The Battle of Plymouth is famed for its historical significance and celebrated for its profitable value in tourism. The Battle of Plymouth was a major Confederate victory, but also the background for a tale of great. The history as it is preserved, and the subsequent collective memory, are a byproduct of their modern adaptation which is meant to entertain and entice tourists. The battle is a complex set of events that remain in the interest of the public to this day. When marketing this ever intriguing skirmish, the town aims to draw more income from tourism by targeting specific audiences. The collective memory is not altered exclusively by marketing. Instead, as oral history passes down the stories of the Confederacy, Southerners tend to whitewash of the traitorous secession of the South. Instead, a story of Southern heroism and defiance to federal government is passed down through the generations. This leaves the local people with a biased collective memory and with scarcely and factually based education on the subject. On Sunday, April 17, 1864 Confederate forces, led by Brigadier General Robert F. Hoke, attacked the Union Garrison at Plymouth. Plymouth was a port held by Union troops which was critical in holding the Roanoke River. In the Civil War era, one of the most effective modes of transmission for supplies was boat. Therefore, the Union’s hold on the Roanoke River and surrounding waterways proved to be a detriment to the Confederate supply lines. Not only was
how the confederates could attack from the water because without naval support they had to
At the beginning of the book, Horowitz sets up the background for his spellbinding interest in the American Civil War. Horwitz wrote this book shortly after settling in Virginia following several years as a journalist overseas. The consciousness out of which Tony Horwitz witnessed conflicts in foreign war zones for decades was imbued with an obsession, sustained since childhood, with the legacy of the American Civil War. When Tony Horwitz was 6, in the 1960's, he learned that his 101-year-old great-grandfather, Isaac Moses Perski, an immigrant from czarist Russia, was an American Civil War buff. So was Horwitz's father. Horwitz became one too. One purpose of this book is to reexamine this connection, to question why a liberal Northerner should find himself drawn to stories and figures that represent much that he has worked against in his own life.What explains this non-Southern, nonmilitary family's fascination with a horrible conflict in which their ancestors had no part? That, the first question raised by Horwitz's splendid commemoration of the war and its legacy, is never quite answered. Appropriately so, perhaps, because Horwitz gives us the Civil War in which Americans see all sorts of unresolved strife: over race, sovereignty, the sanctity of historic landscapes and who should interpret the past. One morning, he hears gunfire outside his house. It turned out to be a group of Civil War reenactors, decked out in Confederate uniforms, filming a scene
Jamestown was established in 1607 and Plymouth in 1620. Theses two colonies were similar to each other but they also were different in varies ways. For example, their location, weather and purpose to travel were completely different but both colonies suffred the same and lost many of their people. In addition both colonies had two leaders to look up to.
By 1864 the Union troops were closing in on the Confederacy. Major ports and cities had been taken over. North Carolina and the port at Wilmington were becoming major targets for the Union army and in November, 1864 a plan was put into place to move Union troops for the first assault on Fort Fisher. In a letter written by Richard Delafield, general and chief engineer for the U.S. Army, Delafield discusses the plan for the destruction and the capture of Fort Fisher and Fort Caswell. Fort Caswell was located on Oak Island, south of Fort Fisher, but also protecting the entrance to the Cape Fear River. Delafield’s letter details the strategy for the destruction of Fort Fisher:
It can be debated where exactly the Union was able to claim its victory during the War Between the States. Most people could narrow the turning point in the war to Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The battle of Gettysburg was a very tragic loss for the South, but the battle at Vicksburg was the largest victory for the North. In this lone battle, the Union created an economic problem for the South. The Union Army’s troops, helped by gunboats and river ironclads took control over the Mississippi River. This action virtually split the Confederate territory in two while also seizing control over the South 's main artery of transport. When Vicksburg fell to Union troops on July 4, 1863, the Confederacy lost its last chance to control the Mississippi River.
Throughout history, historians have spun events in order to alter and adjust others’ views on the event. This is especially true during Colonial times and the time leading up the American Revolution. During this time, information about the colonist’s events was passed on through word of mouth. One such man that was notorious for this was George Robert Twelves Hewes. Hewes was a Boston shoemaker, who at the age of twenty-eight witnessed four of his closest friends shot to death by The British red coats; he also participated in many of the key events of the Revolutionary crisis.1 Hewes recollections of the events that took place were passed along in the monograph The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution by Alfred
After fighting their way southward from Illinois and northward from Gulf of Mexico. Until by late summer of 1862, only Vicksburg and Port Hudson appeared to be major constraints to the Union of the two posts, Vicksburg was by far the strongest and most important. Setting high over looking a bend in the river, protected by artillery and dangerous swamps. So far the city had defined Union efforts to force into submission. (Williams 1)
One of the bloodiest conflicts in U.S history that occurred in the 17th century was Metacom's war (also known as King Philip's War). In Proportion to the population, it is also recognized as the deadliest war in American history. By the end of the war, the English population of New England had declined by thirty percent and the Native Americans population declined more than twice the percent as the English. The dreadful war was a violent and destructive conflict, which was triggered by the devotion of maintaining cultural identity and preserving authority and power, both in religious and society capacities in which one believed to be his land. As a result, this crisis has impacted Americans and the culture of themselves for many years. This essay will analyze the history of Metacom's war chronology from June 1675-August 1676 informing the readers with knowledge about King Philip, the cause and effects of the conflict, and the impact it has made towards Americans.
