but that momentum revived in the spring of 1863, and was stopped again by gettysburg and vicksburg. and then later in the fall chattanooga. so that was the third turning point. but as i and others have written, it looked like the north was prepared to throw in the towel in the summer of 1864 because of huge casualties without any apparent kind of progress in both virginia and georgia. in august of 1864, lincoln was sure that he would lose re-election. the re-election on the grounds of military failure. yet with the fall of atlanta and the union victories in the shenandoah valley in the fall of 1864 and then the re-election of lincoln, i see that as the final and decisive turning point. but i argued that each one of i argue that each one of these could have gone in a different direction and that it was only particular factors in each case that were not ordained in any particular way. the fall of atlanta in 1864 no more inevitable than the fall of richmond had been in 1862. that's what i meant by contingency. we need to understand in each of these cases . >> it synthesizes the various

or gettysburg or wherever we might be and the political context of the time and its consequences for the world in which we live today. with that i think i will sit down and we will entertain questions from the audience. >> if someone has a comment or question, if you would please go to the microphone, you can address it to anyone on the panel or speak. please identify yourself. >> my name is daryl stover out of north carolina. very life mike. my question is to the whole panel but maybe even more specifically to our honoree. there may have been some directions pointed in the comments given by the panelist. but for me, and especially in these times, my question is what are the important questions we may now start to examine or may point the way for other historians to come relative to looking at the war and its aftermath, relative to african-americans and this whole notion of a long reconstruction. >> let me just briefly comment on that. i think going back at least to the 1930s with w.b. dubois long neglected but now appreciated book "black reconstruction," the impact of the war on ord

dropping him into gettysburg isn't legitimate. having said that i would have no doubt he would have gone up east cemetery hill and that would have been the end of the battle of gettysburg. >> we have a couple more quick calls before the program resumes at the library of virginia. let's hear from carol in ann arbor, michigan. >> and good morning, sir. i wanted to tell you how fascinating this is. i am in ann arbor, michigan. the program is so very interesting for those of us who aren't in your region. we did live in michigan or we lived in richmond for a couple years and went to all these battlefields and studied and learned about it. and i wanted to let you know there are still re-enactments up here and people who are very interested in michigan in the civil war in studying it. so thank you for airing this nationally. and for bringing such fascinating speakers. >> well, i should admit that i lived in michigan for a few years. i was very, very young. my theory is it did me no harm in the long-term because i was so young and moved o

or gettysburg, but at this time it was shocking. on the morning -- sunday morning they got this army, nobody thought that they could do it. albert sidney johnson brought it within a few hundred yards of the union line and nobody knew it was there. and they attacked at dawned they almost broke the right side of the union army. what i would like to do at this point not talk about the tactics, but talk about how this battle affected four people who were there in a way that i think affects all of us in this room right now. i should say before we start, there was a lot of famous people here, two future presidents, who i'm not going to talk about, grant and garfield, two great explorers, stanley, the african explorer, and john wesley powell who recorded the colorado river exploration, so there was a lot of people here. one was william sherman. when the battle started at 5:30 in the morning, william sherman was all through. he was probably the most brilliant military man in the history of american military operations, but not at shilo that

the gettysburg trip that year was busloads full of people. it was a time of great transition for jim, who had been working along very steadily. all of a sudden, the popularity, "the new york times" best selling stature of his book revolutionized how he was regarded by students in the university. and then in the middle of the semester, word came that "battle cry of freedom" had been awarded the pulitzer prize. i will never forget how james mcpherson handled that honor, with equanimity, grace, and humility. he didn't change. nothing changed a bit. jim was just jim. that was a marvelous thing to see. what an example. but what i really want to stress today is jim mcpherson's generosity. that's the only word for it. i've had the pleasure of working with jim, assisting him on a series of trips. princeton runs something they call alumni colleges, which are trips where alums come to be lectured to and kind of feel the excitement of being a student again with princeton faculty as we tour the appropriate places. we've been to harper's ferry, richmond,

