Showing results for "Vicksburg"
ECW Weekender: Grant Cottage State Historic Site
Last month I had the chance to visit Grant’s Cottage State Historic Site in upstate New York. I tried to go once before, but missed it as the site has limited hours. This time while in the area I was determined to get there (even if it meant leaving my travelling companion Mark Wilcox behind […]
Read more...Buchanan Gets Tough: A Pretty Good Lame-Duck Presidency
ECW welcomes back guest author Leon Reed James Buchanan gets very low marks as president, indeed is sometimes rated the worst ever, in large part because of the perception that he was weak in dealing with southern states throughout his four-year term and in particular during his extended lame duck period as the nation came […]
Read more...Jefferson Davis’s “Unsent” Message to Congress
ECW welcomes back guest author Greg Thiele Jefferson Davis was particularly sensitive where his authority was concerned. He possessed an unshakeable belief in his own judgment and never hesitated to make sure others knew when he was right. Davis could be unbending and was not given to compromise. An incident which occurred during the last […]
Read more...The case of the Douglas orphans’ seized cotton
Union troops in the South often confiscated cotton and other goods belonging to Confederates, in order to support the Northern war effort. In one case, they took Mississippi cotton to which a Unionist family had a claim – cotton said to belong to the orphaned sons of Senator Stephen Douglas (1813-1861). Initially, Confederate troops were […]
Read more...“Ugly Kind of Music”: The Battle of Corydon—July 9, 1863
Part of a Series Though the Union gave chase to General John H. Morgan and his men through Kentucky, they were unsuccessful in preventing the Confederate Cavalryman from crossing into Northern territory. On July 8, 1863, in the early morning hours, Union General Edward Hobson stood on the banks of the Ohio River in Kentucky […]
Read more...Joseph E. Johnston as a Commander
ECW welcomes guest author Greg Thiele The most important principle of command is that the commander is responsible for everything which happens or fails to happen — good or bad — in his or her command. It seems Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston either never learned this or sought to evade the judgment of historians […]
Read more...The Kingdom of Hawaii and the American Civil War
In this past week, I’ve been following reports of the terrible fires on the island of Maui in Hawaii. My thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost so much and for the first responders and relief volunteers trying to bring help and closure in this difficult period. Some of the reporting has mentioned […]
Read more...What a Difference a Year Makes
1863 wasn’t just momentous for the United States as a nation. It was also a turning point for some of our most important historical figures. General Ulysses S. Grant entered 1863 in the wake of a brutal stretch of reversals along the Mississippi River. His two-pronged effort to capture Vicksburg had collapsed badly on both […]
Read more...1863: “Even the birds are seldom heard with their cheerful voices”: A Confederate Reflects Post-Chancellorsville
Though sometimes referred to as Robert E. Lee’s greatest victory, the battle of Chancellorsville resulted in nearly 13,000 Confederate casualties– almost 20% of the Army of Northern Virginia’s strength. As the Confederacy mourned its losses, perhaps mostly famously the death of Stonewall Jackson, Sergeant Lafayette Cooper, of the Georgian Troup Artillery, sat down to write […]
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