Thinking History

Celebrating places and people from the past! With a strong dose of Latin American liberation and the U.S. Civil War

[thinkinghistory-blog]

TeddyRooseveltofArgentina

[theatlantic]

The fact is that the Civil War didn’t represent a failure of 19th-century Americans, but that the American slave society—which was itself war—represented a failure of humanity. That failure was the price America paid for its conception. The bill came due in 1860.

Ta-Nehisi Coates (via theatlantic)

[theamericanparlor]

Joshua Chamberlain

You in my soul I see, faithful watcher by my cot-side long days and nights together through the delirium of mortal anguish, steadfast, calm, and sweet as eternal love. We pass now quickly from each other’s sight; but I know full well that where beyond these passing scenes you shall be, there will be heaven!

The Passing of the Armies : An account of the Army of the Potomac, based upon personal reminiscences of the Fifth Army Corps (1915), “The Last Review”

[theamericanparlor]

The men of the 20th Maine who held Little Round Top on Gettysburg’s Second Day, against deadly fire, much of it coming from Devil’s Den. 

{Chamberlain possibly to the right of the woman that is seated}

In 1868, Charles Tyson sold his entire collection of battlefield negatives, and his studio, to William H. Tipton. An apprentice of the Tysons at the time of the battle, Tipton went on to become the most important Gettysburg photographer of the late 19th century. He had a photo studio right in Devils Den and for years served as the official battlefield photographer. His work includes countless views of monuments surrounded by veterans and dignitaries. No group of tourists in the late 1800s would think of leaving Gettysburg without having Tipton capture their visit amongst the rocks of Devil’s Den.

Credit: http://johnshepherdfamily.com/antiquegettysburgguidebook/devilsdenphotos/devilsden.php

Credit: http://www.virtualgettysburg.com/exhibit/photos/main.html

[thinkinghistory-blog]

Am I crazy, or is Joshua Chamberlain highly underrated in the annals of American heroes?

[thinkinghistory-blog]

"...[the 37th] Congress did more than any other in history to change the course of national life."

James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom

[fylatinamericanhistory]

Tomb of Jorge Luis Borges in Geneva, Switzerland, bearing the inscription …and ne forhtedon na, Old English for “and should not be afraid.” The Argentine writer died on this date, June 14, in 1986.

[thinkinghistory-blog]

Via Wikipedia: “Hooker settled in Sonoma County as a farmer and land developer, but was more devoted to gambling and liquor than to agriculture.”

Fighting Joe!!! 

[braanstarks-moved-deactivated20]

History Meme:

[2/7 Independence Heroes]: José de San Martín.

José Francisco de San Martín (25 February 1778 – 17 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse ðe san marˈtin]), was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America’s successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire. Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes, in modern Argentina, he left his mother country at the early age of seven to study in Málaga, Spain.

In 1808, after taking part in the Peninsular War against France, San Martín contacted South American supporters of independence from Spain. In 1812, he set sail for Buenos Aires and offered his services to the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, present-day Argentina. After the Battle of San Lorenzo and time commanding the Army of the North during 1814, he organized a plan to defeat the Spanish forces that menaced the United Provinces from the north, using an alternative path to the Viceroyalty of Peru. This objective first involved the establishment of a new army, the Army of the Andes, in Cuyo Province, Argentina. From there, he led the Crossing of the Andes to Chile, and triumphed at the Battle of Chacabuco and the Battle of Maipú (1818), thus liberating Chile from royalist rule. Then he sailed to attack the Spanish stronghold of Lima, Peru.

On 12 July 1821, after seizing partial control of Lima, San Martín was appointed Protector of Peru, and Peruvian independence was officially declared on 28 July. On 22 July 1822, after a closed-door meeting with fellow libertador Simón Bolívar at Guayaquil, Ecuador, Bolívar took over the task of fully liberating Peru. San Martín unexpectedly left the country and resigned the command of his army, excluding himself from politics and the military, and moved to France in 1824. The details of the 22 July meeting would be a subject of debate by later historians.

San Martín is regarded as a national hero of Argentina, Peru and, together with Bolívar, one of the liberators of Spanish South America. The Order of the Liberator General San Martín (Orden del Libertador General San Martín), created in his honor, is the highest decoration conferred by the Argentine government.