Pat Young
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Pat Young
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This is the 1888 New York Times Guide to Gettysburg published on the 25th Anniversary of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. It warns against deceptive battlefield guides and gives suggestions on must-see sites.
thereconstructionera.com/never-mind-t...
"Never Mind the Guide" The NY Times Advice When Visiting Gettysburg in 1888 - The Reconstruction Era
On July 9, 1888 the New York Times published a guide to seeing the Gettysburg Battlefield entitled “Never Mind the Guide.” I heard about the...
thereconstructionera.com
July 19, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I went to view Terry's Texas Rangers Monument in Austin last month at the Texas Capitol. The Rangers were the second most talked about Confederate unit from Texas where they saw service at Shiloh, the Confederate invasion of Kentucky, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Knoxville, the Battle for Atlanta.
Terry's Texas Rangers Monument in Austin, Texas - The Reconstruction Era
In the early days of my career as a lawyer, I used to travel to Austin, Texas quite regularly in my professional capacity. However, I...
thereconstructionera.com
June 2, 2025 at 6:48 PM
One of the first Civil War monuments in Texas commemorates German immigrants massacred by Confederate cavalry. thereconstructionera.com/german-monum...
German Monument Comfort Texas: One of the First Civil War Monuments in Texas - The Reconstruction Era
Back in the 1980s I was traveling from Austin to the border with Mexico when I came upon the 1866 Civil War monument in Comfort,...
thereconstructionera.com
May 28, 2025 at 10:12 AM
PHOTO TOUR: General Alexander Webb commanded the Philadelphia Brigade at Gettysburg. His bravery led to him being awarded the Medal of Honor. His gallantry in repulsing Pickett's Charge made him a hero throughout the country.
thereconstructionera.com/statue-of-al...
Statue of Alexander Webb at City College of New York - The Reconstruction Era
The City College of New York (CCNY) is one of the most famous educational institutions in New York City. It was founded in 1847 and...
thereconstructionera.com
May 15, 2025 at 2:52 PM
The Society of Civil War Historians gave its best-book award to a new look at Harriet Tubman during the Civil War.
thereconstructionera.com/tom-watson-b...
Tom Watson Brown Award for Best Civil War Book Goes to "COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War" - The Reconstruction Era
The Society of Civil War Historians announced that Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black is the recipient of the 2025 Tom Watson Brown Book Award. Dr. Fields-Black...
thereconstructionera.com
May 15, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Many of you have heard the stories about the Irish Brigade or the New York City Draft riots, but scholar Damian Shiels in his research covers the actual Irish who lived in the United States during the 1860s and were involved in the American Civil War.
thereconstructionera.com/damian-shiel...
Damian Shiels on the Actual Irish During the Civil War-Not Just the Irish Brigade - The Reconstruction Era
Damian Shiels, the noted Irish scholar on the American Civil War, gave a lecture on May 8, 2025 at New York University  (NYU) in Manhattan....
thereconstructionera.com
May 13, 2025 at 1:46 PM
We just passed the anniversary of the #Confederate states attempting to secede from the United States. Here is how the Sons of Confederate Veterans explained the #Secession Crisis of 1861.
thereconstructionera.com/sons-of-conf...
The Weird History of Secession in the Sons of Confederate Veterans 2016 Manual for Defending Confederate Statues - The Reconstruction Era
The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) wrote the book on blocking the removal of Confederate statues-quite literally. In 2016 the SCV put out a “Heritage...
thereconstructionera.com
May 7, 2025 at 2:50 PM
The Trump administration has pulled out Federal support for National History Day. This program has more than half-a-million students participating in it.
thereconstructionera.com/federal-gove...
Federal Government Stops Funding "National History Day" Just Nine Weeks Before It Is To Take Place - The Reconstruction Era
The president has stopped funding for National History Day just nine weeks before the event takes place. National History Day had already gotten contracts for...
thereconstructionera.com
April 11, 2025 at 1:47 PM
During the Civil War there was an essential traffic in Black slaves right up until Richmond was taken. Chris Mackowski interviews Dr. Robert K. D. Colby on slave trading in the Civil War.

