General Grant taking a moment as the sun was rising over the encampment:

While I’m at it, I may as well throw in one more photo from the weekend.  In this one, General Grant is seen returning to “General Buckner” the sword that “Buckner” tendered when he surrendered the “fort” to Grant.  Grant became known as “Unconditional Surrender Grant”  after informing Buckner that “No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.”  But here, Grant is seen returning Buckner’s sword,  in a gesture of conciliation that would follow the Union commander all the way to Appomattox.

More photos of this event hopefully next week.  In the  meantime, check out Ken Gray’s portfolio of photos from the weekend.

–PS

We kicked off our 2012 tour season with a live, fully acoustic (no electricity at all) performance for Nashville’s Metropolitan Historical Commission at the Little Theater on the campus of Fisk University.  Thomm and Peter and a small legion of co-writers have assembled an impressive lineup of songs for Volume 2, which will be released this summer.

And we have something completely new for you: a video recording of The 1861 Project Live.

Back in December, we assembled almost the entire cast of writers and performers from Volume 1 at the Rutledge Live Music Venue in Nashville and performed 7 of the songs from the CD.

The result is a High Definition video with studio-quality, high-fidelity stereo sound to match.

The 1861 Project Live video includes the additional element that makes our live show such a unique presentation:  Each song is in introduced with an historical narration, with video footage and still photography that further underscores the context of each song.

We’ve made the video as easy to purchase as we possibly can: it’s available directly from our website as an easy-to-download digital file for just $5.99.

We’ve also created a couple of bundles so you can purchase the video along with the CD and/or the digital download of the CD.

Needless to say, we’re pleased with the result and we think you will be too.

Visit this page for a preview of the video and more information about the songs we included.

Of all the sources I have availed myself to, perhaps none has been as influential as Adam Goodheart’s 1861: The Civil War Awakening – which is now available in paperback.

Goodheart’s book is just full of interesting background and human interest stories.  Like the tale of Elmer Ellsworth, who organized the militia know as the “New York Fire Zouaves” – and whose untimely end early in the war is a story for the ages.

In observance of the release of the paperback edition of 1861, last week NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross rebroadcast a show from earlier this year which I think may be the most erudite 38-1/2 minute discussion of the origins of The Civil War and it’s impact that I’ve ever encountered. I sincerely suggest you listen to the entire interview.

Of particular interest to my ears – and as I read the book – was they way Goodheart follows the evolution of Abraham Lincoln’s thought processes that ultimately produced the Gettysburg Address – which some historians regard as America’s ‘second Declaration of Independence.’

While most readings of the history tell us that The Civil War was fought to abolish slavery, Lincoln …

… understood that secession was in a very real sense anarchy or even in a way terrorism against the foundations of democratic government. Because the basic principle of democratic politics in America was, and still is, majority rule and minority acquiescence to the will of that majority. And without that honored you could simply have groups and factions and regions withdrawing their allegiance as soon as they felt like it.

If you have seen a recent performance of The 1861 Project Live show, you will appreciate that that theme has been added to both the introduction and the conclusion of the show.  That’s just one way that Adam Goodheart’s book has enriched our whole experience of the Civil War.

–PS

Just found this photo from after our show for the Nashville Metropolitan Historical Commission on Feb 18 in the @nashstreetband Twitter feed.

From L-R that’s Cindy Melby (“Momager” for Nash Street), Producer Thomm Jutz, songwriter/Creative Director Peter Cronin, vocalist Caroline Melby, songwriter/vocalist Stan Webb, vocalist J.T. BROWN (did I get it right this time, Watson?), vocalist Hannah Melby, and Executive Producer/Narrator Paul Schatzkin.  Irene Kelley joined us for this show but had left by the time we all got together for the photo op.

History tells us that over 600,000 Americans – 5% of the U.S. population – perished during the American Civil War.

They died, history tells us, in no small part to resolve “the paradox of slavery in the land of the free …. and with it, the need for the endless compromises that permitted the nation to grow while preserving that “peculiar institution.”  Or so this “historian” says  in the narration that concludes our show, The 1861 Project – Live.

So imagine my dismay when a friend told me last night about a book and a PBS special that aired this week called Slavery By Another Name.

Like slavery itself, and the Jim Crow culture that thrived in the American south for 100 years after the Civil War, this is another disturbing saga in the evolution of our nation’s Founding Principals.  This video promo for the PBS special will tell you pretty much all you need to know:

It’s not a pretty picture by any stretch. It’s horrifying, really, to realize that the conditions described in these works persisted for nearly 80 years after the end of the Civil War, until the time of World War II.

But if we are going to learn the lessons that the the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War should teach us, then we need to take a closer look at this chapter in American History, too.

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story tells the dramatic story of William Still, one of the most important yet largely unheralded individuals of the Underground Railroad. Still was determined to get as many runaways as he could to “Freedom’s Land,” smuggling them across the US border to Canada.  Bounty hunters could legally abduct former slaves living in the so-called free northern states, but under the protection of the British, Canada provided sanctuary for fugitive slaves.

One of the songs on The 1861 Project Volume 1: From Farmers to Footsoldiers, “Freedom Train,”  comes from the perspective of a passenger on the Underground Railroad.  Listen to “Freedom Train” now, and tune into PBS tonight:

The launch of the USS Monitor

Many times through the course of history, war itself has been the necessity that has given birth to ground-breaking inventions.

The American Civil War is no exception.  As noted here earlier, the telegraph was an indispensable communications system throughout the war.  The first use of a railroad in to transport troops to battle occurred at the Battle of First Manassas/Bull Run in the summer of 1861.  The Winchester repeating rifle was first introduced during the Civil War. And who can forget that other great instrument of peace, the Gatling Gun – invented by a doctor, no less, who surmised that the destructive power of such a weapon might hasten the war’s end.

So today we note the 150th Anniversary of the launch of the USS Monitor, the Union Navy’s entry in the Ironclad Gunship Sweepstakes.  The  Monitor’s rotating gun turret was the first of its kind, and a precursor to the weaponry still found on the most modern naval war vessels.

There’s lots of information about the Monitor and her eventual stand-off with her  Confederate counterpart, the CSS Virginia (don’t call her the Merrimack!) all over the Interwebs, but we reminded of the Monitor story by this item posted by our friends at the publication called, ironically (no pun intended…) called “The Civil War Monitor.”