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Author Archives: Zac Cowsert
Voices from a Wartime Christmas
With little commentary or ado, I simply wish to offer you the thoughts, emotions, and memories of Christmas as experienced by some of those mired in the throes of Civil War 150 years ago.
Posted in Civilian, Common Soldier, Emerging Civil War, Holidays, Sesquicentennial
Tagged 132nd Pennsylvania Infantry, 150th Christmas, 1st North Carolina Infantry, 21st Massachusetts Infantry, 3rd Ohio Infantry, 61st Illinois Infantry, Adam De Gurowski, Christmas, Confederate War Department, Falmouth, Frederick Lyman Hitchcock, James Madison Stone, John Beatty, John Beauchamp Jones, Leander Stillwell, Louis Leon, Louisiana, Richmond, Sarah Morgan, Sarah Morgan Dawson
2 Comments
Surrendering to “Genl Intoxication”
In studying the Civil War, we forget that most of its participants were young men generally in their early twenties. With the grand allure of battles, campaigns, politics, riots, race and religion, perhaps we overlook the shenanigans, mishaps, and vices … Continue reading
Posted in Common Soldier
Tagged 12th Connecticut, 15th Iowa, 61st Illinois, Alexander Hays, Alexander Hays' death, Battle of the Wilderness, Brigadier General Alexander Hays, Charles D. G. Webber, Civil War, Civil War drinking, Company I 12th Connecticut, Corinth, court-martial, Cyrus F. Boyd, drinking, drunk, Genl Intoxication, German, intoxication, John William De Forest, Judge Stillwell, Kansas, Leander Stillwell, Memphis, Mine Run, Morton's Ford, Preservation, racism, Shiloh, Tim Gates, whiskey
8 Comments
An Unromantic Reflection
I recently have been struck by the oddity of how we view our personal links to (and thus how we remember) history. I work in an interpretive business, dealing with the public all the time. I am always struck by how … Continue reading
The Reconstruction of Billy Mahone
The descriptions of him are priceless. “He looked the image of a bantam rooster or a gamecock,” recalled a veteran. Perhaps it was his odd dress: “He wore a large sombrero hat, without plume, cocked on one side, and decorated … Continue reading
Posted in Emerging Civil War, Leadership--Confederate, Memory, Personalities, Reconstruction
Tagged Atlantic Mississippi and Ohio Railroad, Battle of the Crater, Billy Mahone, Chancellorsville, Confederate Republicans, Conservatives, Crater, Danville race riot, Democrats, Drewry's Bluff, Fredericksburg, Funders, Hero of the Crater, James Longstreet, Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad, Peninsula Campaign, Petersburg, Rappahannock Academy, Readjuster Party, Readjusters, Reconstruction, Reconstruction Virginia, Republicans, Richmond, Salem Church, Spotsylvania Court House, U.S. Senator William Mahone, Virginia, Virginia debt, Virginia Military Institute, VMI, West Virginia, wilderness, William Mahone
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Illegal Lincoln? Maryland, Habeas Corpus and the President of the United States
In the pantheon of American civic and political heroes, Abraham Lincoln surely ranks near the top. The humble lawyer from Illinois became the leader of the fledgling United States in its darkest hour, skillfully maneuvering her through four nightmarish years … Continue reading
Posted in Civil War Events, Civilian, Emerging Civil War, Memory, Politics
Tagged 6th Massachusetts, Abraham Lincoln, baltimore, Brian Dirck, Carl Sandburg, civil liberties, Civil War, Constitution, Daniel Farber, David Herbert Donald, executive power, habeas corpus, indefinite detention, John Marshall, John Merryman, Joshua Kleinfeld, Mark Neely Jr., Maryland, national security, Roger B. Taney, secession, Supreme Court, writ of habeas corpus
3 Comments
“The Star-Spangled Banner Must and Shall Be Saved:” Union Men Enlist
The American Civil War engulfed the American continent from 1861 to 1865. The titanic contest was fought for a variety of reasons, differing depending on its participants’ viewpoints. Politically, it was a struggle to preserve the Union and tear it … Continue reading
Posted in Armies, Common Soldier
Tagged 123rd New York Infantry, 16th Maine Infantry, 1st Colorado Infantry, 23rd Maine Infantry, 29th Massachusetts Infantry, 2nd Rhode Island Infantry, 5th Michigan Cavalry, Augustus Ayling, Civil War soldier motivation, common soldier, Elisha Hunt Rhodes, H.W. Bolton, James Henry Avery, Ovando J Hollister, rice c bull, soldier motivation, the star-spangled banner must and shall be saved, Union enlistments, why soldiers fought, William B. Lapham
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Uncle Billy
Posted in Leadership--Federal, Photography
Tagged grave, Sherman's grave, Uncle Billy, William Tecumseh Sherman
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Just How Daring? Jackson’s Flank Attack and May 3rd
Chancellorsville gleams in Civil War memory as Robert E. Lee’s greatest victory. This victory can of course be partly attributed to Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, who fell wounded on the night of May 2nd, 1863 after completing arguably the greatest military … Continue reading
