What's Past is Prologue
@wpip.bsky.social
History adventurer & prosateur musing on the before times & visiting historic sites (mainly American Civil War, & the West). whtours.org
—Quotes to live by—
"MAGA is a cancer" — Dave Woodbury
“Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so” ― Douglas Adams
—Quotes to live by—
"MAGA is a cancer" — Dave Woodbury
“Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so” ― Douglas Adams
Pinned
C-SPAN2 AmericanTV presentation of 5 talks from the 2026 Central Coast Conference in Monterey, California: Seldom Heard History of the Civil War Era. www.c-span.org/organization...
"All [constitutional amendments] are equal but some [constitutional amendments] are more equal than others" —(with apologies to George Orwell)
Gun fetishists become apoplectic if someone hints at enhanced gun control (2nd Amendment), but are strangely quiet when 45 vetoes the 1st Amendment
Gun fetishists become apoplectic if someone hints at enhanced gun control (2nd Amendment), but are strangely quiet when 45 vetoes the 1st Amendment
September 21, 2026 at 11:16 PM
"All [constitutional amendments] are equal but some [constitutional amendments] are more equal than others" —(with apologies to George Orwell)
Gun fetishists become apoplectic if someone hints at enhanced gun control (2nd Amendment), but are strangely quiet when 45 vetoes the 1st Amendment
Gun fetishists become apoplectic if someone hints at enhanced gun control (2nd Amendment), but are strangely quiet when 45 vetoes the 1st Amendment
Born OTD in 1944, the great Jesse Ed Davis. In his short life (died at age 43), he had an amazing career, and left his mark. An outstanding biography, "Washita Love Child," came out in 2024. wwnorton.com/books/978132... #BookSky💙📚#JesseEdDavis
September 21, 2026 at 10:56 PM
Born OTD in 1944, the great Jesse Ed Davis. In his short life (died at age 43), he had an amazing career, and left his mark. An outstanding biography, "Washita Love Child," came out in 2024. wwnorton.com/books/978132... #BookSky💙📚#JesseEdDavis
wondering whether one can place a Kalshi wager on how long before Arlington is ordered to formally unveil the Donald J. Trump Eternal Flame at JFK's gravesite.
September 21, 2026 at 10:22 PM
wondering whether one can place a Kalshi wager on how long before Arlington is ordered to formally unveil the Donald J. Trump Eternal Flame at JFK's gravesite.
The Donner-Reed Party thought the Hastings Cutoff would save them a lot of time and distance. Big mistake.
The Deadly Temptation of the Oregon Trail Shortcut
Dying of dysentery was just the beginning.
www.atlasobscura.com
September 21, 2026 at 6:47 AM
The Donner-Reed Party thought the Hastings Cutoff would save them a lot of time and distance. Big mistake.
Reposted by What's Past is Prologue
C-SPAN2 AmericanTV presentation of 5 talks from the 2026 Central Coast Conference in Monterey, California: Seldom Heard History of the Civil War Era. www.c-span.org/organization...
September 20, 2026 at 1:11 AM
C-SPAN2 AmericanTV presentation of 5 talks from the 2026 Central Coast Conference in Monterey, California: Seldom Heard History of the Civil War Era. www.c-span.org/organization...
From Anza to AI: 250 Years of San Francisco History at Mission Dolores and the Presidio
From Anza to AI: 250 Years of San Francisco History at Mission Dolores and the Presidio
San Francisco has come a long way since a handful of Spanish settlers celebrated their first Mass in a chapel made of brushwood, and erected a feeble fort at the mouth of the Golden Gate.
garykamiya.substack.com
September 18, 2026 at 9:56 PM
From Anza to AI: 250 Years of San Francisco History at Mission Dolores and the Presidio
Video of President John F. Kennedy visiting #Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland, April 7, 1963. The battle, fought OTD in 1862, is one of the most important and consequential days in American history. The U.S. victory spurred President Lincoln to issue the preliminary #EmancipationProclamation
President John F. Kennedy visit Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland, April 7, 1963
YouTube video by President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
youtu.be
September 18, 2026 at 1:38 AM
Video of President John F. Kennedy visiting #Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland, April 7, 1963. The battle, fought OTD in 1862, is one of the most important and consequential days in American history. The U.S. victory spurred President Lincoln to issue the preliminary #EmancipationProclamation
Battle of Antietam—
On this date in 1862, 132,000 Americans — divided into opposing armies — engaged in a mighty battle outside the town of Sharpsburg, along western Maryland's #Antietam Creek. It remains the deadliest single-day battle in the nation's history.
On this date in 1862, 132,000 Americans — divided into opposing armies — engaged in a mighty battle outside the town of Sharpsburg, along western Maryland's #Antietam Creek. It remains the deadliest single-day battle in the nation's history.
September 18, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Battle of Antietam—
On this date in 1862, 132,000 Americans — divided into opposing armies — engaged in a mighty battle outside the town of Sharpsburg, along western Maryland's #Antietam Creek. It remains the deadliest single-day battle in the nation's history.
On this date in 1862, 132,000 Americans — divided into opposing armies — engaged in a mighty battle outside the town of Sharpsburg, along western Maryland's #Antietam Creek. It remains the deadliest single-day battle in the nation's history.
this week I put a new t-shirt into the rotation
September 17, 2026 at 8:07 AM
this week I put a new t-shirt into the rotation
"After two years of combat and deprivation, disease and psychological despair in Confederate prisons, the men who boarded the Sultana had long since burned through their reserves of physical, mental and emotional calories."
When death by natural cause comes as a surprise
Tracking the lives of men who survived the sinking of the steamboat Sultana, the worst maritime disaster in American history
alanhuffman.substack.com
September 17, 2026 at 12:32 AM
"After two years of combat and deprivation, disease and psychological despair in Confederate prisons, the men who boarded the Sultana had long since burned through their reserves of physical, mental and emotional calories."
September 16, 2026 at 11:39 PM
Before audiobooks, you had to get someone to call you from one of these library stations, and read a book to you over the phone. Limited selection, and very inconvenient. #BookSky💙📚
September 16, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Before audiobooks, you had to get someone to call you from one of these library stations, and read a book to you over the phone. Limited selection, and very inconvenient. #BookSky💙📚
"In all corners of America, Indigenous people confronted the chaos of the Civil War. While Native history has usually been pushed to the margins of Civil War history, Native people intervened. . .and made their voices heard in national debates over slavery, state power, sovereignty, and citizenship"
The Civil War in Indian Country
Visualizing Native America,1861-1865
storymaps.arcgis.com
September 16, 2026 at 8:06 PM
"In all corners of America, Indigenous people confronted the chaos of the Civil War. While Native history has usually been pushed to the margins of Civil War history, Native people intervened. . .and made their voices heard in national debates over slavery, state power, sovereignty, and citizenship"
“Anything can happen, and anything does;”
― Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
― Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
September 16, 2026 at 6:52 PM
“Anything can happen, and anything does;”
― Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
― Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
“I felt betrayed, the way you do when you discover that your cat has a secret secondary life and is being fed by neighbors who call him something stupid like Calypso. Worse is that he loves them as much as he loves you, which is to say not at all, really." ― David Sedaris, Calypso #BookSky💙📚
September 14, 2026 at 5:56 PM
“I felt betrayed, the way you do when you discover that your cat has a secret secondary life and is being fed by neighbors who call him something stupid like Calypso. Worse is that he loves them as much as he loves you, which is to say not at all, really." ― David Sedaris, Calypso #BookSky💙📚
Detail from "The Battle of Greasy Grass," by Allan Mardon,
1996, oil on linen; wooden frame with painted tin figures. Buffalo Bill Center of the West [https://centerofthewest.org] #LittleBigHorn
1996, oil on linen; wooden frame with painted tin figures. Buffalo Bill Center of the West [https://centerofthewest.org] #LittleBigHorn
![Detail from "The Battle of Greasy Grass," by Allan Mardon,
1996, oil on linen; wooden frame with painted tin figures. Buffalo Bill Center of the West [https://centerofthewest.org] — depiction of the fighting during the Battle of the Little Bighorn](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:f4uzarl6lkics3wq6furkdwe/bafkreicf3w2znij2cu54bynduzbwbr5m4y5gjlgcnqf2h3rdyvfw2erreq)
September 13, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Detail from "The Battle of Greasy Grass," by Allan Mardon,
1996, oil on linen; wooden frame with painted tin figures. Buffalo Bill Center of the West [https://centerofthewest.org] #LittleBigHorn
1996, oil on linen; wooden frame with painted tin figures. Buffalo Bill Center of the West [https://centerofthewest.org] #LittleBigHorn
Detail from "The Battle of Greasy Grass," by Allan Mardon,
1996, oil on linen; wooden frame with painted tin figures. Buffalo Bill Center of the West [https://centerofthewest.org] #LittleBigHorn
1996, oil on linen; wooden frame with painted tin figures. Buffalo Bill Center of the West [https://centerofthewest.org] #LittleBigHorn
![Detail from "The Battle of Greasy Grass," by Allan Mardon,
1996, oil on linen; wooden frame with painted tin figures. Buffalo Bill Center of the West [https://centerofthewest.org] — depiction of the fighting during the Battle of the Little Bighorn](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:f4uzarl6lkics3wq6furkdwe/bafkreigkvee5hexeiphds5saasnbk2yuymtidreyda5iugr6ae2jfzgdtq)
September 13, 2026 at 7:37 AM
Detail from "The Battle of Greasy Grass," by Allan Mardon,
1996, oil on linen; wooden frame with painted tin figures. Buffalo Bill Center of the West [https://centerofthewest.org] #LittleBigHorn
1996, oil on linen; wooden frame with painted tin figures. Buffalo Bill Center of the West [https://centerofthewest.org] #LittleBigHorn
The GOP will "finally meet the fate to which it has been destined since January 6, 2021, and cement its place in history as the most corrupt political party ever to emerge in the United States of America for its second attempt in six years to defy the will of the American people on Election Day."
The Final Battle for America’s Democracy
Forget November 3. It’s January 3 when Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans might bury our democracy once and for all. Here’s how.
newrepublic.com
September 12, 2026 at 7:16 AM
The GOP will "finally meet the fate to which it has been destined since January 6, 2021, and cement its place in history as the most corrupt political party ever to emerge in the United States of America for its second attempt in six years to defy the will of the American people on Election Day."
#Anza250
On the exact date of the Presidio's own 250th anniversary, the Presidio Historical Association, with the support of the San Francisco Historical Society, present the world premiere of "Anza 250: A Documentary Film."
On the exact date of the Presidio's own 250th anniversary, the Presidio Historical Association, with the support of the San Francisco Historical Society, present the world premiere of "Anza 250: A Documentary Film."
Anza 250: A Documentary Film
Every start has its end, every journey its revealsPresented by the Presidio Historical Association250 years ago, explorer Juan Bautista de Anza arrived with an
www.presidiotheatre.org
September 11, 2026 at 9:32 PM
#Anza250
On the exact date of the Presidio's own 250th anniversary, the Presidio Historical Association, with the support of the San Francisco Historical Society, present the world premiere of "Anza 250: A Documentary Film."
On the exact date of the Presidio's own 250th anniversary, the Presidio Historical Association, with the support of the San Francisco Historical Society, present the world premiere of "Anza 250: A Documentary Film."
OTD in 1813: Battle of Lake Erie, a significant U.S. naval victory in the War of 1812.
Battle of Lake Erie, depicting Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry transferring to the U.S. brig Niagara, painting by William H. Powell, 1865; in the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. Library of Congress
Battle of Lake Erie, depicting Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry transferring to the U.S. brig Niagara, painting by William H. Powell, 1865; in the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. Library of Congress
September 10, 2026 at 7:35 PM
OTD in 1813: Battle of Lake Erie, a significant U.S. naval victory in the War of 1812.
Battle of Lake Erie, depicting Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry transferring to the U.S. brig Niagara, painting by William H. Powell, 1865; in the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. Library of Congress
Battle of Lake Erie, depicting Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry transferring to the U.S. brig Niagara, painting by William H. Powell, 1865; in the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. Library of Congress
merry-go-round, if you dare
[Bannack State Park]
[Bannack State Park]
September 10, 2026 at 7:39 AM
merry-go-round, if you dare
[Bannack State Park]
[Bannack State Park]
"Kin in the Cotton Fields"
blackstudies.yale.edu/event/depart...
blackstudies.yale.edu/event/depart...
September 9, 2026 at 8:42 PM
"Kin in the Cotton Fields"
blackstudies.yale.edu/event/depart...
blackstudies.yale.edu/event/depart...
"Led by an Angolan named Jemmy, a band of twenty Africans organized a rebellion on the banks of the Stono River."
Sept. 9, 1739: The Stono Rebellion
Uprising by enslaved people in South Carolina.
www.zinnedproject.org
September 9, 2026 at 8:38 PM
"Led by an Angolan named Jemmy, a band of twenty Africans organized a rebellion on the banks of the Stono River."