Now the Drum of War—Part One
First in a series by Rob Couteau In Now the Drum of War, Robert Roper makes a unique contribution to the ever-growing body of Walt Whitman scholarship. His book features an in-depth exploration of Walt’s relationship with his siblings, and it maintains a special focus on his brother George, who served in some of the […]
Read more...The Destiny of the Republic, Touched with Fire—The Story of James Garfield
I’m reading Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President, Candice Millard’s new biography on the presidency and assassination of James A. Garfield—one of the least-known of the mediocre bearded Gilded Age presidents. Millard is a tremendous storyteller, and her book is, so far, outstanding. She definitely has […]
Read more...Now the Drum of War—and an Interview with the Author
Coming up this week, we’re pleased to present a multi-part interview by Rob Couteau with Robert Roper, author of the new book Now the Drum of War: Walt Whitman and His Brothers in the Civil War. Rob Couteau is a writer and visual artist from Brooklyn. His poetry, fiction, essays, and interviews have appeared in […]
Read more...A Soldier to the Last: The Exceptionally Sad Story of Private Jesse H. Hutchins
As I was condensing my large photo file of Civil War battlefields, I came across a picture I had taken at Appomattox Court House of the tombstone or Private Jesse H. Hutchins, of Company A, 5th Alabama Battalion. Hutchins joined the Confederate army five days after the bombardment of Fort Sumter and remained in service […]
Read more...The Anniversary of Ball’s Bluff
Remembering the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, October 21, 1861 Don’t forget about the reenactment this weekend, Along the Potomac, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the battle.
Read more...Eleazer Paine–The Man, The Myth, The Hair
We are happy to welcome back guest author Meg Thompson! Brigadier General Eleazer Paine and I have an interesting relationship. I met him in the dark recesses of the Internet–me, a lonely Civil War widow searching for information about my lost love, Elmer Ellsworth, and Paine? He was just hanging around in the machine, looking […]
Read more...Week of October 10-14 In Review
We would like to thank all of our readers and authors for another outstanding week here at Emerging Civil War. The week featured a series looking at the book Race and Reunion, authored by David Blight. The four-part series featured authors Chris Mackowski, Ashley Whitehead, James Broomall, and Matt Stanley. If you haven’t had the […]
Read more...John Brown’s Fort
In recognition of John Brown’s raid on the Federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry on this date in 1859….
Read more...John Brown’s Beard
John Brown’s body might be a-mouldering in the grave, but his beard lives on. From an era populated by crazy facial hair, fewer beards seem crazier than Brown’s—in large part to this image:
Read more...