April 12th was the beginning of the American Civil War. Today marks the 150th anniversary. Shelby Foote a noted author and historian said “Any understanding of this nation has to be based on an understanding of the Civil War.”
At 4:30 AM on April 12th the confederate guns opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston South Carolina. What followed was a 33 hour exchange. Unbelievably, no one was killed. What was to come was the bloodiest war in our nation’s history. It was said to pit brother against brother. By the end of the Civil War 620,000 soldiers from the North and the South were dead. The scope and depth about what has been written about the Civil War is staggering., and rightly so. Just recently the series The Civil War by Ken Burns was shown again on PBS. If you have never seen this masterpiece do yourself a favor and watch it. We have this available in the DVD section of the Library.
There are countless books and movies, many nonfiction and many novels. For young adults I would suggest Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt. For anyone, I would suggest Gone With the Wind [both the book and the movie]. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin is excellent, though it is more about Lincoln. The Civil War books can be found beginning in the 973.3 section of the Library. When I type in Civil War I get 331 hits. I’m sure that is the tip of the iceberg. If you want to find out more about our us as a nation maybe you’d like to delve into the subject a bit. As a side note I’ve always wondered who comes up with these terms we use. “Civil War” -talk about a contradiction in terms. Another term I do not know how it came about, but seems the furthest from fact is “casualty”. How did anyone ever start terming the dead as casualties? Death seems about the least casual thing there could be!
***Don’t forget the book sale is going on this week at the St. Dominic’s Parish Hall.
Daily through Saturday. Tues 9-8, Wed 9-6, Thurs 9-8, Fri 9-6 and Sat 9 to 12 Noon only. Saturday is also $2.00 a bag! So don’t miss out!
Posted by Estel