One Foote In The Grave

Civil War historian and minor media darling Shelby Foote passed away today at age 88. A native Misissippian, Foote was known most widely for his appearances in the Ken Burns PBS series, The Civil War. He also a darling of C-SPAN, where one could watch to him speak about his love of Proust, his use of old-timey fountain pens and how he wrote in the nude.

Foote's obituaries portray him favorably as an anti-segregationist and "Southern gentleman."

Other reports portray a man who was living in the past. According to one account of a telephone interview between Foote and a writer Foote didn't realize was an African-American,

Foote defended his writings about Black soldiers, reported [San Francisco Examiner writer Noah] Griffin, and "during our phone conversation, he slipped into the Southern patois, referring to them as 'nigra,' then all the way to 'nigger soldiers.'

Griffin wrote an article based on the conversation, and an editor insisted he call Foote for confirmation on the "nigger soldiers" quote.

"He confessed that it was 'deep in his bones,' " wrote Griffin about the conversation that followed.

I haven't read Foote's books, so I can't comment on the claims regarding his writings in the linked article. But I did read the Griffin article (in print; I can't find it online). So whatever the literary merits of his writing, I'd have a great deal of trouble taking seriously Foote's opinions on history.