Last night, I sat raptly glued to the television set from the time that the polls closed at 7:30 until after President-Elect Obama spoke last night. I’ve always enjoyed politics; I was, after all, a political science major. I’ve always enjoyed watching presidential election returns (but it was strange not seeing Tim Russert doing what he so obviously loved so much), but last night was an especially fascinating night.

Last night, history was made. Only 40 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, a black man was elected president of the United States. No less than his opponent, Sen. John McCain (whose concession speech was a paragon of class ad dignity, for which he deserves kudos and respect), …

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Tomorrow is election day. Tomorrow will be a truly historic election. We will either elect a black man president for the first time, or we will elect a woman vice president for the first time. Either way, the American political landscape will never be the same again.

Susan and I went and cast our ballots early, three weeks ago. We had no lines, and we stepped right up and did our civic duty. I feel badly for those who will be stuck in long lines tomorrow, but it WILL be worth the trouble.

I don’t care whether you vote for McCain, Barr, Obama, or Nader (well, I actually do, but I’m not going to preach at you about the candidates …

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Once again, a hat tip to reader Todd Berkoff for bringing this nifty tidbit to my attention.

Most of you are familiar with the story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, a regiment of black men led by Boston Brahmin Robert Gould Shaw, which made the heroic but unsuccessful assault at Battery Wagner in Charleston harbor on July 18, 1863. The regiment included one of Frederick Douglass’s sons, as well as other prominent Boston freedmen. Their story was immortalized in the excellent 1989 film Glory, which netted Oscars for Denzel Washington (Best Supporting Actor) and two others.

The Massachusetts National Guard has announced that it is re-activating the 54th Massachusetts and making it an active unit once more. On November …

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The drought is over!

In their 126th season, the Philadelphia Phillies have won only the second title in the franchise’s history. Ending the weirdest, most bizarre World Series game ever, Brad Lidge threw three hellacious, unhittable sliders and struck out Eric Hinske, ending the World Series and Philadelphia’s 25 year championship drought. I’m thrilled for Charlie Manuel and for 45-year-old Jamie Moyer, who grew up in the Philly suburbs and who played hookey from high school to attend the 1980 victory parade. But most of all, I am thrilled for the long-suffering fans of Philadelphia and for Harry Kalas, who finally got to call another world championship, 28 years later.

There was a certain symmetry to it: 08 is the …

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A great opportunity to preserve an entire Civil War camp site, for very little money, has surfaced in Stafford County, Virginia, near Fredericksburg. From the October 11, 2008 issue of the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star:

Stafford considers Civil War park ACCOKEEK SITE RICH IN HISTORY

Stafford supervisors express interest in preservation group’s proposal to fund, create Civil War park

By CLINT SCHEMMER

A new idea has sprung up on how to save–and eventually open to the public–Stafford County’s best surviving cluster of Civil War sites.

The Board of Supervisors may partner with a preservation group, Friends of Stafford Civil War Sites, to accomplish those ends.

FSCWS wants to create a park to interpret and protect sites near Accokeek Creek where

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Last night’s game 5 of the World Series was the sports equivalent of needing a cold shower. The game started in a fine mist, and the weather steadily and progressively deteriorated as the game went on. By the sixth inning, the field was a soggy mess, and it was unplayable. It was also about 40 degrees, with whipping winds. Consequently, the game was suspended with the score 2-2 at the end of the top of the sixth inning. The weather in Philly is supposed to be just as bad today, if not worse.

The game never should have been started. It was unfair to both teams, and it would have been unfair and unfulfilling for the game to be rain-shortened …

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Back in August, Rob Shenk, the Director of Internet Strategy and Development for the Civil War Preservation Trust, contacted me and asked me whether I would be interested in being featured in a piece on blogging the Civil War that he was developing for the CWPT’s web site. I said sure and had fun putting it together.

The results of that collaboration have been published to the CWPT’s web site, and can be found here.

Thanks to Rob for asking. I hope you all enjoy.

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I attended my first meeting of the Buffington Island Battlefield Preservation Foundation on Saturday. The meeting was held at the facility of the Meigs County Historical Society in Pomeroy, Ohio, which is the nearest town of any consequence to the Buffington Island battlefield. Pomeroy is also the county seat of Meigs County.

A couple of months ago, I was named one of the founding voting trustees of the organization, so this was my introduction to the group. It’s taken several years of political haggling and wrangling to get things to this point. Apparently striking a balance between folks from Meigs County and outsiders like me was one of the big hang-ups. Interestingly, the president and vice president are both outsiders, …

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In the category of people who are galactically stupid is the moron who fully loaded his weapon at a recent reenactment and shot some poor bastard. Of course, the moron has failed and refused to step forward and accept the consequences for being galactically stupid:

Civil War re-enactor’s injury shakes die-hards

By STEVE SZKOTAK, Associated Press Writer – Sat Oct 25, 10:56 am ET

RICHMOND, Va. – In the passionate world of Civil War re-enactors, authenticity is everything — from uniforms with historically correct stitching to hardtack made from scratch.

A battle re-enactment last month pushed realism to the limits: a retired New York City police officer portraying a Union soldier for a documentary film was shot in the shoulder,

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I’ve already told you about the Monterey Pass Battlefield Association, and I’ve previously mentioned the upcoming November 8 event. However, I want to give it another shout out for a couple of reasons. First, I really believe in the organization and what it’s trying to accomplish. Second, it’s going to be a terrific program.

It’s called the Thunder on the Mountain and the Retreat from Gettysburg Seminar. Here’s the agenda for the day:

Schedule of Events

8:30: Registration

9:00: Welcome

9:15-10:30: First Presentation includes Eric Wittenberg and J. David Pertruzzi

10:30-10:45: Break

10:45-11:45: Second Presentation will given by Ted Alexander

11:45-1:00: Lunch

1:00-2:00: Third Presentation will be given by John A. Miller

2:00-2:15: Break

2:15-3:15: Final Presentation will be …

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