Showing results for "franklin"
What if…Joseph Lane of Oregon had become President in 1861?
A few years ago, I was fascinated by the possibility that a certain Joseph Lane, rather than Abraham Lincoln, might have become President in 1861. I actually accumulated quite a file of research and notes, which I have since lost. I’m not the only one who considered the Joseph Lane scenario – many people during […]
Read more...What If…Zachary Taylor Was Alive During the Civil War?
On July 9, 1850, the 12th president of the U.S. died only 16 months into his first term. But what if Zachary Taylor lived to see the Civil War? Suppose that war did not come to the U.S. sooner had he not died in office. It’s interesting to speculate what role the ex-president and general […]
Read more...Book Review: Benjamin Butler’s Noisy, Fearless Life
Andrew Jackson once said, “I was born for the storm, and a calm does not suit me.” The same could have been said by one of Jackson’s admirers, Benjamin Butler. He was accused throughout his career of rank opportunism, incompetence, graft, and skulduggery. He was also seen as a champion of blacks, women, and most […]
Read more...What If there were What-Ifs on ECW’s YouTube page?
Keeping in the spirit of our What-If weekend for the Eighth Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge, we’re rolling out a fantastic line-up of historians on the ECW YouTube page over the next few days to talk about some of their favorite “What Ifs.” We kicked things off this evening with living historian […]
Read more...Shellbacks, Polliwogs, and Crossing the Equator Amid Civil War
Anyone watching a movie about sailing ships can quickly become confused with the overwhelming distinct terminology. There are much more than words that signify a sailor, however. Spending months at a time at sea, sailors have developed their own vocabulary, traditions, and culture to cope with life on the water. This includes distinct traditions and […]
Read more...Week In Review: July 4-10, 2022
From Independence Day to Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Franklin, book reviews, travel, and beyond…it’s been a full summer week on the ECW blog! Monday, July 4: Question of the Week highlighted quotes related to the battle of Gettysburg. JoAnna McDonald wrote about the capture of Vicksburg on the anniversary.
Read more...“Blackest Man in New Orleans” – Captain Cailloux of the Louisiana Native Guards – Part 2
Find Part One Here The Native Guards on the extreme right of the Union flank at Port Hudson were positioned in front of some of the roughest terrain on the battlefield and ordered to attack the strongest portion of the fortification defended by Colonel W.B. Shelby’s 39th Mississippi and two supporting batteries. The flood plain […]
Read more...“Blackest Man in New Orleans” – Captain Cailloux of the Louisiana Native Guards – Part 1
The unit that would be later known as the Louisiana Native Guards found its start, astoundingly, in Confederate Louisiana in May of 1861. Accepted as a militia regiment by Governor Thomas Moore, 33 black officers and 731 privates – all free men of color with some European ancestry – the black regiment was intended to […]
Read more...June 2022 Emerging Civil War Newsletter Now Available
What better way to start out the week than with the good news in the June 2022 Emerging Civil War newsletter? We sent it out to subscribers on Monday—but you can still read it, too! In this issue:
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