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Author Archives: Meg Thompson
Fateful Lightning: Was Sherman’s March To the Sea a War Crime? Part II
On November 15 1864, Sherman began marching south, dividing his army into two wings. On November 22, a large (4,500) group of Confederate soldiers under General Pleasant J. Phillips met part (1,500) of the right wing of Sherman’s troops, commanded … Continue reading
Fateful Lightning: Was Sherman’s March To the Sea a War Crime? Part I
You might as well appeal against the thunder-storm as against these terrible hardships of war. They are inevitable, and the only way the people of Atlanta can hope once more to live in peace and quiet at home, is to stop the war, … Continue reading
Posted in Antebellum South, Armies, Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Campaigns, Civil War Events, Civilian, Leadership--Confederate, Leadership--Federal, Newspapers, Personalities, Politics, Sieges, Western Theater
Tagged Davis, general william tecumseh sherman, Grant, Halleck, Hood, John Bell Hood, official communications, Sherman, William Tecumseh Sherman
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Does the American Civil War Need a Theme Song?
Like so many, I have been captivated by the mournfully lovely tune “Ashokan Farewell.” I am sure most of us first heard it when we were watching Ken Burns’s The Civil War, and wondered about it. I knew I had … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Mr. President
To those of us who love roses, and who love the Civil War, growing a Mr. Lincoln rose is a natural. Mr. Lincoln (Rosa ‘Mr. Lincoln’) is one of the loveliest, deliciously fragrant red roses ever bred–a proud rose with … Continue reading
Posted in Holidays, Memory, Personalities
Tagged Abe Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, Sesquicentennial
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Not Your Average Lincoln Movie: Saving Lincoln
Anyone who has read a post or a blog by me knows that I am a serious fan of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth and Ward Hill Lamon, both good friends of Abraham Lincoln. I love those guys, and I write about … Continue reading
Posted in Civilian, Photography, Books & Authors, Internet, Websites & Blogs, Civil War Events, Upcoming Events, Personalities, Ties to the War
Tagged Photography, Abe Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, History-vs-Art, Sal Litvak, Ward Hill Lamon. CineCollage, movie, Saving Lincoln, Dave Alvin, CineCollage
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Specimen Days (The Inauguration) by Walt Whitman
March 4th.–The President very quietly rode down to the Capitol in his own carriage, by himself, on a sharp trot, about noon, either because he wish’d to be on hand to sign bills, or to get rid of marching … Continue reading
Pick #7 in the Top Ten: Your Choice of a Diary, Journal, Or Collection of Letters, by a real enlisted soldier, Yank or Reb
Every bookshelf should contain some sort of diary or collection of letters, memoirs, etc. from one person who served in the Civil War. I would recommend a volume written by a common soldier rather than a commanding officer, so this … Continue reading
Pick #6 in the Top Ten: The Life of Billy Yank & The Life Of Johnny Reb, by Bell I. Wiley
No Civil War bookshelf is complete without at least one (preferably both!) of these: The Life of Johnny Reb and The Life of Billy Yank. For anyone who has wondered what it may have been like to serve in a … Continue reading
Posted in Books & Authors, Civil War Events, Civilian, Common Soldier, Memory, Personalities, Slavery
Tagged Bell Wiley, Billy Yank & Johnny Reb
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Pick #5 In the Top Ten: Mary Chesnut’s Civil War/Diary from Dixie, edited by C. Vann Woodward/ Isabella D. Martin and Myrta Lockett Avary.
There is absolutely no doubt that this book, whichever version you choose, should be on every Civil War bookshelf. It is Gone With the Wind writ true, and its cast of “characters” includes just about everybody who was anybody in … Continue reading
Pick number four on my Top 10 List: Mr. Lincoln’s Camera Man: Mathew B. Brady by Roy Meredith.
The last time I visited my mother, I looked in vain for my father’s copy of Mathew Brady’s photographs. I know they were in a book with a blue cloth cover, and that my dad had it for as long … Continue reading
