Daryl Crawford
50 Cal.
Those who decide not to watch perhaps miss an opportunity. Like all history, whether article, book, documentary, historical fiction, or "inspired by" movie, the reader/viewer is always asked to be attentive and then test. Every author/director has a perspective based upon their understanding of and weight given to evidence. Rather than decide out of hand it is worthless, it can be worth while to see it, recognize what might be of use and what is incorrect, and even at times to research why things are incorrect. As a history teacher, I'm constantly telling my students to be critical.
Perhaps a simple example of this can come from the past. Gettysburg was said for a long time to have been started over shoes. That is patently false. It was a convenient lie made probable by changes to the town of Gettysburg in the 1870s. A shoe factory was created in town and as the reasons for Confederate losses were explored by many in the late 1870s, naturally the engagement at Gettysburg can under scrutiny. Lee was above reproach at the time, but people wanted to understand the "failure" at Gettysburg. Heth, perhaps smartly waiting until after Lee's death, indicated he went in after the shoes, perhaps as an off hand remark to deflect the blame of the arm-chair quarterbacks who now sought to pick apart any Confederate loss to lay blame. That simple lie lasted and was even mentioned in Ken Burn's famous documentary.
Sorry to get on the teacher soapbox here.
Perhaps a simple example of this can come from the past. Gettysburg was said for a long time to have been started over shoes. That is patently false. It was a convenient lie made probable by changes to the town of Gettysburg in the 1870s. A shoe factory was created in town and as the reasons for Confederate losses were explored by many in the late 1870s, naturally the engagement at Gettysburg can under scrutiny. Lee was above reproach at the time, but people wanted to understand the "failure" at Gettysburg. Heth, perhaps smartly waiting until after Lee's death, indicated he went in after the shoes, perhaps as an off hand remark to deflect the blame of the arm-chair quarterbacks who now sought to pick apart any Confederate loss to lay blame. That simple lie lasted and was even mentioned in Ken Burn's famous documentary.
Sorry to get on the teacher soapbox here.
