Distant Blazes of War Engulfed Island
Ethan Kelley

For the sheep grazing in pastures above Vineyard Sound, the patches of weathered canvas beating toward Holmes Hole were barely worth a glance away from meals of September grass. Farmers, townspeople and public officials, however, greeted the approach of some four dozen English-flagged vessels with a bit more alarm.

Read More

The Dred Scott Decision
The Vineyard Gazette

The decision of a majority of the Judges of the Supreme Court adverse to the right of citizenship of this individual, has called forth many severe comments from the press in the free states, and also from the pulpit. Personal abuse of the Judges expressing this opinion, and especially of Chief Justice Taney, has characterized many of these strictures.

Read More

Whaleships Captured and Burned by a Rebel Privateer
Vineyard Gazette
The London Shipping Gazette of Sept. 27, contains the following report made by the British ship Cairngorm, at London from Sydney:
 
Read More

From War Ships of the Past to Educational Beauties of Today
Skip Finley

The Shenandoah and Alabama were anchored just south of Harthaven one recent muggy, overcast morning and it struck me how innocent these famously-named schooners looked.

Read More

History Retold

The other day I was looking at a photo taken from Pam Clark’s old house of Shenandoah, at anchor in back of the Black Dog, and waxing nostalgic. Then today I read about Shenandoah’s namesake, and the original Alabama. I had thought they had been Confederate blockade runners, sort of romantic vessels.

Read More

Oak Bluffs Civil War Statue Rededicated
Joshua Sabatini

The Soldiers’ Memorial Fountain at Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs was rededicated Friday afternoon in ceremonies celebrating the completion of an ambitious two-year restoration project.

Bagpipes, played by Tony Peak, began in the distance and came nearer as the Massachusetts 54th re-enactors and members of American Legion Post 257 marched to the foot of the memorial.

Clouds began to roll in, blocking the splendor of the sun but not the glory of the celebration.

Read More

The Long March North in 1863: Remembering the Civil War
By JOHN HOUGH JR.

Editor’s Note: Memorial Day is a day of flags and remembrance established after the Civil War, where some 620,000 men died, more than in any other American war in history. The battle at Gettysburg is probably one of the most poignant symbols of that war.

Read More

Civil War Diaries of Island Boy: Museum to Launch Charlie Mac
Tom Dunlop

Twelve years ago, Marian Halperin of Vineyard Haven began reading and copying the private journal of someone she didn’t know. Then she read and copied the letters he wrote far from home and the account book his father kept on the Island while he was away.

Read More

Civil War Memorial Gets a New Shine Amid Cannonballs in Edgartown Park
Mark Alan Lovewell

Patriotism, Vineyard history and the meaning of the Fourth of July holiday remain vibrant at Memorial Park in Edgartown. The one-and-one-half acre park has never looked finer. The Civil War-era cannons and cannonballs, the whaling-era trypot and other aging features of the park were just recently repainted.

Tomorrow is the 108th birthday of the dedication of the park and the unveiling of a tall bronze obelisk, a tribute to the service of veterans, men and women, who served in the Civil War, a war that was felt deeply by the residents of the Vineyard.

Read More

Civil War Drama Glories in Details Of Battles Too Close to Island Home
Tom Dresser

SEEN THE GLORY: A Novel of the Battle of Gettysburg. By John Hough, Jr. Simon & Schuster, June, 2009. 420 pages. $25.

Read More

Pages