Category Archives: Monuments

A Walk to the Site of Pelham’s Death

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Chris Mackowski

At the Symposium over the weekend, one of the attendees asked me how to get to the John Pelham marker at Kelly’s Ford. “Keep walking out the trail, and when you think you’ve gone too far, keep going,” I told … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Monuments | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

The Trust’s 2019 Teacher Institute: “What story does the Civil War tell?”

Posted on July 14, 2019 by Chris Mackowski

“What story does the Civil War tell?” Edward Ayers asked during his Saturday night keynote address at the American Battlefield Trust’s 2019 Teacher Institute. We probably all think we know the answer, but Ayers spent 40 minutes challenging assumptions, reframing … Continue reading →

Posted in Memory, Monuments, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Maine at War: June 2019

Posted on July 8, 2019 by Emerging Civil War

Here’s what our friend Brian Swartz was up to in June at his blog Maine at War: June 5, 2019 Enrollment Act laid out the new national draft in detail Running low on warm bodies to prosecute the war against … Continue reading →

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June 17: The 1st Massachusetts Cavalry at Aldie

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Kevin Pawlak

Every regiment that served in the Civil War had one day that exemplified the rest of their wartime service. For the men of the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry, June 17 was their day. In particular, it was June 17, 1863. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Cavalry, Memory, Monuments | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“And over here we have…”

Posted on May 24, 2019 by Meg Groeling

On this day in history, Colonel Elmer Ellsworth walked into a two-star inn-and-boarding house in Alexandria. It was early in the morning, and a man in his nightshirt and pants was the only person awake on the first floor. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Monuments, Personalities | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

With Sedgwick at Spotsylvania

Posted on May 9, 2019 by Edward S. Alexander

Nothing like a monument dedication to spark some controversy. Subscribers to the National Tribune veterans’ newspaper or the Southern Historical Society Papers could expect a flurry of related articles immediately after a new monument appeared. John Watson Mauk, the Pennsylvania … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles, Leadership--Federal, Monuments, Primary Sources | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Black Bess (Re-)Visited

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Chris Mackowski

Last week, Steve Davis shared with us the story of “Black Bess,” John Hunt Morgan’s mare that was turned, by a sculptor’s whim, into a stallion. Because of Steve’s post, I decided to seek out the Morgan statue in Lexington, Kentucky, … Continue reading →

Posted in Monuments | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Saving History Saturday – Grant’s West Point Legacy Preserved in New Monument

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Emerging Civil War

Ever since the deadly protests at Charlottesville in August of 2017, many public Civil War monuments have been removed or reinterpreted nationwide. Because of these controversies, we rarely hear of new Civil War monuments being erected. This week, though, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Monuments, Preservation | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

The Ballad of Black Bess

Posted on April 24, 2019 by stephendavis

[Editor’s Note: With all that’s happening about Confederate monuments these days, it’s all right to remember a time when monuments to Confederate heroes became a source of humor.] Robert E. Lee had Traveller and Stonewall Jackson his Little Sorrel. Bedford … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War in Pop Culture, Memory, Monuments | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Clay and Calhoun and Their Really Tall Columns

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Chris Mackowski

As they were rivals in life, so, too, it seems, did senators Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun try to outrival each other in death—or at least their supporters did. In 2014, as part of a post I wrote about … Continue reading →

Posted in Antebellum South, Monuments, Personalities | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment