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Author Archives: Derek Maxfield
Hellmira’s most distinguished inmate—Anthony M. Keiley
If there is one thing I have learned from studying the Civil War for much of my adult life, it is that it is a period filled with colorful and eccentric figures. Researching my recently released book, Hellmira: The Union’s … Continue reading
Hellmira: My First Book
Although I grew up only 30 miles from Elmira, NY, the first time I heard the term “Hellmira” was when I was an undergraduate at SUNY Cortland. I was shocked to learn that Elmira was home to a prisoner of … Continue reading
In Search of the dreaded Andersonville
I have seen the ugly photos of the crowded pen. And like many others, I have recoiled in horror at the sight of the skeletal men released from the Andersonville POW Camp, but now it was time for me to … Continue reading
BOOK REVIEW – Crossing the Deadlines: Civil War Prisons Reconsidered
I have long believed that Civil War prisoner of war facilities were the final frontier in Civil War scholarship. Under-explored and under-appreciated, it has only been relatively recently that POW camps began to be researched and monographs written. A recent … Continue reading
The Ravages of Spring: Elmira’s POW camp swamped by Chemung River
Since receiving the cover art of my first book, HELLMIRA: The Union’s Most Infamous POW Camp of the Civil War, I have been waiting not-so-patiently for the right opportunity to announce my book to the world. The time has arrived. … Continue reading
General Sherman’s Christmas in Savannah
Despite the dire predictions of what the terrible Sherman might do to the fine city of Savannah once he got his claws on it, the people of the city soon found that the lion had turned pussycat. Of course, anything … Continue reading
Assault on Ft. McAllister announces Sherman’s arrival outside Savannah
Nearing the end of his militarily unorthodox March to the Sea through the heart of Georgia, in early December 1864, Sherman approached the outer lines of Savannah cautiously. Wishing to avoid a frontal assault on the Confederate lines, which would … Continue reading
Posted in Battles
Tagged Fort McAllister, General William T. Sherman, March to the Sea, Savannah
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Mapping his way through the Carolinas: A profile of Major Robert M. McDowell (Part 2)
Maj. Robert M. McDowell was an engineering officer on the staff of Gen. Slocum during Sherman’s Carolinas campaign. His diary recounts the adventure. (Part two of two) Part of the army’s rear echelon, the staff major was not ordinarily in … Continue reading
Mapping his way through the Carolinas: A profile of Major Robert M. McDowell (Part 1)
(Part one of two) Recently while doing research at the Chemung Historical Society in Elmira, NY, I was delighted to discover the Civil War diary of Robert Morris McDowell in the collection, which revealed a new view of Gen. Sherman’s … Continue reading
Remembering Gen. Lovell Rousseau at Cave Hill Cemetery
On a recent trip that took me through Kentucky, I stopped to visit Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery. A student of Victorian death ways, I had long wanted to visit this unique garden cemetery. What had been a 300 acre rural … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership--Federal, Memory
Tagged Arlington National Cemetery, Cave Hill Cemetery, Lovell Rousseau
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