thereconstructionera.com/emerging-civ...
Emerging Civil War Discussion of Slave Trading in the South During the Civil War - The Reconstruction Era
Emerging Civil War Podcasts includes a discussion of Chris Mackowski with Dr. Robert K. D. Colby on slave trading in the Civil War and his...
thereconstructionera.com
April 10, 2025 at 1:33 PM
David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, has an interesting take on Donald Trump's interfering in how history is presented in 21st Century America:
thereconstructionera.com/president-ta...
New Yorker on President Trump's Take on History - The Reconstruction Era
David Remnick the editor of the New Yorker, has written an article on President Donald Trump’s assault on American history. This article appeared in the...
thereconstructionera.com
April 8, 2025 at 12:33 AM
There is an unprecedented attack on the truthful history of the United States being presented by the Federal government. The National Park Service's website has a version of the history of the Underground Railroad which seems to take race out.
thereconstructionera.com/national-par...
National Park Service Rewrites History of Underground Railroad (and it ain't good) - The Reconstruction Era
The new administration has made a lot of changes in how the National Park Service (NPS), the military, and other agencies present American history. Today’s...
thereconstructionera.com
April 6, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Photo Tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.
thereconstructionera.com/national-mus...
National Museum of African American History & Culture - The Reconstruction Era
I was going to roll-out this article in May, but because of the president’s unparalleled attack on the National Museum African American History and Culture...
thereconstructionera.com
April 4, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Tonight a new Executive Order went out rewriting how America tells our history. The Smithsonian and the National Park Service will have to drop anything that points to racial divides in our history; slavery, the Civil War, and Jim Crow laws.
thereconstructionera.com/executive-or...
Executive Order Looking at Rewriting History at Smithsonian and National Park System - The Reconstruction Era
Tonight the President has issued a new Executive Order that identifies the Smithsonian and the National Park Service as deceptively depicting American history. The new...
thereconstructionera.com
March 28, 2025 at 2:09 AM
This month is the Anniversary of the Inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes. In addition to the public ceremony, a "secret inauguration" was also held because of fears that objections to his becoming president would lead to an attempt to violently interfere.
thereconstructionera.com/the-secret-i...
The Secret Inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes That Ended the Disputed Election of 1876 - The Reconstruction Era
Presidents originally served until March 4 of the year following the presidential election. On March 4, 1877 the term of President Ulysses S. Grant came...
thereconstructionera.com
March 11, 2025 at 11:36 AM
A list has been released showing which Civil War sites have seen cutbacks by the National Park Service. Please note, this list was not released by the Federal government, but came from staffers at the NPS.
thereconstructionera.com/the-list-of-...
List of Civil War Sites Where Permanent Staff Have Been Fired by National Park Service - The Reconstruction Era
For the last five weeks we have been receiving reports of layoffs within the National Park Service. When the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” took place...
thereconstructionera.com
March 10, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Many of us know that Winnie Davis, daughter of Jefferson Davis and pictured above, was given the title “The Daughter of the Confederacy” by many adherents of the Lost Cause. Winnie had been born in the Confederate White House during the Civil War.

thereconstructionera.com/when-confede...
When Confederate Heritagers Rejected A.P. Hill's Daughter as the "Daughter of the Confederacy" - The Reconstruction Era
Many of us know that Winnie Davis, daughter of Jefferson Davis and pictured above, was given the title “The Daughter of the Confederacy” by many...
thereconstructionera.com
March 10, 2025 at 7:23 PM
After the Civil War Mardi Gras began coming back in New Orleans and in many cities along the Mississippi. The Mardi Gras parades were celebratory, but they also contained sharp political themes. In the 1872 Memphis parade the Klan had a float.
thereconstructionera.com/ku-klux-klan...
