History Matters: Musings of Jared Frederick

Life in the Trenches

2011-12-17T13:49:00.020-05:00

At the Great War Association

Photo courtesy of Keith Rocco.

With flurries outside and Christmas rapidly approaching, I sit at my computer and reflect how good I have it. I am also reminded, however, of people who may not have such pleasant holidays, both past and present. As we approach the centennial of the First World War, I reflect upon the 1914 Christmas truce between British, French, and German forces. Such events give us the opportunity to view a time when soldiers sought humanity amidst cruel inhumanity. Recently, I had the opportunity to get a small taste of trench life and gain some insights into the plight of WWI combatants.

Early last month, I attended a World War I Tactical at the Caesar Krauss Great War Memorial Site in Newville, Pennsylvania. Maintained and operated by the Great War Association, a non-profit historical organization, the rural site consists of nearly 100 acres of rugged terrain consisting of trenches, bunkers, dirt roads, barbed wire, and artillery impact craters. Closed to most members of the general public, the event is referred to as an “immersive” experience by many of the approximately 500 reenactors who participate. Moving beyond a mere sham battle, events such as these rely just as much on strategic thinking, initiative, and historical knowledge. Most notably, special emphasis is given to the experiences of the common soldier – from the food he ate, to the wool socks he wore, and the desolately cold ditch he slept in. Minus live ammunition, few other aspects are overlooked in creating a sense authenticity and atmosphere to attain a slight taste for and a greater appreciation of the World War I experience.

The GWA site as seen from a WWI biplane. Courtesy the FSSF.

The first morning on site began relatively as a English film crew from the National Geographic Channel was on hand to film trench warfare scenes for an upcoming television program that will be entitled Combat Collectors. The show will examine Military History through those who collect and interpret its tangible remnants. Special effects were used throughout the weekend for both the show and the military tactical that followed. These included explosive charges in the ground to deliver the illusion of artillery shells smashing into the ground. One especially fascinating touch was the inclusion of multiple World War I era biplanes which “strafed” ground forces and engaged in dog fights only fifty feet above the ground. (The planes were so close to the ground on some occasions, many ran the other direction, honestly believing the aircraft was about to crash.) The scene offered an especially vivid and colorful dimension to the event. Also on site was noteworthy military history artist Keith Rocco, whose Napoleonic and American Civil War paintings are recognized by historians and collectors throughout the world. Portraying a civilian correspondent with the Chicago Tribune newspaper, Keith sketched trench art much like original reporters would have done in the era before cameras became more portable. A vast array of historical depictions was present, ranging from attendees who portrayed Black Watch in kilts and toting bagpipes, German Grenadiers, American Doughboys, French Zouaves, and foot soldiers in the Russian Expeditionary Force. Also present were a group of ladies who established a field hospital and portrayed Canadian nurses – with full sets of accurate medical equipment, cots, blankets, and amenities. Across from this hospital representation was a Salvation Army aid station that included a team of bakers and cooks who offered fresh biscuits, donuts, coffee, and care packages to passerby soldiers. One could even write a postcard back home to the “folks” to let them know that you were alright. I myself was enlisted in the Coldstream Guards within the contingent of the British Expeditionary Force division that was present.

Interestingly enough, the weekend also marked the anniversary of the 5th of November Gunpowder Plot by Guy Fawkes, thus resulting in a recitation of the Guy Fawkes Day Poem to the British troops present on the parade ground that evening. Being a participant in the numerous events throughout the weekend, I learned that such historically recreated activities are much more than games for many who actively participate in them. Such tacticals are a manner of commemoration and tribute in the eyes of those who take part. They bring the phrase “living history” to a new level by attempting to understand and even relive a portion World War One’s tumultuous circumstances and conditions. An on-site stone obelisk is surrounded by dirt from numerous Western Front battlefields. Part of the memorial simply states, “To All Who Served in the Great War.” And it is that sentiment that all of those who participate keep thoroughly in mind throughout their weekend experience.

Noted historical artist Keith Rocco was on hand throughout the weekend (here using a trench periscope). Creating sketches and trench art during the event, he hopes that many of his works will formulate into several new historical paintings. Should be great stuff as always!

This brief video captures some of the action of the weekend, including biplanes flying over.

The Lewis Gun was one of the most widely used machines guns of the First World War. Although more costly to manufacture than many other varieties of weapons, the gun was dependable and highly sought after by British troops especially. Photo courtesy of Keith Rocco.

Multiple WWI era airplanes were used throughout the weekend. Some aircraft were so close to the ground that I could see the goggles on the faces of the pilots. In the lower right, you can see the sign for our entrenched position - "Suicide Corner." Photo courtesy of Keith Rocco.

Some of our French allies on our extreme right as they brace themselves for a gas attack. (Note the masks they are wearing.) Armies utilized horrendous and fatal gases throughout the war, including Phosgene and Mustard Gas. If troops did not have a mask, they could use a cotton pack that was prepared with bicarbonate soda. Poison gas has since been outlawed by most countries, but more recent military actions (such as Desert Storm) and even contemporary events, still speak to the lethality and viable threats such weapons pose. Photo courtesy Keith Rocco.

Corporal Greg Goodell (right) takes some of the fellow green recruits and I (left) through the British manual of arms, which took some considerable practice for me to get the hold of! Other drills throughout our first day in the field included target practice (by both accuracy and speed) in addition to estimating distance with the bare eye. To my great surprise, I placed second out of the 100 or so British participants in the latter competition. Who would have guessed? Photo courtesy of Michael D. Fay, yet another accomplished military artist who was with us.

A great action shot by Michael Fay as National Geographic was filming a trench warfare scene.

Greg Goodell and college friend Floyd Nellet striking up a conversation in the trenches. This photo and all the following ones are courtesy of Michael D. Fay.

Another scene from the film shoot.

One always had to be very alert in the trenches. You could be chatting with your pals and munching on a biscuit when suddenly the No Man's Land to your front is swarming with Germans. There is little difficulty in becoming disoriented in the labyrinth of ditches and holes . . .

