Author Archives: Sharon Virts

The First National “Decoration Day”

The First National “Decoration Day” In the last years of the Civil War and immediately afterward, communities in the Southern states decorated soldiers’ graves with flowers during the springtime “decoration days.”  After visiting a Confederate cemetery in 1866, General John A. Logan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, proclaimed in an Independence […]

The Fulton Steamboat

Photo credit: Clermont, the first steam ship, designed by Robert Fulton, 1807. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images Known for developing the first commercially successful steamboat with the help of business partner Robert Livingston, Robert Fulton began his life as an author and later turned his focus to engineering. He married the niece of his steamboat business partner, […]

The Lovely Lee Sisters of Coton Farm

“The sisters were surrounded by a gaggle of doting admirers. Winnie Lee, the fiery, red-haired, hazel eyed beauty, was directly behind Fanny, sitting in an oversized chair between the fair-haired Betsy and the dark-haired Molly. There were nearly half a dozen men at their feet.” –Masque of Honor There are various accounts of just how […]

American Romanticism: 19th Century Literature & Ideology

The 19th Century was an incredibly rich time in American history. In the wake of the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the United States was still at the early stages of forming its own identity and a culture of its own. This time period, historically remembered as the Romantic Era, greatly affected American […]

The Nickel Boys Book Review

For this month’s book club, I selected The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehouse. Why I chose this book?  Released in 2019, The Nickel Boys was named by Time Magazine as one of the ten best books of the decade. Additionally, Colson Whitehead is a Pulitzer Prize winning author. Coming off the heels of Black History Month, I wanted to […]