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Category Archives: Memory
Ball’s Bluff: “Has Sparta More?”
Recently, I came across some poems written about the Battle of Ball’s Bluff which was fought on October 21, 1861. This one was penned by a Union general from Massachusetts, Frederick Lander, and I’ve included a few historical notes after … Continue reading
Conspiracy – Civil War Style?
In a year with an exceptional plethora of “tell-all” books and a variety of conspiracy theories from multiple sides and perspectives, old historical sources never fail to add a little perspective and humor. While seeking an escape from the election … Continue reading
Posted in Memory
Tagged civil war memory, conspiracy, George McClellan, james a. scrymser, Reconstruction, writing
2 Comments
Joe and the Illini: The Unclear Origins of Two “Fighting” Nicknames
Every few years my alma mater, the University of Illinois, renews the discussion of renaming its sports teams and creating a new mascot. In 2007 the school retired Chief Illiniwek and the trademarked Chief logo in an attempt to distance … Continue reading
Imagining Wild Bill
ECW is pleased to welcome our friend Paul Ashdown, co-author of the newest book in our Engaging the Civil War Series, published in partnership with Southern Illinois University Press: Imagining Wild Bill: James Butler Hickok in War, Media, and Memory. … Continue reading
Space, “Western Theater” not the Final Frontier
(Editor’s Note: The ECW YouTube page will feature videos from Phill’s trip over the next few weeks, kicked off by this discussion, which is also available as an ECW Podcast.) Recently, I had the opportunity to visit a few battlefields … Continue reading
Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Civil War Trails, Emerging Civil War, Memory, Monuments, National Park Service, Photography, Preservation, Ties to the War, Western Theater
Tagged Alabama, Albert Sidney Johnston, Battle of Fort Donelson, Battle of Shiloh, Confederacy, Emerging Civil War, Fort Donelson National Battlefield, Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park, Kentucky, Mississippi, National Park Service, Phillip S. Greenwalt, Shiloh National Military Park, Siege of Vicksburg, Tennessee, Ulysse S. Grant, Western theater
1 Comment
ECW Weekender: Erie History, Lost and Found
I recently made a road trip to Pennsylvania to look in on family and friends, as I needed to check in on a few things in person. Since I was going to be in Erie, I decided to spend part … Continue reading
Posted in ECW Weekender, Memory
Tagged 111th PA, 145th Pennsylvania, 83rd Pennsylvania, cemeteries, Erie, Memory
3 Comments
Resolved: The New York Fire Department
Today is September 11. It’s been 19 years since 343 firemen lost their lives during the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers in New York City. They rush forwarded into deadly danger to save lives. There wasn’t time to … Continue reading
Posted in Memory
Tagged Fire Zouaves, New York Fire Zouaves, New York Times, September 11
3 Comments
Public and Private Recollections of Confederate General Edward Porter Alexander
ECW welcomes back guest author Abbi Smithmyer Nearly fifty years after the conclusion of the American Civil War, Edward Porter Alexander’s book Military Memoirs of a Confederate became available to the public. Alexander’s opening remarks begin with the following passage: … Continue reading
Martyr or Murderer?
I stop and read historical markers. I’m the guy pulled off on the shoulder in the middle of nowhere, reading that bronze sign by the side of the road. You know the type. Frankly, if you are reading this blog, … Continue reading
Some Thoughts on the Status of the Lost Cause
The Lost Cause was at first a subject of scholarly inquiry. It then became one of scorn, used at times as a slur. For a serious student of the war, it is a label few desire as its mythology has … Continue reading