. . .especially at night. Following a quick dinner of beans and some additional duties, we marched the length of the Allied lines. At 2 a.m., I found myself in the middle of No Man's Land with four others as we covertly began constructing additional defenses and sandbag walls only yards away from the German lines. The night was crystal clear, bitterly frigid, and bright with a full sky of stars. (We saw a shooting star or two as well.) After a long day, we finally settled in for two hours of sleep in our bunker before our two mile counter march around the lines before sunset.

Here, I kneel at right before a nighttime patrol. In retrospect, we were up and about for thirty six hours before getting a decent night's sleep. Sounds like physical exhaustion, right? Well, our exploits paled in comparison to the real thing, where only two hours of sleep became a daily routine. But there were moments of levity as well, including a German soldier who crossed the lines bearing a small Christmas tree adorned with lit candles to convey season's greetings.

Dan Comes as a British Stretcher Bearer. For some great firsthand accounts and primary sources on stretcher bearers, medics, and ambulances, check out this website. During the event, Dan provided not only medical care, but period correct food and snacks to keep us going.

Breakfast in the bunker!

Private Jared Frederick, cold and tired, but ready for another day on the line. . .

Reflections on The Day of Infamy

2011-12-06T17:00:00.003-05:00

Pearl Harbor Seventy Years Later

It has been a while since I have written a post. Thesis writing, research, graduate applications, and numerous projects have been keeping me very busy over the past few weeks. However, I could not let the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor pass without sharing some thoughts and other materials. I hope to share some largely unseen photos of Pearl Harbor and its aftermath and also hope to reflect on what Pearl Harbor meant to Americans in the midst of wartime.

My grandfather enlisted in the Navy in the spring of 1941, later trained for a period of time at Pearl Harbor, and was (by shear luck) stationed in Casco Bay, Maine during the attack. He, as many other Americans, contemplated how such a blatant and surprising breach was possible. But as LIFE Magazine reflected one week following the attack:

"Close observers of Japan have said for years that if that country ever found itself in a hopeless corner, it was capable of committing national hari-kiri by flinging itself at the throat of its mightiest enemy. Japan has found itself in just such a corner. It could not retreat without losing all and it could not advance another step without war. It took the desperate plunge and told its enemies in effect: 'If this be hara-kiri, make the most of it.'"

Though hardly (and understandably) written with objectivity, the LIFE article nevertheless delves into the heart of the matter. The seeds of the Pearl Harbor attack were planted nearly fifty years earlier during the Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War of the 1890s and early 1900s. Japan realized that their productive and burgeoning civilization and military could and needed to flex its might in order to ensure continued "growth." The militarized nation sought to conquer China, Manchuria, and the vast expanses of East Asia. In the ensuing years, at least twenty million civilians were killed in occupied China. The empire moved from nation to nation to secure strategic footholds in addition to natural resources such as oil and rubber. On New Year's Day, 1941, the 2,601st birthday of the Japanese Empire, Tokyo journalist Soho Tokutomi forewarned that, "There is no denying that the seas are high in the Pacific. . . . The time has come for the Japanese to make up their minds to reject any who stand in the way of their country. . . ." (At Dawn We Slept, 3). Eyes turned toward Hawaii and the western reaches of the Pacific.

Japanese "rejection" of those standing in her way came at 7:53 a.m. on December 7, 1941. Corporal E. C. Nightingale stationed aboard the U.S.S. Arizona recalled the attack: "I was the last man to leave secondary aft. . . .The railings, as we ascended, were very hot and as we reached the boat deck I noted that it was torn up and burned. The bodies of the dead were thick, and badly burned men were heading for the quarterdeck, only to fall apparently dead or badly wounded. The Major and I went between No. 3 and No. 4 turret to the starboard side and found Lieutenant Commander Fuqua ordering the men over the side and assisting the wounded. . . . Charred bodies were everywhere. (Battleship Arizona's Marines at War, 93). 2, 402 U.S. servicemen and women were lost in the day's actions.

Up until the 1960s, the perception that Japan's attack was nothing more than "murder with a toothy smile" was the overwhelming belief in American society. The attack served as a rallying cry in every conceivable form for the enraged public. However, as Japan closely allied itself with the United States during the Cold War, scholars and politicians alike embraced a more sympathetic approach to the attack, claiming that the Tojo Government fully intended to deliver its declaration of war a full hour before Nagumo's Japanese pilots began bombing. This warning was supposedly delayed only by the sluggish typist in Washington's Japanese Embassy who had difficulty translating. This notion was false. The Japanese military had no desire to offer warning or time of preparation. An entry in the Japanese War Diary noted the day before the attack, "our deceptive diplomacy is steadily proceeding toward success." The former perception of the attack was resonate for decades, however. The diplomatic depiction in numerous books as well as the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora! was the byproduct of political leaders wishing to build reconciliation and Cold War ties between two former enemies, not sound historical logic. (Power at Sea, 223-4).

"California hit. Battered by aerial bombs and torpedoes, the U.S.S. California settles slowly into the mud and muck of Pearl Harbor. Clouds of black oily smoke pouring up from the California and her stricken sister ships conceal all but the hulk of the capsized U.S.S. Oklahoma at extreme right" (Office of War Information). According to historian Gordon W. Prange, California was perhaps the battleship least prepared for combat. In preparation for the planned ship inspection that Monday, several of the ship's manhole covers were left open. "When two torpedoes stuck, water poured into the fuel system, cutting off light and power. An alert ensign, Edgar M. Fain, directed prompt counterflooding measures which saved the vessel from capsizing" (At Dawn We Slept, 510). Sailor James Hamlin on board recalled a comrade exclaim, "You better get used to eating fish heads and rice, boys, 'cause we've lost this war." These sentiments of despair quickly turned into those for vengeance for the survivors and Americans in general.

"First Army photos of the bombing of Hickam Field, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 1941. Wreckage of pursuit ship after bombing" (Library of Congress). For many at the Army Air base, air attack was initially not their main concern. Sabotage from suspected agents on the islands was. Therefore, planes were clustered together so they would be easier to guard. General Walter Short, commander of Army forces in and around Pearl, however, wrote to the Adjutant General on March 1, 1941: "The concentration of these airplanes at Wheeler and at Hickam Field presents a very serious problem in their protection against hostile aviation" (At Dawn We Slept, 58). Short wanted the aircraft safeguarded in bunkers from saboteurs and enemy planes alike. These requests were largely ignored and the bunched together planes were easy targets for the Japanese bombers.

