My Adventures in History

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Visiting Fort Sumter for Memorial Day

This was the place it all began. In the early morning hours of April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired at a Union force commanded by Maj. Robert Anderson stationed inside Fort Sumter. South Carolina had seceded from the Union and were in the process of occupying Federal forts around Charleston Harbor. Anderson had already moved his men from nearby Fort Moultrie but they were running short on supplies. The small Union force tried in vain to defend the fort from the bombardment. After 34 hours, Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, and the soldiers were allowed to evacuate. The Civil War, America's bloodiest conflict, had started.

Movie Review: CSA: The Confederate States of America

I recently had the opportunity to watch the film C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America. This film asks a classic historical question: What if the South had won the American Civil War? While answering this question, the film takes on the form of a fake British documentary that relates an alternate version of U.S. history, complete with commercial breaks and important news bulletins. After viewing the film, I wondered why I never saw it before!

New Posting Schedule

Due to the high demands of my classes this fall semester, I have decided to reduce the number of new posts to this blog. Instead of weekly posts, my desire is to post about twice a month. My class load is demanding a lot of time and effort, and I believe it would be too much to try to post every week now.

My Top Ten Favorite Historical Films

I recently discovered that I have very ambivalent feelings towards historical films. Some of them are really exciting and heartfelt while keeping their historical integrity, while others have good stories but the historical accuracy is definitely lacking. I am often critical of historical movies that come from Hollywood, but there are a few I've really enjoyed. Here are my top ten favorite historical films and links to their trailers:

Solving the Mysteries of History

A couple of months ago, I read the book The Death of Meriwether: A Historic Crime Scene Investigation. This books deals specifically with the circumstances surrounding the death of Meriwether Lewis, and it specifically mentions what new efforts have taken place in the last few years to move closer to solving the case. This book has made me wonder how the latest technology and forensic methods are being used to solve long standing historical mysteries and begs the question: Should technology be used to solve these mysteries?