2019 ECW Symposium Early Bird Registration – $135
ECW Archives
-
Recent Posts
- The Battle of Aiken: “Why spend the effort to write a book on a battle that didn’t last very long or have many casualties?”
- Question of the Week: 9/24-9/30/18
- Week In Review: September 16-23, 2018
- Preservation News: New Opportunity at Gettysburg’s Seminary Ridge
- ECW Weekender: Visiting Harpers Ferry
Search by Post Categories
Subscribe BY RSS
Email Subscription
Author Archives: Sarah Kay Bierle
A Historian Working In Retail
This past summer I took a part-time job as a cashier in a retail store. Yes, I’m still very involved with Emerging Civil War. No, I’m not quitting the history field. But it was time to take a steady job … Continue reading
Rethinking What Civil War Soldiers Remembered
Recently, I spent a day at a Civil War living history event here in California. It was a welcome break from a full week of research and writing, and I certainly enjoyed visiting with friends and networking with some of … Continue reading
Posted in Common Soldier, Memory
Tagged battle lines, common soldier, living history, Remembering the Civil War, Research, time keeping
6 Comments
Foraging With The 1st West Virginia Artillery
In August 1912, C.H. Senseney delivered an address on the fiftieth anniversary of the enlistment of Battery D of the 1st West Virginia Artillery. His reminiscence speech was later printed and bound in a booklet form, and I was lucky … Continue reading
Posted in Artillery, Common Soldier
Tagged 1st West Virginia Artillery, Charles H. Senseney, foraging, Memory
1 Comment
Captain Hugh A. White: “To Draw Back Is Impossible”
“…his presence was soon missed, and a member of his company, fearing he had been injured, proceeded to look for him, and soon found his body. He was lying on his face, resting it in his hands, and his pistol … Continue reading
ECW Weekender: John Wesley Powell River History Museum
If you’re ever traveling cross-country on Interstate 70 through Utah and Colorado, you’ll reach Green River, Utah, either just before or after crossing the “hundred miles of nothin’.” Here, in this little river town, you’ll find a local museum named … Continue reading
Of “Promotion,” Camp, Gossip, & Flirtation in August 1863
In late August 1863 – after returning from medical leave and a visit home – Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain wrote a letter to his wife Fanny, giving a glimpse of the “quiet days” of war. The moments at Gettysburg created only … Continue reading
Posted in Common Soldier, Primary Sources
Tagged Fanny Chamberlain, Joshua Chamberlain, primary source, soldier letters
Leave a comment
The Determined Delinquents On A Summer’s Day
Recently, I sat in the solemn, silent archives, reading The End of an Era by John S. Wise. Among his treasury of memories and musings about antebellum Virginia, slavery, and the Civil War, there are several sections focused on cadet … Continue reading
Posted in Common Soldier, Personalities
Tagged Battle of New Market, John S. Wise, Virginia Military Institute, VMI cadets
2 Comments
ECW Weekender: Edinburg Mill
Mention the 1864 Autumn Campaign in the Shenandoah Valley and among historians and Virginia locals an image comes to mind: a landscape with burning buildings and fields. Union General Sheridan directed his officers and soldiers to destroy the agriculture, mills, … Continue reading
Posted in ECW Weekender
Tagged ECW Weekender, Edinburg Mill, Shenandoah Valley, The Burning, Weekender
1 Comment
Sunk In The Mill Pond: The Fate of the Ironclad Models
The model vessels floated quietly on the millpond water. On the bank, the boys aimed their toy cannon. They’d finally found a target that wouldn’t shoot back and would keep them from getting a scolding. Or so they thought… After-all, … Continue reading
Posted in Navies, Personalities
Tagged CSS Virginia, Henry Wise, John S. Wise, model ships, toy cannon, USS Merrimack
6 Comments
Play Review – “Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley: From Slavery to Modiste”
In June 2018 I had the opportunity to attend a production of the new stage play Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley: From Slavery to Modiste at The Old Globe Theater in San Diego, California. Entering the theater, I was unfamiliar with the … Continue reading
