(Courtesy of civilwaracademy.com)
Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz is one mans journey through the south in search of the Civil War and how it lives on today. Horwitz's experiences with the believers of the Southern cause are very entertaining. From the first "Hardcore" reenactors to the flag wielding Kentuckians you get a glimpse into the minds of the people who still live with the ghosts of the war in their backyards.The extremes to which they will go to preserve and commemorate the ideals of the Lost cause be it starving themselves to look like authentic soldiers or holding huge town meetings to save a school mascot. And just cause it made me laugh out loud "Tim you've been peeing on your buttons again".
The three online readings focused on the slave narrative in our history. In Historiann we see that despite the huge impact slavery had in the south not many of the musuems to historical places want to share that history. It is best to gloss over the largest population that lived on all the plantaions in favor of focusing on the beauty of the house and the family that inhabited it. Coffmans letter was a little different. That of a white man remembering his experiences with slavery and the ills that befell both the slave and the master who treated them badly. Then of course the rewriting of history though pictures as shown in the Hndler and Tuite essay.
The website for the CSV is a one sided view of the war and its causes. In the store you can purchase what I'm sure are the most well regarded books on the War and other paraphernalia of the south. The site might come in handy if you have ancestors from the south because they do have an extensive network of genealogists in their ranks.
And to quote the fantastic youtube video "the South never won no war sir"
I also found it fascinating just how far the hardcore reenactors went to be true to the time. Especially when all of Horwitz' s supplies were confiscated; to go as far as to take a fresh Granny Smith Apple away from him was nuts.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job defining what a "harcore" re-enactor is, as defined by the book Confederates in the Attic. The quote you used, about Tim peeing on his buttons, is a great example of how far these people are willing to go for something that they are passionate about.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great quote and shows just how far the hardcore reenactors will go to be as authentic as possible. By reading Horwitz's book you get to see into the minds of people living in the South and how they view the Confederacy.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting reading the article on the photograph manipulation, then visiting the Sons of Confederate Veterans website. It makes you wonder if anything that they sell has been worked over or if they are basing any of their history on things that aren't authentic.
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