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Author Archives: Chris Mackowski
A Walk Around the Fox House at North Anna
On this date, May 24, in 1864, Ulysses S. Grant rudely interrupted an afternoon glass of buttermilk Robert E. Lee was enjoying on the porch of the Fox house, just south of the North Anna River. By the end of … Continue reading
Looking for the Battle of Front Royal
On May 23, 1862, Stonewall Jackson swept down from the Shenandoah Valley’s Massanutten Mountain into the shocked Federal garrison in Front Royal commanded by Col. John Reese Kenly. Jackson, with more than 3,000 men, overwhelmed Kenly, with about 1,000 men, … Continue reading
Missed Opportunities in the Race to the North Anna
On the evening of May 20, 1864, Ulysses S. Grant sent Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps south from Spotsylvania Court House to Massaponnax Church, with orders to march onward toward Bowling Green, Milford Station, and—if Hancock thought he could make … Continue reading
BookChat with Mark Flotow, editor of In Their Letters, in Their Words
I was pleased to spend some time recently with a new book by historian Mark Flotow. Mr. Flotow is the editor of In Their Letters, in Their Words: Illinois Civil War Soldiers Write Home, a new release from Southern Illinois University … Continue reading
Posted in Books & Authors, Common Soldier, Primary Sources
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, BookChat, Camp Butler National Cemetery, common soldiers, Illinois, Illinois soldiers, In Their Letters in Their Words, James Cornelius, Mark Flotow, Southern Illinois University Press, Springfield, Stephen Douglas, Sylvia Frank Rodrigue
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The Capture—and Preservation—of Myer’s Hill
May 14 is the anniversary of the 1864 fight for Myer’s Hill during the battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Ulysses S. Grant planned for a massive assault against the Confederate right flank there, but poor roads delayed the movement of … Continue reading
Honoring Uncle John
I can’t let today pass without a tip of my hat to “Uncle John” Sedgwick, killed on this day in 1864 at the battle of Spotsylvania Court House.
The Battle of McDowell
I can hardly imagine the boom of cannons echoing off the mountains. Stonewall Jackson had perched atop the peaks southeast of town and dared Federal forces under Robert Milroy to attack him. Milroy, fanned across the valley below, gave it … Continue reading
A Video Tour of Longstreet’s Wounding
Today, May 6, was the anniversary of James Longstreet’s accidental wounding—at the hands of his own men—during the battle of the Wilderness. I took the time today to walk the ground. Join me in this video tour from the ECW … Continue reading
The Battle of Bank’s Ford and a Preview of Gettysburg
May 4, 1863, might have been one of the most frustrating days of the war for Robert E. Lee—no small bar considering some of his other frustrating days. But with the Federal Sixth Corps pinned against the Rappahannock River after … Continue reading
A Video Tour of Jackson’s Flank March
I had initially planned to hike the route of Jackson’s flank march today (May 2) to commemorate its 157th anniversary. I ended up taking my camera instead so that I could–at least virtually–take you on the flank march route with … Continue reading
