Wednesday, July 26, 2023

My Enchantment with (Addiction to?) the Civil War


My enchantment with, or addiction to reading about, the Civil War has deep roots that go back to early childhood. And it came through both sides of my family. 

From my mother came the romance. If you had asked her, at any time of her life, what her favorite movie was, you would have received the consistent answer of Gone with the Wind. She was 16 when she first saw the movie. I don’t know how many times she watched it, especially after it became a regular staple of television. But the story of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara, set against the backdrop of the Civil War and its aftermath, captured my mother’s romantic heart.

 

The novel by Margaret Mitchell won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. The movie passed into American film legend, and my mother knew all the details, like how the directors searched long and hard for an actress to play Scarlett. Filming had started (like with the scene depicting the burning of Atlanta) when they finally decided on Vivien Leigh. And my mother adored Clark Gable, talking about him long after his death in 1960.


To continue reading, please see me post today at Dancing Priest.


Some Wednesday Readings

 

Remembering the Old Ones – Brian Miller at A South Roane Agrarian. 

 

Shrouded Veterans: Col. Ignatz Kappner – Frank Jastrzembski at Emerging Civil War. 

 

Historic Shots at the End and the Beginning – Sarah Kay Bierle at Emerging Civil War.

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