behind AotW

Thulstrup’s Antietam (1887)

This famous print, from a watercolor by Bror Thure de Thulstrup, is behind a great story sent me by email from a great-granddaughter of the late Gustav August Freudenthal, once Private, Company K, 20th Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry.

The story is that Freudenthal told his family he is pictured in the painting.

It seemed unlikely on first hearing, but I thought I’d dig about a little to be sure …

A somewhat dramatic presentation for General “Fighting Joe” Hooker, isn’t it? But I think it fits the way many of us think of him today.

This cigar box inner label was produced in 1896–more than 15 years after Hooker’s death, and more than 40 after the War–so that tells you something of how long his name remained a draw. It sold recently at auction among other “Tobacciana” for just over $500, and was made for “Schmidt & Co New Chambers, Cor. Williams St., N.Y.”.

It does make the General look good, though. Better than life.

The current owner of the Landon House, Urbana, Maryland, seeks money to help him restore the historic structure. The report in yesterday’s Frederick News Post suggests his chances of getting any are about zero, at least for this year. Owner Kevin Dolan seeks $250,000 to renovate 3000 square feet downstairs.

Sabers and Roses* refers to the ball held by General JEB Stuart and his officers during the 1862 Maryland Campaign. The romantic story of the event involves dashing cavalry, local belles, and gallant combat between dances til dawn.

Mr. Dolan, aka Johnny Reb, apparently has had a number of other ‘irons in the fire’ to help publicize/make money/fund the building

• Maryland Museum of Civil War History
• Landon Society
• Landon House Entertainment: web tv, reality show, radio, movie?
• Landon House Records: CD
• documentatary film on the “weird, thriving American Civil War subculture”
• haunted house tours
• law office tenants
• sponsor of Maryland South
• an almost-blog

The current focus seems to be on weddings.

____________

* Can a phrase like Sabers and Roses be a brand or trademark? Artist Dale Gallon liked it for his painting …

The Henry Daily Herald reports Col C.T. Zachry‘s last home, a house in McDonough, Georgia, will be relocated to serve as visitor’s center or museum at the Nash Farm site.
Zachry was Lieutenant Colonel of the 27th Georgia Infantry at Sharpsburg, where he succeeded to command of the regiment when Colonel Smith was killed in action.

The Nash Farm is noted as the site of the last action of the Atlanta Campaign of 1864.

Col Zachry before his next-to-last house, “Peachstone”, Henry County, GA
(photo from g-g-grandson Posey B. Howell)

Someone named Thomas has popped up in the American Civil War blogosphere this week with My Civil War Notes.

His first serious notes are about William Baya, a name I know from the 8th Florida Infantry. In September 1862 Baya was a Captain and ascended to command of the Regiment after two more senior officers were killed during the battle of Sharpsburg.

I look forward to more–

Greetings and good hunting, Thomas!

Cadet D.W. Flagler (c.1856-61)

I was looking for someone else, actually, when I noticed the name D.W. Flagler on the list of Burnside’s staff at Antietam.

Then I came upon this superb photograph of him, preserved and displayed by the fine folks at Gettysburg College. It really struck me as that of a man who knows what he’s about, even if still fairly young.

Cadet Flagler had entered West Point from New York in June 1856 and did well, graduating fifth in the Class of ’61. He spent the rest of his life in the Army.

Visit a lovely timeline-based exhibit of US Presidents of the 20th Century from the folks at the Learning Technology Center, University of Texas at Austin, and Terra Incognita Productions— developers of “interactive educational experiences”.

Lieutenant Harry S Truman, 1917

Is it good education (Jeremy? Paula?)? Don’t know, but it sure has lots of good things to to look at.

See more in the February 15th launch announcement.

edit 3/14: removed extraneous punctuation from caption above.

Thomas J. Jones of the Antietam National Battlefield is among 7 candidates for the servicewide Harry Yount Award for 2007. Ranger Jones has already won for the National Capital Region.

The previous recipients of the award have embodied its intent, which is to honor rangers who, as their career has advanced, have continued to consistently and conscientiously go out every day and do the traditional, generalist ranger duties of protecting the resources and serving the visitor and who have done it well in the eyes of their peers.

Congratulations and thanks for your fine service to Ranger Jones, and best wishes in the “nationals”.

More from the US Park Service press release.

Talking about creating useful digital collections at WebWise 2007 yesterday, Dr. Deanna Marcum of the Library of Congress opined:

… it is not enough for us to create the perfect finding system, we know from all the user studies that individuals who are looking for information go directly to the open web, and our marvelous catalogues are not getting used. We have to find ways to take our content and the metadata and move that content to the open web. And until we do that, I believe we face a high probability of spending much, much, much money on developing bibliographic structures that are only used by a limited number of people. I know that in any organization when people are really good at what they do, it is very hard to abandon those systems. It is not enough to say ≈ìwell, users should use our catalogue.¬ù

Well let's think about how users are finding what they need and go where the users are. What we've always wanted to do. We have talked as librarians about how we want to get information into the hands of the people who need it. We now have the mechanism.

WHY ARE WE MAKING THAT HARD?

We have the opportunity to do what we've always said we want to do. Why aren't we doing it?

This is critical insight. I hope other library and museum people are listening …

Thanks to Holly Witchey, blogging at Musematic, who transcribed the Q&A (and covered most of the Conference). The original question to Dr Marcum that began the conversation apparently came from Murtha Baca of the Getty Research Institute:

What are some of the ways we can combat the idiotic idea that if you scan everything you get good access to it?

Talk about your strawman sans antecedent. I don’t think many people are seriously suggesting any such thing, but it gets the conversation started, right?

I had a kind email from the g-g-granddaughter of Oliver D. Green, medal of honor recipient and staff officer at Antietam. She corrected my error on AotW in his middle name (it’s Davis). I’m very glad she brought him to my attention.

Oliver Davis Greene

A career Regular Army officer from west-central New York State, Oliver Davis Greene graduated from West Point in 1854 and saw duty in the West with the 2nd US Artillery Regiment. At the start of the War in 1861 he was 1st Lieutenant, Battery G, and was in action as the battery’s commander at First Bull Run in July. He was then assigned as Captain and Assistant Adjutant General (AAG) on Major General Don Carlos Buell’s staff.

In that service Captain Greene made a powerful enemy: Andrew Johnson, then military governor of Tennessee. In 1864, of course, Johnson was elected Vice-President of the United States, and became President himself on Lincoln’s assassination in 1865.

It was at Nashville in the summer of 1862 that Greene and Johnson bumped heads …