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Author Archives: Cecily Nelson Zander
Braxton Bragg’s Beach Vacation – Pensacola in the Early Months of the Civil War
Even the most casual of Civil War buffs knows that the war began in Charleston, South Carolina – when Confederate batteries opened fire on the Union-occupied Fort Sumter and its 85 defenders. Many may also know that war had an … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership--Confederate
Tagged Braxton Bragg, Confederate women, Florida, Fort Pickens, Jefferson Davis, nationalism, Pensacola
7 Comments
Civil War Savannah: The View from Two Parapets
On June 1 I defended my dissertation in History at Penn State. One week later, I turned my trusty Subaru Crosstrek south from State College and set my GPS for Savannah. What better way to celebrate six years of intensely … Continue reading
Learning Civil War History: The Pandemic Perspective
On January 18, 2021, I began teaching a Civil War history class at Penn State, where most instruction is currently taking place via the (now) ubiquitous Zoom platform. I have been fortunate to teach the department’s Civil War survey in … Continue reading
Posted in Emerging Civil War
Tagged Battle of Gettysburg, Chris Mackowski, emancipation, Emerging Civil War, Glory, online teaching, Penn State, teaching
9 Comments
The William Belknap Impeachment – Some Historical Background
When American author Mark Twain referred to the postbellum United States as living through a ‘Gilded Age’ he almost certainly had in mind the excesses exhibited by men like William Belknap, whose term as Secretary of War in the cabinet … Continue reading
Posted in Personalities, Politics
Tagged Credit Mobilier, Grant's presidency, impeachment, John Rawlins, Ulysses S. Grant, Whiskey Ring, William Belknap
10 Comments
The Civil War in Surprising Places – Emily Dickinson’s Poetry and the Pop Culture Delights of Dickinson
As a high school student I always dreaded our annual Emily Dickinson poem assignment, because, to be honest, the nineteenth-century poet from Amherst, Massachusetts didn’t speak to me. One can only consider ‘Hope is the Thing With Feathers’ so many … Continue reading
Home Libraries: My Civil War Bookshelf – The Macmillan Wars of the United States
While conducting the research for my dissertation I spent more time in one archival collection than any other, a collection that does not appear in a single footnote and provided almost none of the information I had hoped it might … Continue reading
Assessing the Enemy: James Longstreet and John Pope at Second Bull Run
Union general John Pope’s decision-making during the campaign of Second Bull Run has been justly scrutinized by historians and armchair generals alike. In large part this scrutiny has stemmed from Pope’s bombast upon his arrival in Virginia and his failure … Continue reading
Vanishing Monuments – The Case of Custer City, Colorado
“Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?” – The Specials In the months and years that followed the battle of the Little Bighorn, dozens of towns and counties named after Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer sprang … Continue reading
Unintentional Reconciliation – Memorializing the Cavalry Fight at Gettysburg
Though not far from the Civil War’s memorial epicenter, the cavalry battlefield at Gettysburg National Military Park sits relatively undisturbed by the crowds of tourists who come to see the site of the largest ever battle in the Western Hemisphere. … Continue reading
Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Memory
Tagged 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, battlefield monuments, Caroline Janney, Cavalry at Gettysburg, David Blight, David M. Gregg, Gaines M. Foster, George A. Custer, Gettysburg, Gettysburg Anniversary, JEB Stuart, memorials, Pickett's Charge, Reconciliation, William Brooke Rawle
6 Comments
Picturing Union Victory – Early Images of the Surrender at Appomattox
Here’s a familiar story: On April 9, 1865, generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee met in Wilmer McLean’s parlor at Appomattox Courthouse to sign the documents that would dictate the surrender of the most important national institution in … Continue reading
Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Memory
Tagged Appomattox, art, Philip H. Sheridan, Reconciliation, Robert E. Lee, Surrender, Ulysse S. Grant, Union
4 Comments
