For my latest project, Resurrecting Lost Voices, click on the envelope below
For Memorial Day 2016, I launched a website project I have been working on, “Resurrecting Lost Voices,” which currently showcases the previously unpublished Civil War correspondence of George W. Gould, an ordinary Private of the 25th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry who was killed at the bloody battle of Cold Harbor on June 3rd, 1864. I have digitized, transcribed and uploaded his letters to this website in order to both honor his long forgotten service and to share his long stilled voice with a wider audience. I hope to add other “voices” as time goes on. Please visit the website and share your thoughts with me. All feedback is welcome!
Click on the thumbnail below to visit the site:
Cold Harbor was a sanguinary affair, and the Union toll was especially high. The 25th Massachusetts itself suffered a staggering 69% casualty toll that day: 215 men fell out of 310 on the field and 74 of those died, including George W. Gould. It was a tactical victory for the Confederates, but nevertheless a turning point in the war that would lead to Union victory. Nearly a year would pass before Appomattox, but United States of America survives because of men like George W. Gould that died on that day.
On July 30, 2016 Stan Prager did a presentation at History Camp at Holyoke Community College on the letters of George W. Gould and digital archiving techniques. The complete PowerPoint presentation is available below, although it lacks the audio narration.
Title: Civil War Letters: Resurrecting Lost Voices — DIY Digital Archiving
Presenter: Stan Prager Room 302
Description: A chance encounter with the previously unpublished Civil War letters of a Massachusetts soldier killed at the battle of Cold Harbor led to a project that digitized & transcribed this correspondence, and the creation of a website to share it for public access. This presentation discusses this kind of Do-it-Yourself (DIY) digital archiving that can be achieved on a shoestring budget with today’s technology.
MUCH MORE INFORMATION ON THIS PROJECT AT: Resurrecting Lost Voices
On July 29,2016 Stan Prager appeared on Western Mass News television to showcase digitization as the marriage of history & technology and to promote “History Camp” at HCC in Holyoke on July 30th where Stan did a presentation on the George W. Gould letters and D.I.Y Digital Archiving. This website was featured in the news segment:
Stan Prager Online Portfolio 