If amateur in its original sense is one who pursues a passion purely for the love of it, then attorney and author Monte Akers is its spokesperson. History is his romance. From Custer’s Last Stand to the shooting of Bonnie and Clyde, The Accidental Historian chronicles one man’s fascination with the past and the different ways he has immersed himself in American history over fifty years. Akers explores incidents, little-known episodes, and fascinating sidelights from some of the most popular events of years gone by. Come along with Akers as he reveals a shocking secret about Robert E. Lee. Calls up Clyde Barrow’s henchman on the phone. Hires on as an extra in a Civil War miniseries. Runs for public office. Rediscovers a lost treasure from Stonewall Jackson. Reads between the lines of wartime love letters. Recreates the Rebel Yell. Fights at the Alamo—with his wife on the opposing side. Through artifact and antique collecting, writing, relic-hunting, visiting historic sites, and good old-fashioned primary source research, Akers has experienced and relived a great deal of the country’s historical panorama. He relates his observations with humor, scholarship, self-effacement, and zeal, enjoyably bridging the gap between academic and popular history. His anecdotes will entertain and edify not only historians amateur or professional but also reenactors, enthusiasts, collectors, songwriters, genealogists, tourists, and teachers—anyone, in fact, curious enough about America’s past to stop and read a historical marker.
Acknowledgments
Prologue 3
1 Lakota Gauntlets 5
2 Chasing Bonnie, Clyde, and W.D. 18
3 Jackson and Janie 25
4 Old Letters 39
5 Rebel Yell 55
6 Recuerde el libro del Alamo 71
7 Just Pretending, But Seriously 87
8 The Politics of Pretending 107
9 Comanche, Custer, and a Con Man 129
10 Trashing Marble 143
11 Attitudes and Artifacts 151
12 Pretending on Stage, in Stages 173
13 Genealogy 195
Postscript 209
Notes 211
Bibliography 215
Index 219
Overview
If amateur in its original sense is one who pursues a passion purely for the love of it, then attorney and author Monte Akers is its spokesperson. History is his romance. From Custer’s Last Stand to the shooting of Bonnie and Clyde, The Accidental Historian chronicles one man’s fascination with the past and the different ways he has immersed himself in American history over fifty years. Akers explores incidents, little-known episodes, and fascinating sidelights from some of the most popular events of years gone ...