Ode to Shelby
by Jeff Hendershott
America, and indeed Civil War
fanatics of all stripes, have just lost a treasure with the passing of Shelby
Foote. I think I can say this honestly and without hyperbole. They
just don't make them like this anymore.
Most of us got to know Shelby
Foote through Ken Burns’ fantastic "Civil War" documentary series in
1990. As luck would have it, this was about the time I got into Civil War
reenacting. Then, I was devouring books about The War Between the States
at an alarming clip, and as a borderline anal retentive, I vowed - and DID -
accomplish the reading of Shelby Foote's three volume narrative of the Civil
War.
What struck me about Shelby
Foote then and now is that here we have a southerner who looked at the whole of
the war and went beyond the blood and bullets, the carnage and battles, and
tried to interpret it into a broader meaning for all of us. I believe he
did so successfully.
What
Southerner would have the gall to list U.S. Grant as one of his favorite
generals from that war? Shelby did! Shelby's observation that
"The Civil War produced two authentic geniuses - Nathan Bedford Forrest
and Abraham Lincoln," at least in my mind has yet to be disproven.
And it's another example that Shelby Foote didn't narrow himself to view things
from a strictly provincial perspective. The man became truly educated
somewhere along his long and interesting life.
Another thing I "dug"
about Shelby Foote was his ability to not be stuck in a special area of the
war. He could talk smartly about the battle of Glorietta Pass as well as
Gettysburg, about Corinth as well as The Wilderness. I admire this in a
historian. And again, he could also interpret the broader political as
well as social implications of the mid-19th Century within the context of the
battles.
And along with the Bruce Cattons
of the world, he could talk intelligently about the common soldier. I
believe Shelby Foote - in an off-hand and unintentional way - was a benefit to
the living historian because he sparked an interest in the "common
soldier," or what professional historians call "history from
below."
Shelby Foote's little snippets
could appear a bit trite from time to time. Maybe even
melodramatic. Maybe it goes with the territory since the Civil War stirs
passions unlike any other war in this nation's history. Yet this man had
insights from a mind that was to be reckoned with. Maybe saying that
Shelby Foote weaved common sense into a field where common sense comes at a
premium.
My favorite statement by Shelby
Foote may seem cynical, but none the less I believe it sums up what I'm trying
to say about this man as a pure historian who chose to make interpretations
from the tragedy known as The American Civil War rather than immortalize its
participants and study its minute - dare I say trivial - aspects such as seem stitches
and belt buckle styles and corps badges. To paraphrase Shelby:
We think we are a holy
superior people [Americans]. If we WERE as superior as we think we are,
we would not have fought that war. But since we did fight it, our generals have to
be the "greatest" generals of all-time and our battles have to
be the "greatest" battles of all-time. It's very "American"
to think that way.
What I believe Shelby Foote was
trying to communicate here is that yes, the Civil War WAS INDEED a tragic and
important chapter in the history of our nation. He himself also said that
to really understand the character of America, one needs to have a firm base
understand of the Civil War. Yet, on the other hand, I interpret what
Shelby Foote is saying here is that, in my words - "But let's keep in mind
that in the grand snapshot of world history, there were A LOT of grand leaders
and battles, so let's be careful when we hand out awards for the ‘greatest’
this and that soley based on the American Civil War." Shelby Foote
was a veteran of World War II, I should add.
So I personally believe they
don't make them like Shelby Foote any more. It takes a real talent -
which I believe came natural to him - to make studying history both enticing
and truly educational at the same time, be it through the spoken and written
word.
We'll be seein' ya' Shelby!