Remembering Our History - The Civil War

I've always been a history buff. It was my favorite subject in high school and my major in college. I read historical biographies for fun and adore historical based fiction. This week commemorates the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. I found this interesting article on the web site of a magazine called Garden and Guns. Click on the link to see the whole article. http://gardenandgun.com/newsletter/fallen-homes-civil-war-tos Fallen Homes of the Civil War Lives were not all that was lost during the Civil War. Many of the South’s grand antebellum homes that weren’t burned by Union troops were left to fall into decay. But Nell Dickerson’s new book, Gone: A Photographic Plea for Preservation, manages to capture some of these culturally important structures—and the history held in their eaves. Dickerson’s haunting photos depict trees growing through grand parlors, crumbling mantles, and ghostly columns standing silent. The images are accompanied by Shelby Foote’s “Pillar of Fire” (a fictional account of Union troops burning down a family home in front of its owners), and an introduction by best-selling author Robert Hicks. The book ends with a plea from Dickerson: “Do whatever it takes to keep the stories alive. Our personal history is part of our national history, and we should pass it to our children with great reverence, because it is not just who we were, but who we are.” I am not from the South, although I often wish I was and think o fmyself as somewhat Southern, in that I believe in dress properly, good manners and the importance of a tall glass of sweet tea. I make my own. But I also believe in the importance of preservation. I think I am going to run down a copy of this book. What remained of a house, circa 1845-1850, in Hancock County, Mississippi in 2004, a year before Hurricane Katrina dealt the final blow. (Photo by Nell Dickerson)