Ku Klux Klan Float at the 1872 Memphis Mardi Gras - The Reconstruction Era
The 1872 Memphis Mardi Gras featured a Klan float. This was the first-ever Mardi Gras parade in the city, which had seen a bloody massacre...
thereconstructionera.com
March 4, 2025 at 2:45 PM
NEW PHOTO TOUR: Just an hour from Gettysburg here is a tour of the National Civil War Museum in #Harrisburg. The museum says it has the largest collection of Civil War artifacts of any institution in the world. Is it worth a visit?
thereconstructionera.com/national-civ...
National Civil War Museum Harrisburg Pennsylvania - The Reconstruction Era
I remember when the National Civil War Museum opened in 2001 after costs of $32 million dollars to build and equip. Back then there were...
thereconstructionera.com
March 1, 2025 at 4:27 PM
BLACK HISTORY MONTH: The 60th United States Colored Troops was from Iowa, but its men were from elsewhere. Why were there so few Iowa Black men in this regiment?
thereconstructionera.com/60th-united-...
60th United States Colored Troops: Iowa's Black Regiment Was Mostly from Elsewhere - The Reconstruction Era
This is one in a series of scrapbooks focusing on United States Colored Troops (USCT) regiments. These are not regimental histories and I invite you...
thereconstructionera.com
February 27, 2025 at 4:58 PM
New series from Netflix on Civil War general and post-Reconstruction president James Garfield's life and assassination finished filming in 2024 and is set to be released later this year. Here are some details on the project. #Garfield
thereconstructionera.com/new-netflix-...
New Netflix Series on the Assassination of Pres. James Garfield - The Reconstruction Era
Before 1881, presidents would clean out the Washington bureaucracy when they came into office. Democrats were tossed when a Republican came in and Whigs, before...
thereconstructionera.com
February 26, 2025 at 12:47 PM
At the end of February 1869 the 15th Amendment giving equal voting rights to Black men was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. In Indiana and several other states there was fierce opposition to the Amendment from the Democratic Party,
thereconstructionera.com/indiana-dems...
Indiana Dems Explain Their Principled Opposition to 15th Amendment: "the government was formed for white men" March 1869 - The Reconstruction Era
At the end of February 1869 the 15th Amendment giving equal voting rights to Black men was passed by Congress and sent to the states...
thereconstructionera.com
February 23, 2025 at 11:51 AM
I have a new article on how Sherman's March in 1864 brought a family together in Georgia.
emergingcivilwar.com/2025/02/22/e...
Echoes of Reconstruction: When Sherman’s March Helped Bring a Family Together - Emerging Civil War
Emerging Civil War is pleased to welcome back Patrick Young, author of The Reconstruction Era blog. When Major General William Tecumsheh Sherman began his March to the Sea on November 15, 1864, many G...
emergingcivilwar.com
February 22, 2025 at 1:15 PM
NEW Photo Tour Friday: You can learn about the history of several New Jersey regiments at the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton. While many in New Jersey opposed Lincoln in the 1860 election, Jerseymen volunteered for the Union army.
thereconstructionera.com/new-jersey-s...
New Jersey State Museum in Trenton - The Reconstruction Era
The New Jersey State Museum is a fairly large modern museum located at 195-205 West State Street in Trenton, the state capital. It is just...
thereconstructionera.com
February 21, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Please read this article on the recent firings of National Park Service staff and call your Congressperson to oppose it. I have included the number you need to call and what you should discuss with your representative.
thereconstructionera.com/call-congres...
Call Congress to Support National Park Service Staff In Opposition to Layoffs - The Reconstruction Era
On Thursday roughly 1,000 National Park Service (NPS) personnel were fired. While the administration has said these were recent hires, in fact many of the...
thereconstructionera.com
February 18, 2025 at 3:16 PM
For Presidents Day we bring you this photo tour of a magnificent mounted statue of Ulysses S. Grant in Brooklyn, New York. Even if you are a Grant fan, have you been there to see it?
thereconstructionera.com/ulysses-s-gr...
Ulysses S. Grant in Brooklyn: The Great Statue No One Knows About - The Reconstruction Era
Major General Ulysses S. Grant is remembered at several locations in New York City. Grant’s Tomb is the most famous memorial, but the often ignored...
thereconstructionera.com
February 17, 2025 at 8:01 PM