Category Archives: Politics

My Favorite Historical Person: Private Dorence Atwater

Posted on June 13, 2017 by

Three flights of stairs! Wooden, rickety stairs! And who knew how successful he would be at the end of them, anyway? Recently released from Andersonville prison, returning home weighing in the neighborhood of ninety pounds, young Dorence Atwater climbed up … Continue reading →

Posted in Common Soldier, Emerging Civil War, Memory, National Park Service, Personalities, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

The Other Rock of Chickamauga?

Posted on May 30, 2017 by

One of the joys of research is turning an unexpected corner to find out something new. That happens every so often, and when it does, I always get a little buzz of excitement. Most recently, that buzz came when I … Continue reading →

Posted in Armies, Battles, Campaigns, Emerging Civil War, Leadership--Federal, Lincoln, Memory, Personalities, Politics, Western Theater | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

U.S. Grant Urges Iowans to Approve Suffrage for Black Men

Posted on May 26, 2017 by

The following was passed along by ECW’s friend William Underhill, one of the stalwart keeper’s of Ulysses S. Grant’s flame as a member of the Friends of Grant Cottage, the organization that staffs the site where Grant died in upstate … Continue reading →

Posted in Newspapers, Politics, Primary Sources, Reconstruction, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Night That Decided the Confederate President

Posted on May 25, 2017 by

In February 1861, delegates from the six seceded states—South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana met in Montgomery, Alabama to craft a new nation. In order to do so, a leader, a provisional president, would be elected as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Emerging Civil War, Leadership--Confederate, Memory, Personalities, Politics, Ties to the War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We Happy Few…

Posted on May 24, 2017 by

Here’s a little curtain-raiser for Battle Above the Clouds. In September 1863, United States Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton initiated one of the more remarkable troop movements of the American Civil War. Stanton, alarmed by the recent Union defeat at … Continue reading →

Posted in Armies, Emerging Civil War, Leadership--Federal, Personalities, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Political Discourse, 1880s style:

Posted on April 22, 2017 by

A friend sent me this, which was published in the Robinson (IL) Argus, July 15, 1880: Ed Harlan, in his speech here at the Hancock (Wm [sic] Scott) ratification meeting made the statement that Gen. Garfield played the part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Emerging Civil War, Leadership--Federal, Memory, Politics | Tagged | 3 Comments

“We Have A Light”: Our Shared Lie About the Confederacy

Posted on April 11, 2017 by

Today, we welcome back guest author Sam Smith. “The Confederate Constitution was virtually identical to the original, except that it explicitly protected slavery.” This is one of the most common canards of Civil War history. I don’t know where this fiction … Continue reading →

Posted in Antebellum South, Politics, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Women in History–EEEK!

Posted on April 1, 2017 by

What’s a girl/woman to do?? In honor of Women’s History Month, I thought I would editorialize for a few minutes here at ECW, the blog that gave me my break. Military History is not always a comfortable place for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War in Pop Culture, Civilian, Common Soldier, Economics, Lincoln, Material Culture, Memory, Politics, Reconstruction, Slavery, Ties to the War | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Seward’s Folly at 150

Posted on March 31, 2017 by

150 years ago yesterday, the United States concluded the treaty transferring Alaska from Russia to the United States. On April 9 (the second anniversary of Appomattox), the Senate ratified the deal.

Posted in Leadership--Federal, Politics, Ties to the War, Western Theater | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Confederate Generals and Racial Moderation

Posted on February 28, 2017 by

Today, we are pleased to welcome back guest author Sean Michael Chick When I volunteer at the Historic New Orleans Collection, I naturally prefer the room dealing with the Civil War and Reconstruction (a close second is the Battle of … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership--Confederate, Memory, Personalities, Politics, Reconstruction, Slavery | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments