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Category Archives: Western Theater
In the Wake of Vicksburg, U. S. Grant as Commander of the Army of the Potomac?
By early August, 1863, Ulysses S. Grant had settled into administrative routine following the fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi—but Grant wasn’t one to sit idle long. He had set his eye on Mobile, Alabama, which he was “very anxious to take” … Continue reading
Major Tom Taylor at Ezra Church
On July 28, 1864, the Union Army of the Tennessee reached a point west of Atlanta from where they could threaten the Macon Railroad, which entered Atlanta from the southwest. In an effort to thwart that move, Confederate General John … Continue reading
Down the Yazoo with the Ironclad CSS Arkansas
Running downriver with the surging Mississippi in the CSS Arkansas on July 15, 1862, Captain Isaac N. Brown peered through the morning mist and saw: “A forest of masts and smoke-stacks—ships, rams, iron-clads, and other gun-boats on the left side, … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Emerging Civil War, Navies, Western Theater
Tagged CSS Arkansas, ironclads, Issac Brown, USS Carondelet, USS Queen of the West, USS Tyler, Vicksburg, Yazoo River
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East Tennessee and Confederate Copper
On November 25, 1863, Colonel Eli Long rode into Cleveland, Tennessee, at the head of 1,500 Union cavalrymen. They were there to wreak general havoc. When it comes to Civil War cavalry raids, Long’s Cleveland incursion does not garner much … Continue reading
Posted in Cavalry, Economics, Material Culture, Weapons, Western Theater
Tagged Chattanooga Campaign, Cleveland Tennessee, Raids, railroads, War Material
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Battle of Kennesaw Mountain & Baseball
On a recent tour of Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Georgia, I toured the museum in the visitor center. Near the end of the exhibits was a wall of faces of people who fought at the July 27, 1864 … Continue reading
Posted in Armies, Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Common Soldier, Emerging Civil War, Memory, National Park Service, Photography, Western Theater
Tagged 18th Texas Cavalry (Dismounted) Regiment, 35th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Abraham H. Landis, Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Camp Chase, Commissioner Major League Baseball, Georgia, Kenessaw Mountain Landis, Kennesaw Mountain, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, major league baseball, Malcolm M. Hornsby, National Baseball Hall of Fame, National Park Service, Rogers Hornsby
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On Location: The Site of Leonidas Polk’s Death
On June 14, 1864, Confederate Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk was inspecting Federal movements from atop Pine Mountain when Federal artillery opened fire on him. I went On Location, on the anniversary of Polk’s death, to the spot where he was … Continue reading
The Gettysburg Campaign Begins
By the time the Gettysburg campaign began 154 years ago tomorrow, Robert E. Lee, vaunted commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, had been preparing his army for weeks. Lee had much to do. Following the army’s victory at Chancellorsville … Continue reading
Posted in Armies, Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Books & Authors, Campaigns, Cavalry, Civil War Trails, Common Soldier, ECW Weekender, Emerging Civil War Series, Leadership--Confederate, Leadership--Federal, Memory, Monuments, Personalities, Western Theater
Tagged A.P. Hill, Battle of Brandy Station, Brandy Station Virginia, cavalry, Culpeper, Culpeper Court House, Culpeper Virginia, General Joseph Hooker, Gettysburg Campaign, James Longstreet, Richard S. Ewell, Robert E. Lee, The Last Road North: A Guide to the Gettysburg Campaign
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The Other Rock of Chickamauga?
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
Preservation Success at Champion Hill Battlefield
Earlier this month, the Civil War Trust, along with the National Park Foundation and HTR Foundation joined together to announce the protection of a portion of the Champion Hill battlefield, the largest battle of the Vicksburg Campaign. The announcement comes … Continue reading
Posted in Armies, Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Campaigns, Civil War Events, Common Soldier, Leadership--Confederate, Leadership--Federal, Material Culture, Memory, Monuments, National Park Service, Preservation, Sieges, Western Theater
Tagged battlefield preservation, Champion Hill, Civil War Trust, HTR Foundation, National Park Foundation, Preservation
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The Great Naval Leaders
On May 10 I lectured about the Battle of Midway to Old Dominion University’s Institute of Learning in Retirement. Over the course of a wonderful discussion, I assessed one of the U.S. commanders, Raymond Spruance, as “one of the greatest … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership--Federal, Navies, Personalities, Ties to the War, Trans-Mississippi, Western Theater
Tagged Admiral David G. Farragut, Battle of Lake Erie, Battle of Mobile Bay, Battle of Perryville, David Dixon Porter, David Farragut, David Porter, Fall of New Orleans, Fort Fisher, George Dewey, Lake Erie, Manila, Midway, Mobile Bay, Okinawa, Oliver Hazard Perry, Perryville, Philippine Sea, Raymond Spruance, Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter, Red River Campaign, U.S. Grant, U.S. Navy, Vicksburg Campaign, War of 1812, World War II
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