Appomattox at 150

150 years ago today Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court house.  That means it's time for a picture of Appomattox Courthouse.  I particularly like this picture, of the road to the (reconstructed) tavern where they met, because it suggests both the long road towards that end -- and also the long road from Appomattox.  

For some other images from that park, including the North Carolina monument are here, here (and here, for a plaque put up in the 1920s by the United Daughters of the Confederacy).

Comments

[AnonProf]

How is this even remotely relevant to the point of this blog? Irrelevant pet projects shouldn't be foisted on your readers.

[Anon]

I think it is interesting. Certainly more so than petulant comments.

[Keep the Petulant Comments Coming]

Considering that he is one of the founding bloggers, I would give him a pass to indulge some pet projects. This is a short and interesting post anyway.

But I disagree with Anon @7:55. As with most blogs, the petulant comments are the most interesting content. I typically will not look at a post unless it has a couple of comments, and without the comments this blog would not be worth reading at all.

[AGR]

The Civil War was the break down of the American system of law and government. The south's surrender was the first step toward trying to put things back together. A different legal regime emerged. Thus, law and culture were (are)implicated. It is relevant, and should be commemorated.

[anon]

Alfred is a legal historian with, it seems to this reader, an emphasis on Southern issues around slavery.

As this is in part "his" blog, he has every right to establish the "point" of it.

Moreover, many of us, including law school critics like me, admire Alfred's work and professionalism, even while decrying the overemphasis on establishing a "mini university" in which too many law schools that should be doing something else have engaged recently.

IMHO, there would be a proper place for Alfred's work on any law faculty.

[Alfred L. Brophy]

Anon, AGR, and anon, thanks a ton for the kind comments and support. I hope you all continue to read. The Civil War -- which I think of as ending 150 years ago today, though there's a lot of debate as to when it "ended" -- was crucial to American law in many, many ways, as AGR points out.

[Enrique Guerra-Pujol]

Even if "relevance to law" were a litmus test for blogging or commenting here, the Antebellum and Civil War blog posts are some of my favorites ...

[SeniorProf]

I applaud your passion for this subject, but these posts really undermine the integrity of this blog. I much prefer Prawfsblawg given that I don't have to scroll past numerous posts about irrelevant civil war monuments. Why not create another blog for your pet project and let those of us who come here to read about the stated purpose of this blog do just that?

[Al Brophy]

Leaving aside the question of why you think this or any other post is beyond this blog's "stated purpose," seniorprof, I have no reason to make this blog like whatever other blogs you read and enjoy. Scrolling through a post is just about no work whatsoever. If you don't like a post move past it.

[James Grimmelmann]

Blogs exist to give their authors a voice, and sometimes to promote discussion on subjects their authors care about. The Faculty Lounge is a group blog: like a law faculty, it reflects the interests of numerous bloggers. Michelle Meyer does deep dives on medical law and ethics. Eric Muller splits his attention between university governance and the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, among other things. Dan Filler notes dean searches. Al Brophy keeps up with LSAC data and blogs about Civil War and civil rights history and memory. All of these have a place here, as they would in a physical faculty lounge. If you don't like, it, don't read Al's posts. I read his and sometimes skip other posts. But Al and his co-bloggers are under no obligation to defer to either of us; they blog about what they find interesting and discussion-worthy, and that is exactly where the blog's integrity lies -- where any blog's integrity lies.