At least fifty-seven civilians on the island were killed as well - these ones accidentally by U.S. anti-aircraft flak that fell upon their automobile as they attempted to escape Japanese planes. Sadly, the government refused any form of compensation for burial and commemoration for the five dozen civilians killed. Relatives of these casualties were also excluded from the 50th anniversary events in 1991. Heart-wrenching tales abound from these deaths. Eunice Wilson was seven months old when her mother and father were killed beside her as they sat on the family porch. Hawaiian Joseph Adams was killed with his son as they drove their sedan to work. He left nine children, who all were subsequently forced to quit school and work to fill the monetary void. Families across the nation would be faced with similar circumstances as loved ones left for war, many of them not returning. (Pearl Harbor Ghosts, 196).

Five Japanese "Midget Subs" were implemented in the attack. Four were sunk and one was grounded. Here, crew of the U.S. tug Ortolan raise one of them for investigation. A recent episode of NOVA on PBS offered, what I think is, fairly compelling evidence that one of these subs may indeed have made it into the harbor and contributed to the attack's damage. Today, North Korea and Iran have midget subs, as do international drug dealers. Do contemporary subs possess equal or greater lethality as their 1941 predecessors?

Watch Killer Subs in Pearl Harbor on PBS. See more from NOVA.

Watch a portion of the film here.

As with September 11, many aspects of government and transportation were shut down in the aftermath of the attack. Above, an MP checks the identification of an employee of the San Francisco docks on December 8, 1941. Many parallels have been drawn to the two sneak attacks sixty years apart. Indeed, the 9/11 Commission Report mentions Pearl Harbor no less than five times. However, the commission alluded to the fact that investigating with hindsight warrants caution. The study quotes Roberta Wohlstetter's Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decisions, which notes, "it is much easier after the event to sort the relevant from the irrelevant signals. After the event, of course, a signal is always crystal clear; we can see what disaster it was signalling since the disaster has occurred. But before the event is obscure and pregnant with conflicting meanings" (Staff Ride Handbook for the Attack on Pearl Harbor, 123). Could we not say the same for nearly any historical event of importance?

The White House in the late evening of December 7. Notice how pedestrians and traffic are still able to move around the building despite a virtual state of war existing. Inside, President Franklin Roosevelt was preparing his address for a declaration of war. "Early in the afternoon of December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his chief foreign policy aide, Harry Hopkins, were interrupted by a telephone call from Secretary of War Henry Stimson and told that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. At about 5:00 p.m., following meetings with his military advisers, the President calmly and decisively dictated to his secretary, Grace Tully, a request to Congress for a declaration of war. He had composed the speech in his head after deciding on a brief, uncomplicated appeal to the people of the United States rather than a thorough recitation of Japanese perfidies, as Secretary of State Cordell Hull had urged" (National Archives text).

Amazingly, the opening of the "day in infamy" was originally going to be "a date which will live in world history." Secretary "Grace Tully then prepared the final reading copy, which Roosevelt subsequently altered in three more places. On December 8, at 12:30 p.m., Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress and the Nation via radio. The Senate responded with a unanimous vote in support of war; only Montana pacifist Jeanette Rankin dissented in the House. At 4:00 p.m. that same afternoon, President Roosevelt signed the declaration of war" (National Archives). The speech came to enshrine American unity and perseverance.

But unity did not ensure equality. Cook 2nd Class Doris Miller was stationed aboard the U.S.S. West Virginia when she was attacked. Manning a set of heavy machines guns with no prior experience, he shot down an enemy plane and was awarded the Navy Cross by Admiral Chester Nimitz six months later. Despite his heroics, he was nevertheless racially lambasted by many in the press, with some newspapers spewing numerous stereotypes about black cooks and subjugation. Both before and following his death off Tarawa in late 1944, Miller literally became the poster boy for African American recruitment in the war effort.

Many African Americans were well aware of the contradictions of this war. The United States was fighting to defeat the evils of fascism, yet it legally permitted Jim Crow laws and segregation in the military. These three NAACP workers from St. Louis, Missouri illustrate this startling fact. The middle gentleman is holding a sign declaring, "Remember Pearl Harbor, but don't forget Sikeston [Missouri]." This refers to the 1942 murder of Cleo Wright in that town. Wright, a black man, was accused of raping a white woman and subsequently dragged through the streets by a pickup truck while his body was set aflame. The ensuing investigation was one of the first times the Federal Government became involved in a Civil Rights case, but a local jury still had the power to bury the case. In numerous ways, the injustices inflicted during World War II helped initiate the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950 and 60s. Yes, Pearl Harbor was worth avenging. But in the minds of many African Americans, retribution had to be sought with a system morally superior, not similar, to those of their enemies.

Similarly, the constitutional rights of Japanese American citizens were squashed as over 100,000 of them were forcibly evicted from their homes and placed in guarded internment camps throughout the West Coast. Fears of homeland invasion and internal sabotage were rampant in the public's imagination. Here, two young boys, one of them wearing a "Remember Pearl Harbor" sailors cap, wait in a bus station before they are relocated by the military to a prison camp. I think this one speaks for itself.

Whereas the war stripped the rights of some, however, it nurtured and ensured them for others. In a 1942 fireside chat, Franklin Roosevelt noted, "In some communities, employers dislike to employ women. . . . We can no longer afford to indulge such prejudices or practices" (Rosie and Mrs. America, 4). Rosie the Riveter was born. This Office of War Information photograph was subtitled, "Women aircraft workers. She can't forget Pearl Harbor, and she's determined that Hitler and Hirohito shall have cause to remember it. Mrs. Evelyn J. W. Casola, Pearl Harbor widow, drills rivet holes in the belly gun door of a U.S. bomber, soon to storm over Axis lands, showing death to the aggressors." They fought back in the most effective manner made possible to them, including my grandmother who worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad during the conflict.

