Nineteenth Century America
Harriet Tubman’s Civil War
Harriet Tubman is famous for leading slaves north to freedom in the decade prior to the American Civil War: acts that required courage, daring, stealth, and organizational skills.* After the Civil War began in 1861, she used the skills she developed as conductor on the Underground Railroad on behalf of the Union Army. In the…
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Road Trip Through History: Arbor Day Farm
My Own True Love and I spent last weekend at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City. It was a reunion with cousins from several branches and generations of his family. There was lots of laughing, talking, card-playing, and trash-talking. We walked Tree Adventure–a wonderful facility designed to combine education and amusement for kids. We tasted…
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A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time: An Interview with Paula Tarnapol Whitacre
It was inevitable that Paula Whitacre and I would meet, virtually if not in real life.* We’ve spent the last few years wading in the same pool: historical non-fiction about women anchored in Alexandria, Virginia during the American Civil War. A small place, a narrow time frame, a world in transition, a million stories. Paula’s…
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