Video Discussion 61: Richard Taylor’s Memoirs

JerseyBart

Brigadier General
Moderator
Forum Host
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Location
New Jersey
Monday 11/6/17 in the chatroom
NEW TIME!!! 9:00pm eastern!

61.jpg


https://www.c-span.org/video/?425712-1/confederate-general-richard-taylors-memoir
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If we are discussing Dr. Cushman's video, it is worth remembering that he is an English professor and is emphasizing the use of words and allusions in Taylor's memoir from that perspective.
 
This book is a lot of fun to read and I plan to watch the video. I have to admit that I only read the part about Taylor's visits to the Eastern theater, and I loved the fact that he referred to Little Sorrel as "a sorry chestnut with a shambling gait." He was also critical of Jackson's horsemanship. Both grew on Taylor as he saw more of them in action.
 
Richard Taylor's memoir is certainly a must read for anyone interested in the Civil War.
.
I agree with that--Taylor is a fine writer and not inclined to the kind of hyperbole that infects the works of other contemporaries that wrote personal memoirs. This is a surprisingly intelligent and well written work.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I love the title of the book. Destruction and Reconstruction. I think at times people forget he was the son of President Zachary Taylor. he was well educated at both Harvard and Tale. He was well read, mostly military history and the classics. He was intelligent. It is no surprise that his book is considered one of the best written accounts about the war. The video was good edited by moderator JerseyBart
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@MaryDee sorry I deleted your post. I deleted the post it was replying to as ignoring a thread warning...not your fault.

Posted as moderator


And yep, we’re trying 9:00pm eastern tomorrow so hopefully everyone is ready a bit earlier. See you then!!!:smile:
 
@MaryDee sorry I deleted your post. I deleted the post it was replying to as ignoring a thread warning...not your fault.

Posted as moderator


And yep, we’re trying 9:00pm eastern tomorrow so hopefully everyone is ready a bit earlier. See you then!!!:smile:

No problem! I was addressing the deleted post's reference to "tonight" (Sunday). With that gone, my post was unnecessary. See you all tomorrow night!
 
I will be an apology for today. It is a public holiday in Melbourne today (Tuesday our time) and I will be otherwise occupied.

The holiday is for ....... a horse race! The Melbourne Cup. Has been run since 1861. It is referred to as "The race that stops a nation". People all over the country stop to watch or listen to this race. One of the worlds richest races, with 11 of the field of 23 trained in Europe.

 
Had a meeting come up that I couldn't get out of. Trying to resign permanently, but no luck yet. It is hard to say no when several people insist on driving me there and back because I can't drive after dark.

I can see that those without a literary background might have been turned off by the lecturer's emphasis on use of words and allusions. The talk is about Taylor's literary style rather than history. However, I found it really interesting, because that was my field (before I went into accounting to put beans on the table).

I'm for trying again but only if others feel that way. If they don't, then I'm game for a new topic.
 
Back
Top