Sailors at the Kaneohe Naval Air Station places flags and leis over the graves of the fallen Pearl Harbor comrades. On the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, I hope we can attempt to reflect back with more than a romantic nostalgia of the 1940s and comprehend the event in all its complexities and horrors. That is perhaps the greatest gift we can give to those who did not make it.

For the 2,500 who didn't live to see 1942. . .

11 Questions on "To Appomattox"

2011-10-25T18:59:00.006-04:00

With Writer/Producer Michael Frost Beckner

I recently had an opportunity to pose a few questions to screenwriter Michael Beckner (Sniper, Spy Game, CSI) regarding his upcoming miniseries on the Civil War entitled To Appomattox - a project which depicts the time from the Mexican War of the 1840s to the end of the Civil War era. There has been much buzz about the film over the past year and many in the historical community have high expectations of what could be an ideal medium for further popularizing the conflict's history during its sesquicentennial. With those thoughts in mind, I am very pleased that Michael took a few moments out of his busy schedule to offer us some further insights into this forthcoming miniseries.

Jared Frederick: 1. You have quite an impressive resume in screenwriting and television. What has drawn you, as a writer, to the Civil War?

Michael Beckner: As early as I remember my grandmother and my mother identified my life with the conflict. There were the family portraits, the family stories; when I was headed to school, my grandmother told me, “If they ever play ‘Dixie’ you stand like you would for the ‘National Anthem.’

When you study writing you’re told “write what you know.” I grew up knowing the world of espionage. I’ve written stories from whom and what I knew. While at Langley about 9 years ago writing and producing my series The Agency, I commented to some officers the fact that Dr. Lowe’s observation balloons in the Civil War were launched right about where we were standing—thus the first aerial espionage in American history took place where CIA headquarters now stand.

Later, my spouse (former Sr. VP Walt Disney Motion Picture Group), Anne Sterling—who knows me better than “me”—suggested I was wasting my storytelling abilities if I wasn’t writing about the Civil War.

I didn’t believe Hollywood had the appetite for a Civil War film or Civil War series, but I couldn’t deny she’d called me out, challenged me to write what I really know.

Nine years ago To Appomattox began as a stage play centered on the 4 meetings over the course of their lives between Grant and Lee. It went from that to a 2 hour feature film script, then to a 4 hour telefilm, then to a 13 hour limited series (that’s the published version), then, reduced to 8 episodes to accommodate international mini-series format…the form it is in today.

Every night when I arrive home, my Civil War ancestors look down at me from above the mantle as they have my whole life. They’ve never moved, but over almost half a century they’ve somehow moved me.

2. The conflict is obviously a vast subject on a number of levels. Will the series focus on a particular theater of the war or will it balance between the east and the west? Will we get a taste of 1860s life beyond the battlefield?

The dramatic spine of the series is Ulysses S. Grant’s Memoir. That’s my focal point, however, to tell his story which ultimately brings him from the West to the East, I needed to tell the parallel story of the Army of the Potomac. So, one step off from the Memoir was to look at the friendships Grant developed while at West Point—and then not be afraid to follow these characters with dramatic B-story to Grant’s A-story over the course of every episode.

Once I started to look at these friendships, I realized the heart of the story was…the heart.” The personal connections, the emotional bonds. Grant marries James’s Longstreet’s cousin; Longstreet stands beside him at their wedding. What this relationship means to both men is far more important to understanding this story than scenes of battle. My film is an exploration of the personal lives of this “Band of Generals.”

Another example would be in the characterization of William Sherman. Coming from a “Rebel” background, I was reared to believe Sherman was the devil incarnate. In my years of research, I’ve grown closer to this man than any of the generals. Sherman loved the South—I’m not going to go into history in this interview as I could write pages, but his letters from his time at the Louisiana Military Academy (now LSU) clearly demonstrate this. His correspondences with Grant early in the war have him balking against Grant’s policy of total war. Then his favored son dies at Vicksburg. His favorite subordinate, McPherson, dies at Atlanta…and he embraces total war. These moments and all the personal moments of heartbreak and joy and decisions based upon belief and character among our Civil War leaders are the lifeblood of this series.

Once I realized there was a “heartline” to this history, then I began, in counterpoint to the generals and their families, to develop some stories of the “common” men and women who lived and served, suffered and died.

3. You have made it very clear your passionate desire for historical accuracy in this series. How do you and your fellow producers plan to correctly recreate the military and social conditions and complexities of this conflict?

Check out the raft of historical advisors I’ve recruited to the project on the website. I was mentored by the late Dr. John Y Simon, founder of the U.S. Grant Association. After his passing I began getting queries from other prominent historians and began sharing my scripts with them. One, in particular, JD Petruzzi, impressed me so much with his historical knowledge and his savvy for what this production needed, I brought him on board as our Historical Advisor, and soon he had me up to my elbows with some of the greatest living Civil War historians in the world.

4. What scene in To Appomattox might you hope to be its most iconic or powerful moment?

Christmas montage 1863. On Christmas Eve when everyone knows what’s coming next, we drop in on all the characters North and South—from the smallest child to the greatest general—whom we have been following and see how they spend that Holy night. This goes without dialogue, the images speaking for themselves, while in the background a choir of disabled Confederate soldiers sing an “Ave Maria.” What makes this so special is we will build this choir for the scene from disabled U.S. servicemen from our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The single of this Christmas song will be released and donated to disabled veterans’ charities.

5. Many history and cinema buffs have long been anxious for a Civil War version of Band of Brothers to be produced. Furthermore, no film (perhaps with the exception of Glory) has been able to capture the level of carnage we associate with the war. Will To Appomattox finally offer audiences these opportunities or perspectives?

Suffice it to say, those interested in seeing realistic carnage will have that opportunity. There is no other way to portray, with accuracy, these battle scenes.

6. Speaking of Band of Brothers, I see actor Damian Lewis is among the all-star cast. His portrayal of Major Dick Winters really shined as the focal point or embodiment of the WWII miniseries. Which individual(s) do you feel will be the cinematic equivalent of Dick Winters in To Appomattox? Who is your favorite character?

