What We Think We Know About History With Dennis Frye

PreserveCast - A podcast by Preservation Maryland - Mondays

As we approach the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam (September 17th, 1862), we are revisiting and episode about how authors and historians can keep writing new books on the same 'ole history. Should it not ever change because it’s all in the past? The truth is anything but. No one can explain that better than our guest, Dennis Frye – having been involved in everything from giving tours to leading nationally important preservation and battlefield protection organizations, few people know the complexities of Civil War history like Dennis. In his book, Antietam Shadows: Mystery, Myth & Machination, Dennis makes the case that history should never lie dormant, it always needs to be re-examined, stating, “Historians should always be challenging themselves. They should always be a detective. They should always be mining for new information, and if it completely reverses something that’s conventional, good, good. Throw it out there and let people see it in a different way, in a different manner, in a different light.” Listen in to this episode of PreserveCast to hear from Dennis about his investigative and inclusive approach to historical research on this special re-broadcast in commemoration of the upcoming anniversary of the Battle of Antietam.