The American educational system is a deeply flawed organization that primarily puts a strong emphasis on American exceptionalism. The problem with this type of thinking, is that it washes out the tragedies of history and places an unhealthy amount of importance on American achievement. As a result, people are not grasping the full image of historic events and are skewed in their ways of thinking due to a biased mindset. In the article “American Indian Genocide Museum: The Confederate Flag, Buffalo Soldiers at Wounded Knee and Clarifying History”, by Steve Melendez, a recent controversy is discussed. According to Melendez, in 2011 Jerry Patterson, a Land Commissioner, tried to get both a confederate flag license plate and a Buffalo soldier license plate approved by the DMV commissioners; the confederate flag plate was rejected, and the Buffalo soldier plate was approved (Melendez 1). The significance of this, is that both are symbols of genocide and oppression. However, the Buffalo soldier license plate was approved, because they are not looked at as figures as violence, but instead heroes. This is primarily because most Americans were not properly taught about the Buffalo Soldiers.
During September 9th of 1862 Confederate forces led by Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson commanded three divisions with the goal of seizing Harpers Ferry. At the time Harpers Ferry was a Union occupied town bordering Maryland and Virginia. For the Union front this was a main arsenal holding area that provided support to other forces. For the Confederates, they saw it as a major supply line allowing logistics to travel down south or north through the use of rail road systems. COL Dixon Miles, the Union commander at Harpers Ferry, received intelligence about the movement of enemy forces towards his location.
Throughout An American Childhood, Dillard expresses how significant history of various subjects are. “We children lived and breathed our history-our Pittsburgh history, so crucial to the country’s story and so typical of it as well-without knowing for believing any of it.”
Over the past few weeks of class, we have covered the first five chapters of our textbook, written by George Brown Tindell and David Emory Shi called, “America, A Narrative History.” Each chapter told the reader a narration of the history of America, as opposed to an expository version of America’s history. Each chapter had its own main idea over a portion of history, along with many details that cover the importance of the main idea. As a reader, one may obtain a deeper appreciation for the country 's history, prior to entering the class on the first day. The most important aspect of history, besides the battles that are fought, is the different cultures that make up today’s modern America.
In the Last Stand, written by Nathaniel Philbrick he discusses a big leader in the Civil War, George Armstrong Custer and how he led his troops with reckless courage. Philbrick wrote this book which can be viewed in many ways: a bloody massacre that is a big part of American history, or a tale of crazy arrogance and even unmatched bravery. One way that this book can be viewed as is the Last Stand being viewed as an account of a well-known battle that encapsulates the treatment of Native Americans during the “Indian Wars.” The next option is that the Last Stand is a retelling story of a history that does not glorify the United States Army in the Indian Wars, but shows the hubris and reckless of the leaders and army. Finally, the Last Stand can be viewed as a double meaning, both the last stand for Custer and the Last Stand for the Sitting Bull and the Lakota Sioux. In this essay, I’m going to discuss the ways in which Custer leads his troops and how he was a powerful leader during this time.
Tindall, George Brown, David E. Shi, and Charles W. Eagles. America a Narrative History. 10th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2004.
The concept of American national identity has been one of the founding structures that unifies the group of people that that call and consider themselves to be American. Since the “founders” of this nation settled in New England their patriotism has been celebrated. The legendary story of how the Puritan Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock seeking religious freedom is often taught to young children as a way to help them learn one of the key narratives in the formation of the nation. The story is even more glorified when linked to the greatly loved holiday of Thanksgiving, where the peaceful Pilgrims eat a peaceful meal with the friendly Indians. However, it is never told of how the friendly Indians were betrayed, used, degraded, and in many cases, defeated by the peaceful Pilgrims. During the 19th century, a time of Indian removal and other forms of structural oppression, William Apess addressed how that portion of history was neglected to be told and therefore took matters into his own hands to give the proper historical moment to Native Americans. The hidden and untold story of violence of the Pilgrims continues to this day.