Every actor cast in this series has come to it not only with a vast ability to portray the character, but with an intensely personal, patriotic reason to do so. I never write with a “favorite” character in mind.

7. The large scope of films such as Gettysburg rested in the outpouring of reenactors and living historians who volunteered their time, gear, and expertise. In the twenty years since, however, many in the reenacting community have grown gray and well . . . rotund. How might this challenge to fill the ranks with youthful recruits be addressed by the filmmakers?

Lots and lots of youthful reenactors abound these days. There is a set of standards already written up for both North and South reenactors.

8. Where will filming take place? The creators of John Adams filmed at actual historic sites such as Colonial Williamsburg and European estates. Will the producers of this series attempt to film at actual battlefields or historic landmarks?

Filming is set to begin in Pennsylvania in April 2012. It is not possible to film anything of this scale on the actual battlefields. However, with special effects as they are these days and the outpouring of support from the NPS for this project we will be the very first “war movie” ever filmed that will actually have the real battlefields depicted. We will spend a great deal of time filming the landscape and geography of these battlefields in 2^nd Unit that will be composited into our battle scenes. For example: when the wide shot shows Pickett’s charge marching to the copse of trees, it will be the terrain of Gettysburg they will be portrayed marching upon.

9. What are the tentative production and release dates for the series? On which channel will it air?

Pre-Production begins February 2012. Production 12 April 2012. Release Summer 2013. Network is still in negotiation.

10. Few films have gotten the slavery issue "right." How will To Appomattox deal with this still-controversial issue?

The question of slavery’s influence on the war, on the generals—North and South—and on Lincoln: will be portrayed exactly as they experienced it and dealt with it in word and action. It will be portrayed as it was and from all points of view—white and black included. I can’t risk the historical truth of what I’m portraying by getting it “right” to a standard that exists today out of the context with my drama.

11. What would you like people to take away from To Appomattox when it finally premiers?

That we’re all Americans. That we may be divided today, but our forefathers set us an example: not in fighting one another, but by how we reunited as a nation at Appomattox. Before the Civil War we knew ourselves as “These United States.” After the Civil War we have always been “The United States.”

We are also working with our historians and the Department of Education to create Study Guides and a curriculum that will be donated for inclusion into all levels of our educational system.

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Sounds like it has true potential! I look forward to seeing how the series develops over the coming months. Stay tuned!

A War of Hearts and Minds

2011-09-23T16:48:00.008-04:00

Adam Goodheart on 1861

"All politics is local," Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill once noted. Historian and writer Adam Goodheart, author of 1861: The Civil War Awakening, concluded that the same should be said of history. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Goodheart following his lecture at the American Association for State and Local History Conference in Richmond. The basis for his book has origins in a field trip with his students to Poplar Grove Plantation - an abandoned 250 year old manor house in the back country of Maryland near Chestertown. There, one of his students discovered a bundle of letters describing the national turmoil and inner debates Americans felt regarding secession, Union, treason, loyalty, and uncertainties. One Virginia colonel who was considering the merits of secession weighed the risks of become a Founding Father in a new revolution or being branded a traitor in an illegal rebellion. "It is like a great game of chance," his wife reflected. In times of war, citizens reflect not only on what can be gained but what can also be lost.

In order to understand the past, Goodheart argues, one has to travel to it. As he drives his students down the long gravel path to the desolate Poplar Grove he exclaims, "Fasten your seat belts. We are now leaving the 21st Century!" Few things in the study of history can compete against "the eloquence of place." It is in such locations that one can best relate and connect with the compelling human drama of the era. The conflict was more than a movement of politics, tactics, and mass columns of troops. It was a war of "millions of individual hearts and minds." Each of those individuals are pieces of the larger historical puzzle illustrating the times in which they lived and died.

When recalling his middle school field trip to Gettysburg National Military Park, he noted how the Electric Map was "never a history that appealed to me." He continued that such methods of "treating the Civil War like a great Super Bowl contest" in some ways diminishes their individuality and human traits, not to mention their reasons for fighting. In many instances, Civil War soldiers, "treated schematically, marching mathematically in step to ideological beats" oversimplifies the men and their respective causes. Contrary to Thoreau's famous quotation, "Simplify, simplify," Goodheart contends the historian should "Complicate, complicate." Stir the hornet's nest. Cause people to rethink, reanalyze, and further appreciate the history they thought they knew.

Drawing contemporary parallels to the past is an effective measure of allowing comprehension to important or tumultuous events. Events such as 9/11 change our perceptions of what had been as well as our expectations of what to was come. The author claims that Fort Sumter was that "9/11 moment" to the Civil War generation. On the rooftops of Charleston, South Carolina in the early morning hours of April 12, 1861, commoners watched the ensuing devastation and wept much like New Yorkers watching the Twin Towers 140 years later on 9/11. Both were pivotal moments that reshaped how people perceived their lives and their world. There was no going back - and they knew it.

Goodheart concluded by sharing a story regarding Secretary of State William Seward, revealing what Fort Sumter truly initiated and represented to the nation:

"When Lincoln finally unveiled the Emancipation Proclamation in the fall of 1862, he framed it in Butleresque terms, not as a humanitarian gesture but as a stratagem of war. On the September day of Lincoln’s edict, a Union colonel ran into William Seward, the president’s canny secretary of state, on the street in Washington and took the opportunity to congratulate him on the administration’s epochal act.

"Seward snorted. 'Yes,' he said, 'we have let off a puff of wind over an accomplished fact.'

“'What do you mean, Mr. Seward?' the officer asked.

"'I mean,' the secretary replied, 'that the Emancipation Proclamation was uttered in the first gun fired at Sumter, and we have been the last to hear it.'"

Adam Goodheart speaks at the Library of Congress.

