<p>I don’t recall seeing a thread here about Civil War historian Shelby Foote, who died last week (the week before?..time flies). He’s the one who became famous as <em>the</em> key narrator in Ken Burns’ PBS documentary on the Civil War…something I lovingly taped off the air with VHS and now plan to get on DVD some day.</p>
<p>Foote’s talent was in the remarkable sense of humanity that he brought to the people on all sides. He could speak eloquently, even a bit romantically, about those who fought for the obscenity of the Confederacy without coming across as sugarcoating things. He could admire Joe Johnston in the same breath as he admired Abraham Lincoln.</p>
<p>To be remotely on topic, when we were doing the college search thing, we drove up to Gettysburg College, on my D’s list as a possible safety. It took five minutes to establish it wasn’t Her Thing and we spent the rest of the day touring the battlefield. I could hear Foote’s voice in my head as I paced off the walking advance that Pickett’s division made towards Cemetery Ridge…after two minutes I was scarcely half way across and I could hear the ghosts murmuring in the rustle of the leaves.</p>
<p>I heard Foote again as I stood on the slopes of the Little Round top, gazing down into the Devil’s Den, at roughly the spot where Joshua Chamberlain’s 20th Maine probably saved the Union in hand to hand fighting. </p>
<p>Later, it was twilight when I found myself at the Angle, the furthermost point to which the Confederate line penetrated, where General Armistead, his white hat carried high on his upraised saber, was cut down. I couldn’t hear Foote’s words, of course, but I could hear the tone of his commentary. And there, at the Angle at twilight, I had one of the spookiest sensations I’ve ever experienced. I get a <em>frisson</em> just thinking about it.</p>
<p>My father and mother took me to Gettysburg late one evening in 1999 when I was 12 years old. We were moving from Montreal Quebec to Annapolis Maryland. That night my dad ran us from ridge to ridge (carrying my two year old brother on his back) well into the night telling us everything he knew about the place. It was, that evening, another world, time and place: spirited and ghostly for a twelve year old. Your post rings very true to me. Thanks for posting.</p>
<p>Shelby Foote was a truly nice person, a real gentleman, and a passionate scholar. I called him once, out of the blue (he was in the phone book!), while working on a research project (following up on something in one of his books). He was out, but returned my call and then spoke with me for over an hour–on his dime. I had a couple of subsequent occasions to speak with him by phone, and they were equally delightful. There is nothing like genuine passion to make a person great at whatever it is that they do, and he had that to the nth degree. Rest in Peace, indeed.</p>
<p>Edit: I think it’s worth noting that two of the people who brought Civil War history to life more than any others weren’t “historians” in the academic sense, but boy, were they ever great historians. Shelby was one (a novelist), and Bruce Catton, the grandfather of the modern school, was a newspaperman. They both grew up on the hallowed ground, and were completely swept up in it.</p>
<p>Shelby Foote was not only an amazing narrator, but a truly great historian and author. It is truly sad that we have lost one of our best historians but it is good to know that he is forever immortalized in Burns’ documentaries and his great books.</p>
<p>Did any of you see the special edition of Book Notes on CSpan 2 a couple of years ago in which Shelby Foote was interviewed for several hours? It was just amazing. The interview took place at his home, in the room where he sleeps and writes. You could see all his books and above his desk, various photographs and quotations tacked up, some that had been there for many years. Viewers called in questions and he answered so politely and thoughtfully.</p>
<p>I was very impressed with the way he lived–it was obvious that he spent most of his time there reading, writing, and thinking, and that he did not let the annoyances of modern life bother him too much. It was a fascinating interview, much more in depth than a regular hour of Book Notes.</p>