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Author Archives: Dwight Hughes
The Emergency Ironclads
In late summer 1861, the United States Navy initiated a crash program to build their first ironclad warships, leading directly to the titanic clash between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (ex USS Merrimack) in Hampton Roads on March … Continue reading
Posted in Navies
Tagged Civil War Strategy, CSS Virginia, Gideon Welles, International affairs, ironclads, naval strategy, USS Monitor
6 Comments
A Fun Civil War Movie: The General
We know the great Civil War movies, but how about one that is both great and really fun? The General starring and directed by Buster Keaton is a 1927 silent film (79 minutes). Keaton plays sad-sack little engineer, Johnny Gray, … Continue reading
History in Pieces
History comes in many pieces. My good friend Hal, a retired navy captain, collects Civil War naval artifacts. He acquired items that caught his eye over the years without any particular theme in mind only to find threads and connections … Continue reading
Posted in Material Culture, Memory, Navies
Tagged Charleston Harbor, CSS Chicora, CSS Palmento State, Fort Sumter, USS Housatonic, USS Mercedita
1 Comment
Abraham Lincoln Gives Thanks
The country was tearing itself apart in bloody war 156 years ago, but President Abraham Lincoln found cause to be grateful in his Thanksgiving Proclamation. His wisdom is for the ages. In this time of polarization, we would do … Continue reading
Posted in Holidays, Memory
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Proclamation
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Do We Still Care About the Civil War: Dwight Hughes
The cover story of the newest issue of Civil War Times asks, “Do we still care about the Civil War?” ECW is pleased to partner with Civil War Times to extend the conversation here on the blog. The Civil War … Continue reading
An Ancient and Fearsome Weapon: The Ram
The ram—the main armament of sleek and swift Greek triremes powered by 180 rowers—turned back a Persian invasion at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC and launched Western Civilization. Rowing galleys ruled the Mediterranean for two more millennia, the … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Navies, Weapons
Tagged Battle of Hampton Roads, Catesby ap R. Jones, CSS Virginia, Franklin Buchanan, USS COngress, USS Cumberland
2 Comments
Sink Before Surrender: The CSS Virginia Gets Underway
In the dawn of that fateful Saturday, March 8, 1862, the CSS Virginia lay alongside the Gosport Shipyard quay on the west bank of the Elizabeth River across from Norfolk, Virginia, and just upriver from Hampton Roads. The storm passed … Continue reading
ECW Weekender: View from the Ramparts – Fortress Monroe, Virginia
In the gathering dusk of Saturday, March 8, 1862, a young Union telegrapher, John Emmet O’Brien, stood on the ramparts of Fortress Monroe on Old Point Comfort dominating the entrance to Hampton Roads, Virginia. He looked to the right and … Continue reading
The First Contraband Combatants
“The scene on board the flag-ship was novel and thrilling. The thunder of the conflict drowned all other noises,” wrote historian John S. C. Abbott.[1] In one of the first Civil War histories, written while it happened, Abbott employed elegant … Continue reading
Posted in Navies, USCT
Tagged African American sailors, black history, black history month, black-history-2019, Civil War Navy, USCT, USS Minnesota
2 Comments
Primary Sources: Through a Telescope Backwards
Perhaps no experience is more fulfilling for a historian than becoming immersed in contemporary first-person chronicles, viewing dramatic happenings through the eyes of those who lived them. Thankfully, our Civil War ancestors were avid and literate recorders of that fascinating … Continue reading