What a Simple Field Means

2011-09-10T19:22:00.021-04:00

The Dedication of 9/11's Flight 93 National Memorial

On the anniversary of one of the most tumultuous days in American History, I traversed with three colleagues to the open fields outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania to partake in the dedication of the Flight 93 National Memorial. Such scenes as above were easily found amongst the tens of thousands who were present. People from all walks of life were present - some in uniform, many sporting patriotic apparel, others in formal suits and dresses, citizens from across the nation and the world. I came across a gentleman from Germany who was wearing a t-shirt exclaiming "Obama got Osama." The importance and heartfelt connection to this site exceeds the confines of this country because people worldwide could relate to the loss in numerous ways. Loss, and gratitude above all, were the major emotions evoked this day.

I was never truly able to visualize or relate to the Flight 93 tragedy until I viewed the 2006 film United 93. Following the events of this aspect of 9/11 in real time, director Paul Greengrass was meticulous in his research of the film and based much of the script from flight and air traffic control audio in addition to phone calls made from the plane. Though it is still a movie, it placed viewers in the front seat of the plane and required them to reflect on how they may have reacted in the situation depicted. It surely made me think. I must warn you, the scene shown above is violent and desperate - and it gets the point across in doing so.

We arrived two hours early on September 10 (as the NPS website instructed us) but, as we expected, thousands of cars were backed up in the mile leading to the park entrance and then the distance of the lengthy park road itself. This scene created slight frustration and even some humor. Eventually, the crowds decided on their own initiative to open both lanes of traffic to head to the proceedings. However, the jam was oddly enough also inspiring. Looking at the state license plates we saw Arizona, Illinois, Delaware, Virginia, and many more. Ordinary citizens traveled hundreds, even thousands of miles to participate in an event all knew would be historic. The only downside: folks were parked everywhere. Come Monday morning, portions of the park landscape will closer resemble Woodstock 1969 than a national memorial. Oh well, it's all for the greater good I suppose.

After finding a parking spot, we still had a decent trek to make before we arrived at the shuttle bus area. Here too we came across visitors of very diverse backgrounds. Many small children walking with their parents (this one in the Navy) waved American flags on the roadside. Biker groups rode through with 9/11 emblems stitched onto their sleeveless leather jackets. It is rare when one has the opportunity to see such a wide and diverse array of humanity.

After catching a bus, we found ourselves in another line: a security checkpoint. As one can imagine, protection was thorough. This line too can be considered a legacy of September 11. The senses of fear, anxiety, and protection which arose from 9/11 undoubtedly still reside within our collective psyche. Metal detectors, armed guards, and recon teams reminded me of this evident fact. But attendees and employees alike were understandably cooperative and courteous with each other. Visitors gave out their extra bottles of water to fellow attendees whom they had never met. Others gave spare batteries to those who's cameras had died. Where courtesy and patience sometimes lacked in the automobile line, it was overly abundant in this one.

Many spent their time in line by viewing the several wayside markers on display in the waiting area. This one features profiles of the passengers of Flight 93 (minus the four hijackers). A women in line in front of us kissed the second from right top corner photo and said, "Miss you."

After we were cleared, we at last made it to the main staging area. Tens of thousands of attendees had gotten there before us. We managed nevertheless to work our way in a little bit closer. The first phase of the memorial stands to our left, out of shot. The future $10 million visitor center will be built atop the hill in the far background. President Clinton and Speaker of the House John Boehner are going to hold a bipartisan fundraising event to complete this task.

A multitude of VIPs were present to deliver remarks for the dedication ceremony. Left to right in the front row are George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Bill Clinton, Jill Biden, and Joe Biden. Among those in the back row are Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar, Families of Flight 93 President Gordon Felt, and National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis. President Obama will be visiting on September 11 itself.

I enjoyed all speeches equally, albeit for different reasons. Former President George W. Bush was extremely quiet, solemn, and seemed still burdened from his time in office but was applauded the loudest of any speaker. He recounted very personal stories from many of the families and victims. He alluded several times to the Civil War, noting that 9/11 was the bloodiest day on American soil since the Battle of Antietam. He spoke of the Gettysburg Address, which dedicated a not entirely different memorial slightly over 100 miles to the east.

Former President Bill Clinton too gave a very heartfelt speech and drew a historical parallel to the battle for the Alamo. He noted that it takes great dedication to risk your life but it takes exceptional courage to fight and know you are going to die. Such was the case for these respective incidents in 1836 and 2001. However, Clinton concluded, the victims of Flight 93 were not combatants. They were ordinary citizens who made a desperate decision with little or no time to act. That, he said, is why we were all gathered on the spot of their final demise.

Following a reading by poet Robert Pinsky, he read aloud the names of the forty victims. Each name was followed by two bell chimes. I hope this video can also capture some of the scale of the crowd as well as the layout of the site. One poem Pinsky read was "Incantation" by Czeslaw Milosz, which notes:

"As late as yesterday Nature celebrated their birth,

The news was brought to the mountains by a unicorn and an echo.

Their friendship will be glorious, their time has no limit.

Their enemies have delivered themselves to destruction."

Park rangers of all sorts and from all places were present. Interpreters, administrators, law enforcers, and PR specialists were all over. Even mounted U. S. Park Police from Washington, D.C. were present, seen here overlooking the ceremony from the nearby hillside. I saw familiar ranger faces from Allegheny Portage Railroad, Johnstown Flood, Gettysburg, and others. It is always reassuring to see multiple National Parks help others when they are in need of assistance for important event such as these.

But as you can imagine, there were more reporters than rangers present. We could see satellite vans for most of the major news networks and even more for more local broadcasters. Given the heavy presence of the press, I wondered how this commemoration may have differed from the 1951 anniversary of Pearl Harbor or the 1964 anniversary of the Normandy landings. What does this recently introduced twenty-four hour cable news cycle do altering the ways we remember history? Does the recent past become embellished or capitalized in a very tech savvy society? How might 9/11 differ in the memory of citizens 140 years from now versus today? Maybe I'll know someday.

Shortly following President Clinton's speech, the cluster of dignitaries exited the stage area and walked over to the white memorial wall seen in the far distance. In this particular photo, we can see park rangers removing the veil and exhibiting the memorial to the public for the first time. On each tablet is engraved the name of one of the forty passengers. The U. S. Navy Band played "America the Beautiful" in the background. This memorial has undergone, what I consider, unfair and exaggerated criticism in recent years. But in personally being there, I don't see how many could be angered. The monument is sleek, simple in appearance, and unobtrusive on the landscape - preserving the serene environment which will now always exist there.