i also had wonderful times with pat and jim at gettysburg. my children remember fondly riding and walking that battlefield with him as their leader. so to talk about his contributions to african-american history, but vernon has already done that. so any rate i'll say a few words. as a professor at princeton, mcpherson has walked battle fields with countless students and visitors to the nation's civil war battle fields. it is a way, he has said, to better understand military tactics and the outcomes of battles, and the importance of military history to the historical record. of late, my own work has got me tonging a lot about battle fields and about walking them, literally and figuratively. this opportunity to speak on mcpherson's life and the academy and in the public sphere, it seemed fitting to reflect on this question of walking america's battle fields. so while my assignment today has been preempted, i will still say a bit about his work in the field of african-american history and about walking battle fields. mcpherson is known worldwide

i do remember all the tours of gettysburg that i had given for undergraduate and graduate students at princeton and alumni over the years including the first one judith hunter went on when we walked the climax of the battle, pettigrew assault and judith and her friend turned to each other and said that by this point halfway through we would both be dead. her friend said, i think that's the point. that really brings up another point, which is i have learned as much from my students and colleagues, including all these people on the panel as they have learned from me. that's one example, probably an odd example, of having learned something of great importance to me. when i've done tours of battle fields and especially gettysburg, and in particular that climatic moment of the battle of gettysburg, people i've taken on those tours starting with princeton graduate students and undergraduate students back in the 1980s, have stood on the edge of the woods there looking across the nearly mile of open ground against cemetery ridge that the confederate soldiers were being asked to attack on that

professor berry spoke in gettysburg, pennsylvania. this is a little over 50 minutes. >> i am delighted to be here. there are a lot of lincoln lovers in georgia, though this is the densest population of lincoln lovers i've ever been in. i'm truly delighted. i am going to be speaking today about inlaws. you hear that word and you have a visceral reaction, i think. you know that we're in some trouble already. presidential relatives have been a problem, as we know, throughout history. we don't have to go very far back. this, of course, is roger clinton. he was multiple duis, sold cocaine. that's a bit of a problem. here are the reagans as they wanted to be seen, right? but we all know that they had their problems, too. of course, ron pursued ballet. not a problem in itself, though it didn't fit with reagan's own image as a cold warrior. he went on to perform the tom cruise underwear dance from "risk question business" on saturday night live. patty, of course, wrote a tell-all biography, claiming her father was cold, that her mother was ab

this is child's play compared to the wilderness or antietam or gettysburg. but at this period it was shocking. what the south tried to do with this army was to go up the tennessee river, reclaim the border states and go into southern ohio and threaten cincinnati. they almost did it. sunday morning they got this army. no one thought they could do it. johnston brought it within a few hundred yards of the union line and no one knew it was there. they attacked at dawn. they almost broke immediately the right side of the union army. what i'd like to do at this point is not talk about the tactics but how this battle affected four people who were there in a way that i think affects all of us in this room right now. i should say before we start, there was a lot of famous people here. two future presidents, ulysses s. grant and james garfield fought there. henry morton stanley, the african explorer and john wesley powell who found or recorded the colorado river exploration. but one of them was william sherman. when the battle started at 5:30 in the morning sherman wa

we deliberately go to many of these place, including gettysburg, i've gone for the last eight or ten years, we march in the parade because this is just -- these things because a sorority fight, fraternity fight, where two brothers got up in the morning and had a beer and go on about their business again until we show up and remind people this was about the changing of america, making america a better place. it's important. i'm trying to expand that group now. i don't think they're going to go away either. we're just trying to change the dialogue, do what we can to change the dialogue and we hope we can have reenactors in this state go to every battle. with regard to the monuments, this writer's name james lowin who talks about all these monuments. heap said there are more monuments in the state of illinois than they their are to abraham lincoln. he said some of these monuments need to come down. actually he said well meaning white people have to take down some of these monuments because there are not enough black people to take them all down. so that's your homework for the -- let me

because only 6% of those at the battle of gettysburg died from combat. then this is a very moving poem i saw about andersonville written by a captive. this is the text here. here's our translation. does anyone want to read this out loud? any volunteers? dan, go ahead. >> their hearts with hopes still beating in our northern homes, waiting, watching for the footsteps that will never never come. in southern prisons pining, meager tattered pale and gone, growing weaker daily. from pinching cold and want, your brothers, sons and husbands hopeless captives lie. oh ye who yet can save them, will you leave them here to die? from out our prison gate there's a graveyard near at hand where lies 13,000 union men beneath the georgia sand. scores on scores are laid beside them as day succeeds today. thus it ever will be till they are -- till they shall pass away and the last can say when dying with upturned and glazing eye. both love and faith are dead at home and they have left us here to die. >> okay. so you get a sense of the pessimism and the fatalism that the un

we deliberately go to many of these places, including gettysburg. i have gone for the last 10 or eight years. we march in the parade. because these things become a sorority fight, fraternity fight, where two fight last night and then have business kind of thing. until we show up and remind people that this was about changing america, making america a better place. i am trying to expand that group now. i don't think they are going to go away either. we are just trying to change the dialogue, do what we can to change the dialogue and hope we can have re-enactors go to all of these states and all of these battles. there was a writer named james -- i can't remember his last name now. >> loin. >> loin, who basically talks about all of these monuments. he says there are more monuments in the stateof there are to abraham lincoln. and he says some of them need to come down. actually, he says well meaning white people need to take them down. >> illinois? tennessee for sure. >> there are not going to be black people taking them all down. so that's your homewo

i'm rooi eminded of colonel jos lawrence chamberlain when he arrived at gettysburg. his commander said you need to go to the left flank of the union line, little roundtop. as he arrived up there on the other side, on confederate side was a fellow name long street, a corps commander who said i think we can achieve victory at gettysburg if we can turn the union left flank so they attacked once, twice, three, four times, and all of chamberlain's company commanders came to him and said, sir, we've got to move off the line. we've suffered heavy casualties, we're low on ammunition. and chamberlain immediately assessed it and gave this command -- refuse to lie and sidestep to the left which was a very intricate maneuver in an open field. they were on a rocky, sloping terrain. when he said that, the entire regiment, rose and moved to the left and prevented the left flank of the union line from being flanked. how is that -- why was that able to happen? i would argue that it was because he had injected this trust and cohesion in that organization well before they got to gettys

this question is about gettysburg in 1863. i hope it's appropriate. when stonewall jackson had died, had he not died, who do you think he would have sided with at gettysburg, general lee or longstreet? >> i think he would have sided with lee. like lee, jackson always wanted to seize and hold the initiative and take the offensive. he was more of an offensive commander than a defensive commander in contrast to longstreet. so i'm fairly confident he would have sided with lee on those decisions. >> james mcpherson, we appreciate you joining us this afternoon. we'll wait with all of the rest of our viewers to see if your choice, admiral david farragut is picked as person of the year 1862 and remind our viewers that we have covered a number of events with james mcpherson in the past of his many books and you can find many of those in our video library. thank you for joining us this afternoon. >> thank you for having me. >> we are going to stay live. we'll go back live momentarily to richmond. we'll hear from john mountcastle. he is a former chief of militar

the new visitor's center at gettysburg which opened two or three years ago is superb. a lot of us worked on it over the years as consultants. and particularly the orientation zone. i was stunned at how good it is. i'm always prepared to not like the orientation zones because they're not made for us, they're made for a public. and usually they're sort of disappointing. this one not only had morgan freeman as the narrater, which is a good move, but it's so good i couldn't hardly believe it. and i walked out in tears because i didn't think i'd live to see that. they're great teaching centers, they don't have to be about glorifying war. i'm not for tearing down any monument. leave them all up and teach with them. there's a guy in texas, i won't name him, who has been on a personal crusade for years to take down every robert e. limee monument, marker, memorial, or sentence anywhere in the public united states. and he used to try to enlist -- started with franklin, actually, and many, many other of us historians to crusade with him to take down -- he started in dallas, texas

