by Amelia Gilmer | | Tuesday, September 12, 2017 - 00:00
Now that the summer is over, I can safely say that working at Richmond National Battlefield Park was incredibly rewarding and enjoyable. Although I faced some challenges working as woman in the male-dominated field of Civil War history, it was so wonderful to spend the day talking about my passion for Civil War history with most of our visitors. Throughout the course of this internship, I learned so much about the field of public history and historical interpretation.
by Brian Neumann | | Monday, August 21, 2017 - 00:00
In October 1913, the Staunton Daily News published an editorial criticizing the lack of attention paid to Virginia students who served in the Union military during the Civil War. In the preceding decade, the University of Virginia had celebrated its Confederate alumni by hosting reunions, casting medals, and dedicating a plaque on the Rotunda. The university had compiled a list of just more than 2,000 Confederate alumni, but it had made no attempt to honor its Union veterans and rarely acknowledged their existence.
by Jane Diamond | | Friday, July 14, 2017 - 14:12
In 1905, forty years after the end of the Civil War, an Albemarle-born, African-American veteran named Frank Lee applied to receive an increase in his pension. He had served as a young man in the 5th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Cavalry, a black regiment that fought for the Union cause. Because of his service, he was eligible for government assistance in the form of pensions, but he needed to verify one thing: his date of birth. Frank Lee set out to clarify.
by Amelia Gilmer | | Wednesday, July 12, 2017 - 09:52
Greetings from Richmond National Battlefield Park!
Despite the massive number of bugs, sweltering heat, and possible ghosts, working for the Richmond National Battlefield Park has been an absolute dream. As the Nau Center’s summer intern at the park, I primarily work at two of our thirteen sites: our main visitor center at Historic Tredegar and at the Cold Harbor Battlefield. Additionally, I spend two days a week working on my research project, which focuses on Virginia women during the secession crisis and subsequent convention.
by Amelia Gilmer | | Monday, June 19, 2017 - 13:32
Out of the approximately 18,000 African American sailors who served in the Union navy during the Civil War, over 2,800 were born in Virginia, the most from any state. While most of the men in our Black Virginians in Blue project were soldiers in the USCT, six served as sailors aboard five Union vessels.
by Sarah Anderson | | Wednesday, April 19, 2017 - 00:00
4/8/2020: Project Director William Kurtz has updated this blog entry to reflect the project’s latest findings.
by Gary W. Gallagher | | Wednesday, March 15, 2017 - 00:00
This last of three installments on the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War shifts to civilians. The frequent presence of United States forces in the Valley exposed civilians to significant disruption of normal routines.
by Gary W. Gallagher | | Wednesday, March 8, 2017 - 00:00
This second of three installments on the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War, which as a group anticipate our Signature Conference for 2017, focuses on military action. From the confrontation between Joseph E. Johnston and Robert Patterson during the campaign of First Bull Run through the Confederate defeat at Waynesboro on March 2, 1865, almost continuous activity of some sort disturbed the Valley’s pastoral countryside.
by Gary W. Gallagher | | Tuesday, February 28, 2017 - 14:28
The Nau Center’s Signature Conference for 2017 will focus on the Shenandoah Valley’s role in the Civil War. Lecturers will examine various facets of the overall topic, including military operations, civilian experiences, how events in the Valley resonated in the United States and the Confederacy, and how the Valley figured in memories of the conflict. In this, the first of three installments anticipating the conference, I will examine the Valley's geography and logistical and strategic significance.
by Jack Furniss & William Kurtz | | Tuesday, February 7, 2017 - 00:00
The Nau Center is in the very early stages of a digital project looking to add to what historians know about military prisons in the Union and the Confederacy.