Vice President Joe Biden (far right) gave perhaps the most impassioned speech. He referred to the crew and passengers as the first strike on the war on terror. My favorite portion is when he stated the wonderful Maya Angelou quote, "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, however, if faced with courage, need not be lived again." But is it true?

Musician Sarah McLachlan performed her songs "I Will Remember You" and "In the Arms of an Angel" - two customary prom favorites that worked surprisingly well for the day's commemorations. The national flags of Puerto Rico, Germany, Japan, and Australia seen in the background were in memory of the passengers on board who were of foreign citizenship. Following the last song, the American flag was retired by a park ranger honor guard. Father Daniel Coughlin (2001 Congressional Chaplain) and NPS Director Jon Jarvis respectively delivered benediction and dismissal.

As the crowds began to disperse, people began conversing with ceremony participants, families of the victims, and numerous dignitaries. A number of the pilots' United Airlines colleagues were in attendance and were interviewed by the press near us. The pilot seen here could have easily been on United 93 had the simplest of schedule revisions been made. This is a situation that many pilots have admittedly considered. "It could have been me."

Beyond the viewing platform of the memorial sits a lone boulder in the open field near the Hemlock Grove were United 93 crashed. Shortly after the crash, the local coroner ordered that the impact crater be backfilled. Thus, the rock not only marks the crash location but it also denotes the final resting place of the passengers and crew. At this time, only the family of those on board are permitted to enter the pasture. A pot of yellow flowers rested on top of it.

The memorial is, in many ways, reminiscent of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. It's black walls and sleek design will eventually be incorporated in the yet to be completed semi-circular design entitled "Crescent of Embrace." The white panels with the victim's names are seen in the far center background. The families had thirty minutes of personal time at the wall before it was opened to the general public.

So what is next for the Flight 93 National Memorial? Naturally, the monument will be completed in the near future. But what about the visitor and education center to be built on the hillside seen above? I, for one, would like the center not only to be a living memorial to the courageous passengers who fought back, but I also want to know why 9/11 happened and what it has meant to the nation since. In a similar situation, I think we not only need to understand the beneficial legacies of Martin Luther King, Jr. at the National Civil Rights Museum but must also comprehend the hate, politics, and circumstances that lead to his assassination. This, the Civil Rights Museum has done admirably, but not without dispute. Regardless, to not fully understand the skewed mentality and world of the terrorists is to not fully appreciate what the victims of Flight 93 did. The complete story needs telling. I hope the Park Service makes the right move once the visitor center is in the works.

Also much like the Vietnam Memorial, multitudes of mementos, gifts, and flowers are left daily at the site. The wall even features occasional "shelves" visitors may leave these tokens of affection on. The black stone is cleaned weekly and all objects are collected for the park's archives and posterity. This is what the National Parks are all about: the preservation of place, objects, and collective memory. I'm glad that the final resting place of the Flight 93 victims is now included in this wonderful system. I'm glad I was there for this inclusion. I hope someday you can too.

Numbers as People

2011-09-02T13:28:00.004-04:00

Rethinking the Historical Records

Numbers or people?

19,000. 1,800. 50,000,000. What do numbers mean anyway? I for one always hated math or anything having to do with numbers. (This was yet another good reason to become a historian.) However, after reading Stephanie Smallwood's Saltwater Slavery: A Middle Passage from Africa to American Diaspora, I have come to more fully realize the importance numbers can have in illustrating historic events and their significances. The numbers above? American deaths in the Battle of the Bulge, deaths in Hurricane Katrina, and fatalities resulting from the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic, respectively. What can they tell us beyond, "Wow, those are big numbers"?

In a study that chronicles the tumultuous and heart-rendering tale of the 300,000 plus Africans who were transported from the Gold Coast in chains, Smallwood's book uses numbers to surprisingly illustrate the deeply human tragedy of the African slave trade. She notes, "By tallying the dead to measure the toll the voyage took on African life, we have made that body count the most potent symbolic measure of the horrors of the middle passage" (132). This goes back to reveal yet again that history is not the memorization of dates and the recording of data. It is the story of people. And numbers can illustrate that.

Numbers are thrown around sometimes loosely in the history world - and often inaccurately. Having worked at one of America's bloodiest battlefields, I can attest to the fact that many visitors come to a site of historic tragedy often with only a hazy allusion of the cost associated with something like the Battle of Gettysburg or the Johnstown Flood. However, when they see the faces of the lost or read the names of the dead, the emotional investment and numerical comprehension become much more vivid. Furthermore, in learning of the pains resulting in these costs, the shear horror of a historical occurrence can become far more real and eye-opening beyond comfort. Smallwood writes in her study that slaves enduring the middle passage voyage were forced to deal with more than mortal death. They had to endure "social death," having their humanity, their culture, their rituals, and their families ripped away from them. How might have we acted in the face of losing our homes, loved ones, and ability to properly mourn these losses? Luckily, most of us will never know. That said, this terrifying scenario happened to millions of people over the course of multiple centuries, with repercussions inflicted upon millions of others as a result. The human face of numbers. Millions.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of this particular slavery situation was how slave traders and merchants themselves viewed numbers. Taken from the records of English Royal African Company, a merchant business established in 1672, numbers and ledger books present a very harsh depiction of life in the slave business. Smallwood writes, "The language of [merchant] accounting thus rationalized shipboard mortality portraying the European agent of commodification as the passive victim of Africans who died - as in investor robbed of his property by that property" (139). Upon the death of a slave, a trader was likely to have acted as a car salesmen might have reacted upon the theft of an automobile from his lot. In this dire situation, humans were viewed not only as numbers in a ledger book but also as merchandise. In moments like this, stats and numerical records truly can speak to us on a very personal level - and change the way we reflect on the past.

Numbers as people. Think about it.

Rangers, lead the way!

