Charles P. Roland - History Teaches Us to Hope: Reflections on the Civil War and Southern History

History Teaches Us to Hope

Reflections on the
Civil War and
Southern History

CHARLES P. ROLAND

Edited and With an Introduction
by John David smith

Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Copyright 2007 by The University Press of Kentucky except as noted in the Copyrights and Permissions section of this book

The University Press of Kentucky

Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Roland, Charles Pierce, 1918

History teaches us to hope : reflections on the Civil War and southern history / Charles P. Roland ; edited and with an introduction by John David Smith.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8131-2456-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)

1. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865Historiography. 2. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865Causes. 3. SecessionSouthern States. 4. GeneralsConfederate States of AmericaBiography. 5. Command of troopsCase studies. 6. Southern StatesHistory. 7. Southern StatesCivilization. 8. Roland, Charles Pierce, 1918- 9. HistoriansSouthern StatesBiography. 10. HistoriansUnited StatesBiography. I. Smith, John David, 1949- II. Title.

E468.5.R65 2007

973.711dc22 2007034581

This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

To my grandchildren and their children and thus ad infinitum

CPR

Brandon H. Beck

John David Smith

On April 23, 2006, a tour bus neared the General Albert Sidney Johnston Monument on the Shiloh Battlefield. For those aboard, a long-anticipated moment was at hand. The driver parked the bus, opened the door, and lowered the steps. It was raining and chilly, but no one thought of remaining on board. Quietly we followed the guides to the base of the monument. Then, as they moved aside, Dr. Charles P. Roland stepped onto the monuments pediment, to stand squarely above the name Johnston emblazoned on the stone footing. The biographer of Albert Sidney Johnston had come to speak about the great soldier of three republics at the site of his death. Holding his umbrella overhead, Dr. Roland began to speak. He held no notes, speaking instead from heartfelt knowledge. He began by telling us that he had at home in Lexington, Kentucky, an old photograph of himself, at age eight or nine, sitting then where he stood now.

Then Roland spoke of his subjects life, Johnstons crowning moment, and his untimely death on this battlefield on April 6, 1862. Roland spoke for perhaps forty minutes. The rain never ceased. For those of us there the time was as brief as a snapshota moment frozen in time.

Professor Rolands life and work are marked by superb historical scholarship, writing, and teaching. His professional skill and artistry are enriched by his participation in great historical events. The historians calling is framed in his engaging manner and humane liberality. He is a true doctor of letters.

As a youth he witnessed some of the last of the old South. He saw the Depression and the coming of war. He was in the ranks of the great generation of citizen-soldiers of World War II. In the U.S. Army, in England, France, Belgium, and Germany, he was Captain Charles Roland, 99th Infantry Division. He saw the worst of the Battle of the Bulge, and he crossed the Rhine on the captured bridge at Remagen. At wars end he began what he calls his odyssey from war to academe. His journey brought him recognition as one of our most distinguished historians of the South, and of what he calls the American Iliad. Since he began his odyssey, Rolands teaching and writing have influenced countless lives. He also carried his calling beyond academe, into the world of historical tourism, on both sides of the Atlantic. I came to know him under the auspices of the McCormick Civil War Institute of Shenandoah University, where he has been our principal lecturer for over a decade. Wherever Roland lectures and provides commentary, he arrives well before the day on which he is to speak, in order to meet and get to know his audience. He remains with the group until the event has come to its close, taking home to Lexington newly formed friendships. Roland doubtless exhibited the same qualities in the Army, and in academe.

When Professor Roland finished speaking on that rainy day in April, he led his listeners to the ravine where General Johnston died. Once we gathered, he answered several questions. Then Professor Roland led us in conversation that spanned and then went beyond the general, Shiloh, even the American Iliad. The teacher meant to sharpen our perspective and deepen our understanding of the context of these great events. By the time we filed back to our bus, an hour had passed. I believe that the spirit of that single hour at Shiloh will be found in the pages that follow here.

Brandon H. Beck, Director Emeritus
McCormick Civil War Institute, Shenandoah University

John David Smith

Charles Pierce Roland, Alumni Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Kentucky, ranks as one of Americas most distinguished and respected historians of the Civil War and the American South. A Tennessee native, he studied history at Vanderbilt University (B.A., 1938) and, after distinguished service as a combat officer in World War II (Roland received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for meritorious service), he continued his training as a historian at Louisiana State University (M.A., 1948, Ph.D., 1951). At LSU Roland worked with three renowned historians of the South and the Civil War eraBell Irvin Wiley, Francis Butler Simkins, and T. Harry Williams.

Roland taught at the university level for thirty-six years, dividing his teaching equally between Tulane University (19521970) and the University of Kentucky (19701988). He directed nine doctoral dissertations at each institution. Over the course of his long career Roland also served as the Victor Hugo Friedman Distinguished Visiting Professor of Southern History at the University of Alabama (1977), as the Harold Keith Johnson Visiting Professor of Military History at the Army Military History Institute and Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania (19811982), and two terms as visiting professor of military history at the U.S. Military Academy (19851986, 19911992). For his service at West Point, in 1986 Roland received the United States Military Academy Commanders Medal for Outstanding Service.