April continues on here Emerging Civil War. Space is still available for our Fifth Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium (you may click here to register) as well as for our first pop up tour of Antietam (you may click here to reserve your spot). You may click on the links below to read each post.
Robert Lee Hodge (left) presents CVBT’s Dr. Mike Stevens Award for Preservation to D. P. Newton (right).
Congratulations to ECW’s friend, D.P. Newton, owner of the White Oak Civil War Museum in Stafford, Virginia. Last night, the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust presented D.P. with its second annual Dr. Mike Stevens Award for Preservation.
During the presentation, CVBT Board Member Robert Lee Hodge called D.P. “a fisherman and a carpenter,” referring to D.P.’s literal carpentry skills–he once made a meticulous reproduction cannon and carriage–and his low-key ability to wow people with the variety and quality of his museum’s collection. “It’s homespun. It’s not corporate,” Hodge said of the museum and why he likes it so much. Continue reading
Earlier this week, I visited some of the battlefield locations for the First Battle of Bull Run near Manassas. Early spring is blossoming here in Virginia, and this girl from California is delighted to see a real change in the seasons while driving through the Old Dominion State on a research trip. Continue reading
Heading south last weekend on I-75 from Cincinnati to Knoxville, I stopped with my family for lunch just outside of Lexington, Kentucky. Afterward, I finagled a second stop at the Mary Todd Lincoln House (MTL House) for a tour, and we arrived there around 1:15pm; the next tour was scheduled for 2pm. Now, if you’ve ever tried to entertain two young children for 45 minutes in an unknown place where they cannot touch anything, you can imagine that I was starting to sweat. I had already endured several rounds of “Mom, why does every trip have to include something related to history??” questions, so I tried to make the most of this lull in the plan. Continue reading
Researching the VI Corps of the Union Army of the Potomac has also made me quite familiar with Richard Hoke’s brigade of North Carolina infantry. These Tarheel regiments–the 6th, 21st, 54th, and 57th–frequently found themselves matched up against those whose blue kepis were adorned with the Greek Cross. At Second Fredericksburg, Rappahannock Station, and throughout the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign, the VI Corps soldiers got the best of the North Carolinians. When writing about the first two battles, I can’t help but roll my eyes when I have to cite “Whipt ’em Everytime” while providing the Confederate perspective.
John Lupton–Historian for the Illinois Supreme Court
I first met John Lupton during my on-going search for anything and everything Ellsworthy. I wrote about an exciting part of my journey HERE and promised that I would interview John Lupton in the near future.
Readers, meet Mr. John Lupton. Continue reading
As a Virginian who stayed loyal to the Union, perhaps it makes sense that George Thomas was laid to rest somewhere in the north. In that grand scheme of things, Troy, NY, seems as likely a place as anywhere. Troy was the hometown of his wife, Frances Lucretia Kellogg. The “Rock of Chickamauga” preceded his wife in death by nearly twenty years (he on March 28, 1870; she on December 26, 1889), so she had him interred in Troy’s Oakwood Cemetery where she, herself, planned to be laid to rest.
I’ve been through Troy dozens of times on my way back and forth to New England, but for most of that time, I never knew “Pap” Thomas was buried there. The town proudly proclaims its connection to “Uncle Sam” Wilson—the real-life prototype of Uncle Sam—but the Rock of Chickamauga has gone untouted. Continue reading
We are just a little over a month away from ECW’s first Pop Up Tour. Join Kevin Pawlak and Dan Welch at the Antietam National Battlefield from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. as they explore the experiences of George Hartsuff’s brigade in the famous Cornfield. You may reserve your spot by clicking here. All proceeds will go toward preservation work with our friends at Civil War Trails. For additional information, click here. We hope to see you on the battlefield Memorial Day Weekend!
Readers of our blog may have received an error message over the course of the last week due to bandwidth issues. ECW is currently working to address these issues and will keep our readers updated on our progress. We sincerely appreciate your patience during this period and your continued support.
In partnership with our great friends at Civil War Trails, we are pleased to announce a special giveaway for the upcoming “Beneath the Paint: Civil War Graffiti Symposium.” To enter, just snap a selfie at any Civil War Trails sign in Fairfax, Virginia, and post it to the Graffiti Symposium’s Facebook page. The event will be held on May 19, 2018. You may find more details on the attached picture and on the event’s Facebook page by clicking here.
