clair055

This article begins ….”For nearly 150 years, the story of the Hunley’s attack on the USS Housatonic has been Civil War legend. And it has been wrong.” Oops. Well, correcting myths, legends and poor history has been habit around here, so let’s dive in. In this case it isn’t so much intentionally reporting incorrect history or revising history to make it more interesting –it’s just that we didn’t have all the pieces of the puzzle.   As new pieces are scrutinized from the wreckage we have to adjust the story.... even if it’s been part of the story for over a hundred years. In this case eyewitness accounts at the time of the attack have been debunked because a piece of the Confederate submarine’s torpedo was found to be attached to its spar. This means the Hunley was much closer to the blast –within 20 feet.   You can read the whole thing here .   So far, the part of the romantic part of the story regarding Queenie’s coin has NOT been debunked, and for that I’m very glad. ...

Pursuing one’s goals…..a worthy pursuit, right? Hard work and determination….giving each and every move careful consideration…..making a plan……following the steps….changing course when necessary…… Yes, all of these are strategies to pursue one’s goals, but all too often we get tired of the time it takes to reach our goals.   That’s when short-cuts come into play. Take the following words. They represent a short cut…… “The most direct path would be to leave the Oregon route, about two hundred miles east of Fort Hall; thence bearing west south-west, to the Salt Lake; and thence continuing down to the bay of San Francisco.” It was with those few words the George Donner party made the fateful decision to take a short-cut they found highlighted in the book The Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California.   The book was written by Lansford Hastings and even though he never met any member of the Donner party, and even though Hastings didn’t exactly promote the short-cut he is for...

On October 2, 1925, the Church Hill section of Richmond, Virginia suffered a great tragedy when a train tunnel caved in at the exact moment a train happened to be in the tunnel.  Several people lost their lives.   It wasn’t long after the cave-in that a story began circulating describing a blood covered creature with jagged teeth.  Huge patches of decomposing skin were hanging off the creature’s legs and arms.  The tale went on to explain how at the time of the tragic cave-in the creature made his way towards the James River and then to Hollywood Cemetery where he was last seen entering the crypt that belonged to William Worthan Pool. It only added to the story that Mr. Pool’s burial site did not share a birth date…only the year he died….1913.  He never died?  Seriously? Somehow the story morphed into a vampire story and the tale of the Richmond Vampire was widely told through the years.    Mr. Pool had lived a very ordinary life before passi...

I find it appropriate that this post is my 800th posting for History Is Elementary . Memorial Day is one of my favorite holidays, so it makes sense I’m writing about it again for post number 800. I knew the milestone post was coming up. I had thought about what I would write. I had even asked friends on Facebook what I should write about, and they came up with several interesting ideas. Then I realized Memorial Day was rapidly approaching…..and I couldn’t go without saying something. What does Memorial Day mean to you? Cookouts, picnics, trips to the beach, perhaps a sale at the mall, time off from work, a cold beer or two, the Indianapolis 500, a slab of ribs on the grill…… Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a problem with any of those things, but I wouldn’t be the ElementaryHistoryTeacher that I am if I didn’t point out what the original intent behind Memorial Day is. Yes! These sweet young ladies, two of which I have the pleasure of knowing, have the right idea. Hannah and Claire...

I have this pair of magnets on my fridge. They don’t really belong to me. I confiscated them years ago from a student. He was throwing them up in the air, and as they whizzed past each other they bumped against each other making clicking and zinging noises as they fell back towards his outstretched hands. Over and over he threw them up in the air. The young man throwing them was a very intelligent student. It was possible for him to comprehend every word I said during those few precious minutes of instructional time, BUT there were students around him that weren’t as fortunate. They were being distracted. So was I for that matter. I confiscated them because they were disturbing a lesson….I confiscated them because I was protecting the general welfare of my classroom. I simply grabbed them and kept on going with my lesson without missing a beat. While I continued to talk I took the few steps to the back of them to place them on my desk. To find out what happened to those magnets and how...