haig and some of the world war i generals, you see the reputation of grant ebb and flow in the 20th century when we look at worse at our wars of attrition and apply those characteristics in nearly two ulysses s. grant and the situation he is sent in the civil war. >> we have two remaining questions. realize we have two and i foundestions, not of ok'd. we can only allow one you echo they are quick. one? ife can only allow they are quick. sir? grant's memoirs -- memoirs come out rosecrans comes in for very serious criticism by grants. he comes in almost as a bumbling clown opposed to

butler. he criticizes butler but says at least he was a gallant officer who did the best he could. can you respond to that? >> if only we have the time, but we don't. i think it was personal friction between the two men. it was mutual. william rosecrans led the charge to make sure that grant was not restored to the army in 1885. in that sense, that you'd just continued and continued after the war. cut grant some who did not want restoration of his military role, but was refusing opportunity.e >> sir?

grant's memoirs because we have been talking about memoirs -- how would you rate them as a biography. i wouldn't. by definition it's not telling your own story. as awas going to say biography, i would call it extremely subjective. [laughter] >> thank you. all so much.you we want to thank our panelists. we have aike 15-minute break and the next 45 in thisgins at 2: room, so thank you. this is american history tv on c-span3. we're live from gettysburg, pennsylvania for the annual civil war summer conference hosted by gettysburg college.

back this break we will be with the final speaker of the day, elizabeth barron from the university of virginia. she will talk about elizabeth van loo, the unions by who operated a ring out of the confederate capital of richmond, virginia. but now c-span takes you on the road. benny: name a bridge after edmund pettis, certain things happen. first, you stamp a modern marvel with the name of someone who supported white supremacy for decades. he's a confederate hero. there is the sense that the past in the present have come together. you have a modern bridge with a name who was possibly a kkk leader and a key voice of white supremacy here in the south. bridge waspettus

completed in 1940. the bridge replaced a much older and somewhat dysfunctional wooden bridge people had to click by hand if a ship was coming through of any height. it was meant to update the link between montgomery, the state capital, and the black belt here. it was pretty much people leaving the black belt to go to montgomery. the connection of the bridge is that many would come to the capital to seek political capital to improve white plantersor to attempt to constrict black labor according to their own designs. the bridge was a modern marvel from this part of alabama.

he replaced, of course, an older wooden structure. and with it there was this magical piece of steel. what is interesting here, of ofrse, this is a series beams, but it very much connoted a sense of identity for people coming across the bridge to totgomery or two soma -- or selma. it was named for edmund pettus almost immediately. he had been a leading figure in alabama to his death. he was from a rural family to the north, went to a small camege in tennessee and back and studied law and became

a lawyer and judge. when he became a lawyer, he would've and amongst the moneyed men in the south in alabama in the 1820's. he moved to selma in the 1800s and became a lawyer here and any lawyer who was successful worked with, defendant, or represented white planters here, men who owned slaves and owned vast tracts of land. his real success began during the civil war. he rose up through the ranks to become a brigadier general in alabama. neartually suffered a fatal injury for the end of the war. here was someone who had led thousands of men in battle in this glorious cause. back, settles, rises is a very powerful lawyer.

theasically funds democratic state convention for many decades. anyone who goes to washington had to work with him. he finally accepted the call to public office in 1897 as a u.s. senator and flow serve until his death in 1907. he was, like many men of his power in alabama, and arch support avoid supremacy. certain records indicate he was the 19thof the klan in century. one record indicates he was the head of it here in the state. ,uring his time as senator alabama passed the 1901 convention, which famously stripped most blacks and many poor whites with the liberties they won during the civil war. specifically the polls were largely closed to blacks. the franchise became a powerful vehicle to manage the black vote.

was a tremendous black to white ratio. state constitution stripped blacks of power here. so, alabama passed this famous constitution which stands as an the way that state government went to great lengths to re-create a version of the old south during the new south. this was manifested by the black k of rights forc for americans. the bridge was born and dedicated as an emblem of white supremacy. it went from becoming a place of racial separation to being a place of racial liberation. by that, i mean in 1965, this

became the setting for one of the most important moments of the civil rights movement. during that time, king decided this was the place he would make a pitch for voting rights. bridgent was, the pettus was part of racial segregation, but also liberation. was the clearrvel memory of what supremacy in 1940, but became a different kind of space when king and his supporters crossed over that bridge to go to montgomery and demand the right to vote. like many southern cities, there was extremely diverse those extreme violence. some grappled with what do you do with the name of edmund pettus bridge, knowing he supported white supremacy and this bridge became such a powerful and literal passageway from segregation to liberation? on one hand you do not want to

forget the past. you want to teach that to your children. you want that to be part of conversation. many years ago, this was a place that did not welcome african-americans. yet balance that also with the need to inject into that title of the bridge the equally powerful meeting, that this is a place of revolution. this is a place where one of king's greatest moments took place. here 25,000 people, men and women, black and white, came to testify to the fullest understanding of american democracy, no matter who you are, you can cross this bridge, go to montgomery, and demand your right to vote. the trick is how do you balance the dark past? there's no easy solution. for many historians, we want to preserve both. reminds us ofame how far we have come. can't have a revolutionist history. ettus bridge.

i think there's something ironic about the fact it is named after a confederate general, a u.s. senator from alabama who was part of the ku klux klan, but today it is known all around the world for the courageous fight that took place here for the right to vote. it is known for that. and when i think about how we are going to help revitalize economically the city of soma, you can't pay for the marketing of the fact that the whole world bridge,out the pettus not because of who it is named after, but because of the great place on thatok bridge. if you ask folks who grew up in soma, we note become located history that is soma. the fact that the civil war and civil rights are fought side-by-side here and we cannot change that history.

we have to learn the history. it's part of american history. it's important that we embrace that history. even the painful parts. who are from if we alabama do not tell that history, others will and they may not get it right. they may not see it through the lens of people who grew up, who understand it and understand the complicated history of selma. we can change that history, but we can learn from it and i think it's important that we learn from it. you can watch this and other programs on the history of communities across the country at www.c-span.org/citiestour. this is american history tv, only on c-span3. c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1970 nine, c-span was created as a public service by america's

cable television companies and today, we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events and washington, d.c. and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. >> this week, the c-span bus travel to juneau, alaska as part of our 50 capitals tour with our cable partners gci. is traveling ahead of our stop in fairbanks. c-span,aska weekend on c-span.org, or listen on the c-span radio app. interested in american

history tv. visit our website, history.an.org/ schedule,ew our archival programs, and more. www.c-span.org/history. at there back live gettysburg college of those living you for the civil war institute annual summer conference. a discussion of union spy a lisbeth van loo. you are watching american history tv on c-span3.

>> good afternoon, everyone.