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Category Archives: Primary Sources
Petersburg Latrine Management
While expanding my search for more source material on the VI Corps at Petersburg, I found an old auction listing for detailed instructions to improve the sanitation in their fortified camps during the early stage of the campaign. Such descriptions … Continue reading
Posted in Medical, Primary Sources, Sieges
Tagged camp life, Hazard Stevens, Petersburg, VI Corps
3 Comments
“The prison over the Pearl River at Jackson, Mississippi, where Union prisoners have been confined.”
In researching my forthcoming book on the battle of Jackson, Mississippi—which took place on this date in 1863 as part of Grant’s campaign through Mississippi to take Vicksburg—I stumbled on a little bit of a mystery, although I didn’t know … Continue reading
Posted in Common Soldier, Newspapers, Primary Sources, Western Theater
Tagged 2nd Iowa Cavalry, 31st Missouri, 76th Ohio, Chicago Tribune, Chickasaw Bayou, Chickasaw Bluffs, Civil War prisons, Coffeeville, George Ady, Harper's Weekly, Jackson Mississippi, Jim Woodrick, POWs, prison bridge, prisoner exchange, Thomas Fletcher, Time-Life books, Vicksburg Campaign, Wide-Awake Zouaves
7 Comments
Accompanying Sedgwick’s Remains
A sharpshooter’s bullet struck and immediately killed Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick around 9:30 a.m. on May 9, 1864. Throughout the rest of the day, grieving members of the VI Corps paid their respects to their fallen general as his body … Continue reading
“A Piece of Bone,” Bishop Polk, and the National Tribune
Editor’s note: Stephen Davis’ forthcoming book, The National Tribune Remembers the Atlanta Campaign, will be published next year by Savas Beatie. The National Tribune, a weekly newspaper published in Washington from 1877 to 1943, was arguably the most comprehensive repository … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership--Confederate, Newspapers, Primary Sources
Tagged 15th Wisconsin, Albert Castel, Atlanta Campaign, Bishop Polk, Confederate Veteran, David Conyngham, David Stanley, George Thomas, Joseph Johnston, Leonidas Polk, National Tribune, New York Herald, Pine Mountain, Richard Sauers, Savas Beatie, Southern Historical Society Papers
2 Comments
On The March to Gettysburg with the 20th Maine
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s description of the 20th Maine Regiment’s march to Gettysburg in the night of July 1, 1863, reads like colorful, creative writing. Here’s the excerpt:
Don’t Forget to Check the Tax Records!
It’s Tax Day (though I hear usual deadlines are extended to Monday this year since the 15th is Friday). I hope by this hour you’ve finished the grim duty or got an extension…. I’ve been trying think of a good … Continue reading
They Held Lincoln’s Life in Their Hands
Less than 15 minutes had passed since John Wilkes Booth pulled the trigger of his derringer and sent a bullet into the back of President Abraham Lincoln’s head. Army Dr. Charles Leale, the supervisor of Lincoln’s health, and the host … Continue reading
Posted in Lincoln, Primary Sources
Tagged Abraham Lincoln Assasination, Battery C Pennsylvania Light Artillery, Charles Leale, Ford's Theater, Jabez Griffiths, Jacob Soles, John Corey, John Weaver, John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln Assassination, Lincoln's Assassination, Thompson's battery, William Sample
4 Comments
“The Sound of the First Gun”: The Bombardment of Fort Sumter Observed at a Distance
It’s the anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter, the traditional beginning of the American Civil War (April 12, 1861). In the April 20th edition of The Charleston Daily Courier, I found the following account by a correspondent using the … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Newspapers, Primary Sources
Tagged Charleston, Fort Sumter, Newspapers, Rutledge Mounted Rifles
3 Comments
On The March: Introduction
For the 160th Anniversary of the American Civil War, Emerging Civil War has been creating series around historical themes that loosely tie into the anniversary happenings. This spring we are excited to kick off a new series called “On The … Continue reading
Posted in Common Soldier, Primary Sources
Tagged common soldier, hardtack and coffee, introduction, John D. Billings, on-the-march
1 Comment
Lone Jack – The Fight for Control of Northwest Missouri
By the summer of 1862, the guerrilla war on Missouri’s western border was spiraling out of control for Federal authorities. The year prior, the pro-secessionist government was forced to flee the capital city, allowing the Federals to install a new … Continue reading
