I'm in the middle of subcataloging The Annals of America, a set of historical documents put out by the Britannica people. Right now, I'm going through the volume on the Reconstruction period, and - though I haven't been reading the documents - I've learned a couple of things that surprised me.
1) I did not know that "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" was a revival song.
2) I did not know that it was Charles Sumner, that old curmudgeon, who was more than anyone else responsible for blocking President Grant's proposal to annex Santo Domingo. Good on him.