Civil War Voices

A recent episode of PBS’ “History Detectives” investigated a tintype with two Confederate soldiers: Andrew Chandler and Silas Chandler, the issue is whether Silas, who was black, represents what some say was a willing black Confederate. The tintype is not a new discovery and there has already been a previously televised show regarding it and the controversial “Black Confederate” debate. Mary Frances Berry, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said the question of whether … Read entire article »

David Hacker of NY Times DisUnion Blog recently wrote an article discussing the issue of Civil War deaths. There have been studies that suggest the death count was higher than the 620,000 or so fatalities that is commonly accepted. The debate over the dead is nothing new, indeed, Francis Amasa Walker, superintendent of the 1870 Census, estimated that the number of male deaths was “not less than 850,000.” As I have written before, the debate … Read entire article »