2011-08-24T16:31:00.018-04:00

At the annual Conneaut D-Day event

This past weekend, some buddies and I traversed to the shores of Lake Erie for the annual D-Day reenactment at Conneaut, Ohio - the largest such event in the country. Hundreds of reenactors were present to recreate the airborne and amphibious landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. Friday evening and Saturday morning witnessed skirmishes between paratroopers and German infantry. However, the main event takes place on Saturday afternoon when U. S. Infantrymen board landing craft and "storm" the beaches. Unlike most of the participants, I was portraying a war correspondent, armed with only a camera and pencil. (The pen is mightier than the sword anyway, right?) Throughout my adventures, I was snapping photos all along the way. Many of them are included here for your viewing pleasure.

Joining the men of the 5th Rangers Infantry Battalion during embarkation of the landing craft (LC), I suddenly heard a roar in the skies above and all present peered out toward the lake. . .

. . . When multiple WWII era aircraft began flying over and began "bombing" the German defenses on the Atlantic Wall further up the coast. One B-24 Liberator flew especially low to the ground, low enough that I could see the pilot's face. Naturally, the GIs began to wave their helmets, rifles, and cheer loudly.

Eventually, we worked our way closer to the water's edge where we began to board the boats. Multiple Higgins Boats were present as well as a DUKW ("Duck") and a Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT). Simultaneously, P-51 Mustang planes continued to fly over. At the actual embarkation in 1944 England, over 130,000 Allied troops were being prepared to go in on the first wave of the invasion. Having spent many months in England, countless GIs formed great friendships with locals. One American engineer billeted with a British family before the invasion noted, "When we left, [they] cried just as if they were our parents. It was quite a touching thing for us. It seemed like the general public seemed to know pretty much what was going on" (Antony Beevor, D-Day, 9). Understandably, many of the British families envisioned their own sons and brothers going off to war when the witnessed the Americans' departure.

I and about fifteen other GIs climbed into the Duck and were launched out into the water. Luckily for us, the waters of Lake Erie were much calmer than the choppy and gray waters of the English Channel. The LCs were originally so crowded that few men could see over their helmets to the landing ramps. Soldier John Raaen of the 5th Rangers noted that the assault craft was "buckling like an unbroken horse," creating much seasickness amongst the passengers. In a short time, the crafts "reeked of vomit" (Beevor, 93). But sick stomachs and puking were about to become the least of their problems.

The radioman on our boat looks out toward the other landing crafts as we approach the beach. 6th Naval Beach Battalion radioman John Gallagher once joked that the first "beach party" should have been greeted with "wine, woman and song." Rather, he was greeted with shot and shell, being struck in the gums by a piece of shrapnel - which remained there unknowingly for nearly two decades. Despite this wound, Gallagher continued to relay communications back and forth to the ships to establish beachhead operations.

After jumping out of the side of the Duck into the sand, we ran to the dune only yards away from the shoreline. There, we regrouped and waited for the next push up the beach. The Germans continued to fire on the previous waves of men which had already worked their way inland. War correspondent Ross Munro wrote of Allied troops, "From dune to dune, along the German trench system and through the tunnels . . . the troops fought every yard of the way" (Ronald J. Drez, Voices of D-Day, 290).

Off we go up the beach. First Sergeant Leonard Lomell of the 2nd Rangers said of his experiences on Omaha, "We didn't stop; we played it just like a football game, charging hard and low. We went into the shell craters for protection, because there were snipers around and machine guns firing at us . . ." (Drez, 269-70).

Needless to say, your adrenaline surely gets going when you're doing something like this. Obviously, it compares nothing to the actual sense of fear or anxiety of war. Corporal Robert H. Miller of the 149th Engineer Combat Battalion recalled, "I got about ten feet up the beach when I saw just a big white ball of nothingness, and the next thing I knew I was flat on my back looking up at the sky. My first thought was that my legs were blown off because I had tried to move them and nothing happened. . . . [But] for some reason I just couldn't move and couldn't operate at all" (Drez, 237). Fear proved just as able of injuring or stalling a man as easily as a bullet could.

Throughout the beach were "impact craters" meant to represent the holes created by naval shells during the pre-assault bombardment to weaken the German defenses. These holes became impromptu foxholes for the infantrymen slugging their way across the beach. For both us and for them, the craters became spots to catch our breathe before another mad dash inland was made.

Scores of GIs make one final rush to the "shingle," a stone embankment anywhere between three and eight feet high at the end of the beach and the base of the German defenses. Though it provided cover for Allied troops, it became quite easy to become pinned down or even trapped there. Beyond the shingle were usually rows of barbed wire and landmines. In many cases, however, this was the last obstacle Allies faced before they broke into the German trench systems in the Atlantic Wall.

The shingle, in many ways, became the rallying point for troops on the beach. Offering at least some protection against enemy fire, the shingle itself became a trench of sorts. It also became the location to accumulate ammunition and additional gear needed before the final push into the enemy lines. Here, a Tommy gun-toting GI makes a mad dash toward the shingle as medics run out to drag the wounded to the base of the wall.

Here, explosives were also gathered - including Bangalore torpedoes. Bangalores were the high explosives used to break through the shingle and create gaps in the obstacles below the Nazi fortifications. In the photo above, the Lieutenant Colonel commanding the 5th Rangers shouts out for his men to keep their heads down before he yells, "Fire in the hole!"

After an explosive charge was detonated, the GIs made sure all was clear before they rushed uphill to exploit the breach in the German lines. Things got very loud here as the Americans yelled as loud as possible during their charge, coupled with the close range firing between the two lines of troops. Soon, the Germans began to capitulate.

After the German lines were broken through and the enemy was pushed back, the beachhead was finally secure and the GIs sat down for a weapons check, a welcomed rest, and a canteen break.

But it would be another seventy-five days before the Allies broke out of Normandy's hedgerow country and make the final pushes into the hearts of France and Germany. However, the actions of the 175,000 Allied troops who traversed the English Channel that early June initiated a turning point of the Second World War. As a "reporter," (above) I enjoy retelling some of their stories and will have some more tales and photographs to share very soon. Until then, "hang tough."