and in a sense, the gettysburg address is lincoln's response to all the many, many parents and others who lost their loved ones. and so i -- and obviously my rendition may pale to the original, i do believe they are to be heard not just read. i would like to make this attempt of reading those words to you. four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and designated that all men are created equal. now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated and long endure. we are met on a great battlefield of that war. we have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here fitting and proper that we should do this. but in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. the brave men living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. the world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but if you never forget what they did here, it is for us

a lot of the cast -- i mean you will see all of a familiar names from gettysburg are back. the crew, it's enormously exciting. the filming will take place. lexington, virginia around vmi, the shenandoah valley, the harper's ferry area, hagerstown, maryland, central maryland. it's all happening. the production office is open. ron may be here this weekend. they're already recruiting re-enactors. if you go to godsandgenerals.com, this is where you go to be involved. this is enormously exciting. if i don't seem really excited, it's because i'm worn out. because it's been five years we have been working on this. and it's the mate of the beast. and i will say this right into the camera, thank you ted turner. because it is ted turner who is the body, strength, spirit and money behind this project. fit were not for ted turner, nobody in hollywood would care if this film is made. we have dealt with an astonishing variety of -- i won't get into it. it's been an interesting experience, to say the least. but because of ted turner, we are making a movie. and i hope all of you get excite

and in a sense, the gettysburg address is lincoln's response to ale

years now, one discovery after another, the movie "glory" is a byproduct in some ways, and exhibit gettysburg is a byproduct of academic scholar. the national museum of african-american history -- >> this is progress. >> this is progress and the museum that frank leads. so i think in sometimes that academics forget that what we're doing can actually matter. but when it's manifested back in museums and films and television shows, but also in what our children are learning, it is not without consequence. and i -- you know, i wouldn't want us to forget that without the knowledge that comes from being lonely scholars studying things like the conduct, we don't have the information that we need to move forward. so i think sometimes we rage at an impotence we don't actually have. >> there are times in the past when the greatest historians serve public policy -- in the so called dunning school and reconstruction, so called u.b. phillips school, you grew up in the united states and learned anything about american slavery circa 1925, you learned it essentially out of u.b. phillips and as many students,

but however the following year, he spoke as we all know at gettysburg where they were consecrating this burial ground where the great battle had taken place. and it was said later on at lincoln's eulogy that although lincoln had said in that address that the world will little note what we say here, one of his eulogyists said, the battle itself was less important than the speech. and in a sense, the gettysburg address is lincoln's response to all of the many, many parents and others who lost their loved ones. and so i -- and obviously, as pale as my rendition may be compared to the original, i do believe these words were meant to be heard, not just read. so i would like to at least make this attempt of reading those words to you. fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. we are met on a great battlefield of that war. we have come

colonel ralph peters author of the new book "cain at gettysburg" which will be out next week.u think the israelis are bluffing here? >>. no the israelis are serious. bill, there is a fundamental divide between tel aviv, jerusalem on one side and washington on the other. for the israelis, this is about survival, there are plenty of jews around the world still living to ho remember the holocaust. washington has forgotten it. for voorl it's about survival. for washington right now for the obama ha administration it's about kicking this can down the road past november elections no no matter what happens. >> now a couple of things in play. both the united states and great britain have asked the israelis to be a little bit more patient. big sanctions that are strangling the iranian economy are going to have have an effect. china we are going to cooperate with the sanctions. they both ask netanyahu to just give it a bit more time. i understand absolutely the harm that the iranian government would bring to israel if it could. there is no doubt about it i would if i were netanyahu give

