10,000 Posts: Evan Portman Digs into the ECW Archives

Emerging Civil War’s milestone of reaching 10,000 posts was a great opportunity for me to reflect on my favorite posts but also ECW’s impact on me as a historian, too. It was extremely difficult to choose just three of my favorite posts, so this list consists only a sample of my favorites, among many others!

A Soldier for the Pope and Lincoln by Frank Jastrzembski, posted on September 1, 2024. My interest in American Catholic and Pennsylvania history probably led me to gravitate towards this post by Frank Jastrzembski. All of his entries in the Shrouded Veteran series are awesome, but this one stood out (for aforementioned reasons). Frank’s research is superb, and his ability to track down soldiers’ whose identities are all but lost to time is nothing less than admirable!

William Faulkner, John Hughes, and the 14-Year-Old Boys’ Sense of Longing by Chris Mackowski, posted on July 3, 2024. I think this post embodies the kind of “unique perspectives” that makes Emerging Civil War special. Who ever thought Southern author William Faulkner and ‘80s filmmaker John Hughs would share the same sentence, let alone the same essay?! Chris Mackowski, that’s who.

Gettysburg: Off the Beaten Path—The Death of George W. Sandoe by Kris White, posted on June 9, 2015. I would be remiss if I didn’t include one of Kris White’s Gettysburg: Off the Beaten Path posts. This series inspired me to embark on many hikes in search of a little-known monument on the battlefield, and I’ve been fortunate enough to contribute to the series in the last few years. In particular, I remember using this post on the death of George W. Sandoe to find the 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry monument as well as Sandoe’s grave in the Mount Joy Cemetery.

And one from me:

Old Pete: A Confederate Apostle or Apostate, posted July 31, 2023. As a writer, it can be difficult to look back at a piece of your own work without noticing its flaws. This post, however, is one that I’m particularly proud of. I enjoyed writing it and exploring the story behind James Longstreet’s nickname—Old Pete.

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