The New York Times brings the Civil War—along with the memories and details pertaining to it—into focus on the war’s 150th anniversary through a blog, Disunion. Located in the Opinion pages, contributors to Disunion upload posts every couple of days to inform readers of another aspect or story of the war. Each entry is written chronologically as the fighting progressed.
One contributor, Adam Goodheart, found the blog to be a great way to relay the message of what went on during the Civil War in a realistic form, according to his interview with The Morning News. Goodheart thought that previous attempts through movies or television documentaries didn’t give civilians the perception of being a part of the occurrences as the blog does. Diary entries, letters, and images add reality to the blog.
Certain posts, like Recounting the Dead by J. David Hacker, focus on a historical analysis to provide readers with new information and more accurate statistics. Hacker’s post not only analyzes the number of people lost through incorrect hospital and prison reports, but goes on to explain the processes of identification of bodies. This, among a plethora of other posts, allows readers to catch an insider’s glimpse of life during the Civil War.
Be sure to check out this unique portrayal of our past!