It’s July, and that means it’s time for the 78th edition of the long running History Carnival here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog! We move from one Brett to another this month.
Historians’ Methodology and Academic History
We start this month’s carnival at Crooked Timber, where Michele Lamont discusses what constitutes quality among historians and how to recognize it. Tenured Radical Claire Potter takes exception to a recent New York Times article decrying the decline of “traditional” history classes on college campuses. Historian Rachel Leow guides researchers on how to get the most out of newspapers as sources at A Historian’s Craft.
Interesting Individuals
Romeo Vitelli of Providentia discusses the strange and gruesome circumstances surrounding Jean Lanfray’s successful attempts to kill his wife and daughters. Despite heavy drinking throughout the day by Lanfray, the “Green Fairy” was singled out as the sole cause. Elizabeth Kerri Mahon explains how “Scandalous Woman” Lizzie Siddal, Victorian supermodel, found that she couldn’t live with or without the love of her life Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The lifelong friendship of deaf/blind Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan Macy is examined by Kim Nielsen at her eponymous blog. She finds that contrary to what one would think, Macy relied more on Keller than the deaf/blind woman relied on Macy.
Military Individuals
The “Good Death” of Captain Charles W. Billings, Co. C., 20th Maine Volunteers, at Gettysburg in July, 1863 is examined in a four part blog series by David S. Heald at My Morbid Obsession. Billings’ wife Ellen suffered much tragedy in her life, missing seeing her husband alive one last time by mere hours, and living long enough to bury all three of the couples’ children. Meanwhile, at Soldier’s Mail: Letters Home 1916-1918, Sergeant Sam Avery of the 26th “Yankee” Infantry Division in the A.E.F. writes home to his sister “Em” about the new men coming to relieve his outfit in France in June 1918.
Military History
Scott Manning produces sobering statistics regarding the Nazi Body Count in Europe at Digital Survivors. Manning breaks down the deaths by country and by what groups of people were killed. Former Civil War book publisher David Woodbury criticizes a recent Wall Street Journal article on “Seven Civil War Stories You Didn’t Learn in High School” and offers up his own, more interesting anecdotes from the war. Civil War cavalry expert and prolific author Eric Wittenberg examines exactly which cavalry units were with Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg and how Lee utilized what was available to him in the absence of J.E.B. Stuart and several of the best cavalry brigades in the army. Author Bob Thompson dissects the confused and confusing command structure of the Army of the Potomac…and how it led to the Union disaster at Cold Harbor. He believes George Meade and Ulysses S. Grant should shoulder the lion’s share of the blame. Brett Holman remarks on the possible effects and use of gas attacks on the British and by the British in World War 2 at Airminded. British worries about desperate Nazi gas attacks turned out to be unfounded.
European History
Judith Weingarten tells the interesting tale of Lorenzo De’ Medici, Louis XI of France, and St. Zenobius’ magic ring at Zenobia: Empress of the East. Philip Wilkinson of English Buildings describes the painting of St. Christopher, “Christ’s Strongman”, in the church of St Botolph’s, in Slapton, Northamptonshire. The painting of St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, is lined up facing the door to the church, and is the first thing a traveler sees upon entering. Roy Booth at Early Modern Whale explores an early treatise on bee-keeping, where one would do well to remain sober and chaste while killing all of your bees before collecting the honey!
Miscellaneous: Reviews, Questions, and Pictures
Natalie Bennett reviews 428AD: An Ordinary Year At The End of the Roman Empire at Philobiblon. Penny L. Richards has been investigating the use of wheelchairs at the Bronx Zoo in the 191os and wonders whether they were used for luxury or necessity at Disability Studies, Temple U. If you have any information on this topic, let her know! Last but not least, Tony L. Alexander gives readers a pictorial look at Nara, one of the ancient capitals of Japan at The Soul of Japan.
As for the 78th History Carnival, that’s all folks! The next edition of the History Carnival should appear August 1 at History Today News. Keep reading and keep blogging!
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Still here? You might want to look over the Top 10 Gettysburg Books Civil War bloggers series, starting today and running through July 3 during the anniversary of the Civil War’s most famous battle.
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