Thanksgiving, 150 years ago

“Thanksgiving day, when the fat turkey is served in state,” said Theodore Lyman, a member of Gen. George Gordon Meade’s staff. “And this [was the day] appointed for our flank move on Orange Court House….” One hundred and fifty years ago, Thanksgiving fell on November 26. For the Army of the Potomac, though, the day […]

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The Maps of The Bristoe Station and Mine Run Campaigns

For people looking at Civil War “headliners,” the span between Gettysburg in July of ’63 and the Wilderness in May of ’64 seems like a vast, empty gulf. A lot went on during that timespan, of course, although, for a lot of reasons, those events have been lost to general memory. “Despite the fascinating series […]

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New York Saves The Union

That is perhaps a hyperbolic title. But one brigade of all New York soldiers saved two Federal armies in the summer and fall of 1863, at Gettysburg and Chattanooga – thereby arguably doing more to assist the Union cause in 1863 than any other single brigade in the Union Army. These men have never really […]

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Stones in the Road: “Remember Chickamauga”

Part five in a series. The changing leaves fell slowly to the ground from the trees atop Lookout Mountain. Overlooking Chattanooga, Tennesee, this great giant peered down on the Union lines around the city. Inside, the Army of the Cumberland had remained relatively idle during the fall of 1863. To many, this inactivity seemed destined to […]

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On Wisconsin!

The Army of the Cumberland charged Missionary Ridge on the afternoon of November 25, 1863. Among the leading regiments was the Milwaukee-based 24th Wisconsin, part of Major General Philip Sheridan’s division. Its color-bearer fell at the base of the ridge. Eighteen-year-old Arthur MacArthur, the 24th’s adjutant, grabbed the colors and cried, “On Wisconsin!” as he […]

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Lookout Mountain

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Lookout Mountain—”The Battle Above the Clouds,” as it later became known because the morning fog and the smoke of battle that hung cloud-like midway up the mountain while the mountaintop loomed above. “The battle of Lookout Mountain is one of the romances of the war,” Union […]

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ECW Logo Design Competition

We are still accepting submissions for the ECW logo design competition!  Please pass this along to any artists and graphic designers you might know! Requirements:* The logo should make a simple statement about our organization and our mission.  The image should not be so intricate that the detail would be lost in the multiple forms […]

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From the Stone Wall to a Shad Bake

This is another post in the series “Tales From the Tombstone.” George Edward Pickett was ecstatic on the morning of July 3, 1863. His division, which had missed the fighting at Chancellorsville in May and had been way in the rear during the first two days at Gettysburg, was about to lead the decisive charge on […]

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The Federal Charge at Rappahannock Station, 150 Years Ago

On the evening of November 7, 1863, two Union brigades commanded by Colonels Peter C. Ellmaker and Emory Upton seized Confederate rifle pits on the Rappahannock River protecting the vital crossing of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad. Their success eliminated the Confederate presence on the north bank of the river, one which Robert E. Lee […]

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