Category Archives: Sieges

Lessons for 2020 from POWs and Sieges

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Chris Kolakowski

Being captured in battle can be a dramatic and traumatic experience. Instantly you are cut off from what was familiar and definite, and cast into a situation unfamiliar, out of your control, and with a most indefinite future. The same … Continue reading →

Posted in Primary Sources, Sieges, Ties to the War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Sketch of the Siege of Fredericksburg

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Chris Mackowski

View of Fredericksburg from Falmouth, VA, on the north bank of the Rappahannock River.  

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Abraham’s Fifteen Minutes of Fame (pt. 3)

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Meg Groeling

Enslaved Abraham became Free Abraham in a matter of seconds. His body arched over the line from the Confederate 3rd Louisiana Redan to the Union 81st Illinois Volunteer Infantry. As the men in blue helped him to his feet, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Armies, Civilian, Emerging Civil War, Leadership--Federal, Medical, Newspapers, Personalities, Sieges, Slavery, Trans-Mississippi | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“Blowed to Freedom!”: Abraham and the Vicksburg Mine

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Meg Groeling

Every February ECW does a series of posts about African Americans and the Civil War. There are many from which to choose, but I have made it my mission, as it were, to find those who are not as well … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles, Campaigns, Civilian, Common Soldier, Memory, Personalities, Sieges, Slavery, Western Theater | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Vicksburg NMP Brings Back Black Powder

Posted on August 10, 2018 by Emerging Civil War

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 →

Posted in Arms & Armaments, Common Soldier, National Park Service, Sieges | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Day dreams are . . . the amusement of boys”

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Chris Mackowski

I mentioned a few days ago a letter written by Confederate Lt. William Drenner, trapped in Vicksburg by the besieging Federal army. A letter to his wife turned into a running account of his time trapped in the beleaguered city. … Continue reading →

Posted in Common Soldier, Primary Sources, Sieges | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Sentra Has Landed: A Fresh Start in Vicksburg

Posted on June 14, 2018 by ECW Guest Post

ECW is pleased to welcome back Andrew Miller. A historian with the National Park Service, Andrew just accepted a new position at Vicksburg National Military Park. He formerly worked at Liberty Island in New York City. We arrived in Vicksburg, … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Emerging Civil War, National Park Service, Sieges | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

“One day could be like another”

Posted on June 9, 2018 by Chris Mackowski

For anyone who might’ve forgotten, the siege of Vicksburg was grinding along 155 years ago today. We spent a little time in mid-May commemorating the campaign for Vicksburg and the initial attacks on the city. And all good Civil War … Continue reading →

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Symposium Spotlight: Grant Crosses the James

Posted on June 6, 2018 by ECW Guest Post

reporting by ECW Correspondent Shannon Nichols Edward Alexander has made a career focusing on the end of the Petersburg Campaign. He’s a former historian with Pamplin Historical Park, which preserves the spot where Federals finally broke through the Confederate line … Continue reading →

Posted in Campaigns, Sieges, Symposium | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Petersburg, the most researched battle of late?

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Edward S. Alexander

The Petersburg Battlefields Foundation hosted its first stakeholders meeting yesterday to present its strategic plan to potential partners. As the organization’s tourism chair, I planned to spotlight a few new Petersburg publications to illustrate how scholarship on the campaign has … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Authors, Campaigns, Sieges | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments