As everybody surely has heard, it was exactly 150 years ago today that the Civil War started when Fort Sumter was bombarded by South Carolina artillery.
I am something of a student of the Civil War myself, although the period that interests me most is the coming of the war from, say, the end of the Mexican War to Lincoln's inauguration. Once the shooting starts, my interest wanes a little.
But I couldn't let a sesquicentennial go by without comment, and so here is what I have to say about it: The beginning of the bloodiest, most costly and devastating war in our history is certainly not a glorious event to be celebrated, but neither should it be ignored. It should be recognized for what it was and what we became as a result.
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