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Category Archives: Common Soldier
“A Fury Unequaled”: A North Carolinian’s Account of Antietam
Finding personal accounts of battlefield experiences always raises my eyebrows, as it does for many of you. The details and immediate stories they contain are the stuff historians crave. When I read the account of James W. Shinn, a soldier … 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
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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
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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
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
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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
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The Superhuman Henry Recor at the Petersburg Breakthrough
I have yet to find a Civil War story as compelling and consequential as that of Captain Charles G. Gould, the first Sixth Corps soldier to breach the Confederate lines on the morning of April 2, 1865. Union soldiers from … Continue reading
Vicksburg NMP Brings Back Black Powder
by ECW Correspondent Katherine Duffek Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see and hear cannon and musket fire in real life instead of just in the movies? Well, at Vicksburg National Military Park, visitors can go … Continue reading
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
