Featured Blog O' the Week: Dead Confederates

Greetings Cosmic Americans!

As you know...I am always on the lookout for the very best Civil War blogs out there. I do this for three reasons 1) so I can read them (duh) 2) so I can add them to my ever-growing blog roll and 3) so I can share my favorites with Cosmic America readers in a little more detail.

Dead Confederates, deftly authored by Andy Hall is among the best. Just today I read a wonderful piece on the ongoing search for  Black Confederates. Stop by and visit this comprehensive blog - you are quite certain to find many things of interest...some of the topics may even move you to comment, which I also suggest...just because I like that sort of thing.

What I appreciate most about Dead Confederates is the author's candor. I figure I will let him speak for himself in this case:

"I have no use for the Lost Cause. I grew up with it; I learned early on that Grant was a drunk, and Sherman was a monster. The pervasiveness of slavery, which tainted all, was rarely discussed. We were never actually defeated, I was told; “they starved us out.” I don’t think my late-20th-century family actually bought into this foolishness much, but felt obligated to pass it along, as it had been to them. But in my family, at least, it ends with me. There’s far too much good history out there to ignore for the sake of romanticism and hagiography. This blog is my attempt to explore that conflict and its legacy. I hope that readers will not confuse my general irreverence with a lack of seriousness. That would be a mistake, because the Civil War is the most horrific event that’s occurred in this nation’s history. This blog exists as much to clarify my own thinking as it is to inform others, and if my writing here seems muddled and even contradictory at times, that’s because my own thinking on the war — and my own Southern heritage — is a work in progress. As much as anything else, this blog is a chronicle of that process."

So there you go. One of the best in a growing list of excellent resources available to the public...free of charge.

Peace,

Keith

And a Few Great Blogs Will Rise To the Top

Greetings Cosmic Americans!

As you might have guessed, I read a hellofalot of blogs on the Civil War. Many, many of them are thoughtful, helpful, useful, you name it - they are just damn good.

So I thought it would be a good idea to feature some of my favorites right here on Cosmic America. Today I am talking about Civil War Books and Authors. I suppose it is pretty obvious what this blog is about (there is something to be said for a clear and concise title). But CWBaA is more than just a listing of the latest out there. There is much more going on here.

CWBaA provides insightful reviews, humorous notes here and there, and a comprehensive collection of links that any Civil War scholar, buff, enthusiast or whatever will find invaluable.

The site is fully searchable so you should have no trouble at all finding what you are looking for. There are nearly 1000 posts dating back to 2005. Be sure to subscribe and or bookmark this one because it is updated frequently!

Peace,

Keith