gettysburg and other parts of southern pennsylvania as well.ess. 9 in washington. 35 at dulles airport, at the freezing mark in martinsburg and winchester. possible evens later this afternoon and evening. slight chance of precipitation, 20% chance. tomorrow, low to mid 50's. wednesday in store. >> the traffic is great. picture to show you. i'm excited. it looks good across the bridge. legion beltway at the wilson bridge. uncomplicated on 66 or 95 in virginia. twinkling lights, northbound also running very well. good out of ashburn, leesburg, sterling, and quiet to dulles airport. mass-transit lines running in your favor. a great ride coming out of southern maryland as well. this episode in a little while. back to you. >> thank you. -- newschopper 7 in a little while. >> whitney houston's family is find out the best way her extraordinary life. her body was flown to new jersey. >> her body arrived in new last night, hours after being flown to los angeles by private jet. vehiclescorted a carrying the body to a funeral home. the body was flown on t

we'll we'll will send you a replica of gettysburg's address. please check out it out on our website. >> bob getz... >> bill: interesting letter. but there is a vast difference between ludicrous and ellen. >> bill: you can express whatever you want but if do you that in public, gay people are likely to be hurt. do you want that? zbleibl can't wear that egyptian stuff. was madonna's performance boring. that was the question. assembly. >> we are ready, anthony. you can see us in chicago, june 23rd and i will be a solo in tampa on march 11th. finally tonight. opinion have pinheads, m&m's the candy took a starring role. >> as you know the story, eddie van halen would stipulate in his contract, in his dressing room, no brown m&m's. that has to make a candy feel bad. >> well, he didn't know what he was missing. i'm the ruler of all. this is law. >> we've been doing this show 15 years, i believe you are the first talking candy. i'm honored. >> thank you very much brown one. >> way to go. >> that is fun. >> bill: very early in the morning. [ laughter ]

it's the second day at gettysburg still.here's a sensibility in the painting itself -- it's like an extension of this color... liu: i used some birdcages in this group of paintings. the bicage, for me, symbolize, maybe, the women in this paintings, their spiritual captivity, the loss of freedom. the women treated just like objects. maybe the objects, like the birdcage in this case here, like the embodiment of the women. man: the good news is that the mount is relatively universal, and they'll all be parallel lines. so you can switch them anytime you want. if you don't like the look, we can just change it. also i really want to see them hung there, and then i can make a decision. yeah, it's pretty hard to make a decision with them on the floor. uh-oh. oh, my god! who did the installation? who did the installation? well? well? well? so what do you think? liu: i remember that face probably. i painted it, washed away, painted it several times. also, i always do two things to my paintings. one is -- well, i did okay job, not bad,

been to the presidio, it would not be the same without him and the tremendous recitation of the gettysburg address he gives every memorial day and he does it without notes. just a fantastic choice, great choice, supervisor mar. my selection is a gentleman who i have had the privilege of knowing and working with a little over 10 years but observing since i was playing in the cyo. not too h&m too much, but don collins is currently the commissioner of the athletically. the aaa san francisco section. -- not to age him too much. don has been in a position for 10 years. prior to that was involved in cyo basketball. he has been officiating youth sports for two decades. in figuring out who i wanted to commemorate and celebrate today, don came to mind right away. what it is about for me with don , he is a true role model. to have him around our cities use every day with the integrity that he demonstrates each and every day in his work, the leadership skills he demonstrates, the kind as he demonstrates, -- kindness he demonstrates and the intelligence he demonstrates. i have seen this with a few oth

and in national shrines like t gettysburg, we honored the men of both sides who gave what they believed to be right. ♪ >> here are the names. the last of the men in blue are gone. but the union they preserved remains. and honors for all time, the men who made it possible. and right over here is a roll call of names from the years which followed the civil war, the time when the nation grew, expanding westward, the west. charged with the task of making the frontier safe was the regular army. out west that meant the cavalry. the troopers who rode into that wide country were vastly outnumbered. and their adversary was often a master of combat, a rawhide tough and experienced fighter, dangerous to underestimate. this era in america's growth has passed into legend, but real men lived it. many were awarded the medal of honor. the names of their battlegrounds are obscure now, most of them. others will never be forgotten. names like little big horn. where 24 of the men who stood with custer won the nation's highest award. but wherever he fought, on the plains, among the buttes or in the timber,