Beyond the 150th: Retreat from Gettysburg: Reflections on the Future, Part I
part of an ongoing series Humidity thickens the Florida air as darkened skies cast a pall over the day. It is, in sum, a typical early spring day in the “Sunshine State,” which feels sometimes like a misnomer. But I cannot help but smile, for I’ve just returned from “The Future of Civil War History” […]
Read more...Hotel De’Afrique: The first safe haven for African Americans in North Carolina
The capture of the Confederate forts located at Hatteras Inlet on August 29, 1861, provided the first Union victory of the Civil War. Almost immediately fugitive slaves began arriving on Hatteras Island in search of freedom. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of War Cameron, dated September 18, 1861, General John Wool inquired, “tell me […]
Read more...Beyond the 150th: “Find excited, enthusiastic students who are willing to work hard”
Earlier this month, Gettysburg College, the NPS, and the Gettysburg Foundation held a three-day conference called “The Future of Civil War History: Looking Beyond the 150th.” We’ve asked several folks who attended the conference to share their thoughts as emerging historians who’ll literally be on the front line of post-sesquicentennial Civil War interpretation. We’ll pass along […]
Read more...Eastern Theater versus Western Theater: Where the Civil War Was Won and Lost: Part Four
Part four in a series. This series was put together from one of my extended graduate school research papers. The sources used were the current research between 2007-2008, obviously the historiography of the Civil War expands on a monthly basis, thus some of the “current research” in the paper is no longer exactly current. **************** […]
Read more...“Life Given, Not Lost”: Captain Morey’s Final Charge—Conclusion
Authored by Edward Alexander (part three of three) Skirmishers in the 1st Vermont Heavy Artillery crept forward to pick off the cannoneers and horses, to prevent the withdrawal of the pieces, while the remainder of the Green Mountain Boys charged forward with the same instructions they received for the initial assaults that morning—to advance without […]
Read more...Stonewall’s great-great granddaughter
One of the great benefits of this job is the opportunity to travel around and talk to different Civil War Roundtables. On Wednesday of this week, I spent an evening in Manhattan with the Civil War Forum of Metropolitan New York about Ulysses S. Grant’s memoirs. On the Saturday prior, I spent time in Burlington, […]
Read more...“Life Given, Not Lost”: Captain Morey’s Final Charge—Part Two
Authored by Edward Alexander (part two of three) Following the Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864, in which he claimed the Confederates “broke and run like a flock of sheep with dogs after them,” the Sixth Corps returned to the Army of the Potomac which lay siege to the city of Petersburg. Morey now […]
Read more...“Life Given, Not Lost”: Captain Morey’s Final Charge—Part One
We are happy to welcome guest author Edward Alexander. Edward Alexander is the Education & Interpretation Specialist at Pamplin Historical Park in Petersburg, Virginia. A 2009 graduate of the University of Illinois, he has also worked with Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. (part one of three) “He […]
Read more...A Challenge Answered: The Battle of Kelly’s Ford, March 17, 1863
William Woods Averell was usually considered an even-tempered individual. However, in the opening weeks of March, 1863 his blood had been brought to a boil. This mild mannered New Yorker, whose great grandfather had signed the Declaration of Independence, had his heart set on revenge. Averell was a drugstore clerk before he received his appointment […]
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