Showing results for "Chancellorsville"
Battle of Port Republic: “The Place To Try Mens Soulds”
Some accounts in the historiography of the 1862 Valley Campaign give the impression that only the Confederates marched long distances at speed. While the accounts of Stonewall Jackson’s “foot cavalry” are impressive, it must be remembered that these long marches did not endear Stonewall to his infantry at the time. Later, in memory and with […]
Read more...A Morning Surprise for “Stonewall” and His Staff Officers on June 8, 1862
Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson is famed in the history books for his surprise flank attack at Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863. Lost in the storytelling about Stonewall’s surprise at Chancellorsville and his Shenandoah Valley Campaign “brilliance” in 1862 is the account of when Jackson himself was ambushed and nearly captured. The surprise for Jackson […]
Read more...Book Review: The Oxford Handbook of the American Civil War
A good reference book bears several elements, beginning with its title: The Oxford Handbook of the American Civil War thus telegraphs its purpose. Another is heft: this one has 675 pages. Third is a big raft of contributors, and recognizable ones at that. Three dozen scholars are represented here, including Wilson Greene, Kenneth Noe, Michael […]
Read more...Week In Review: May 16-22, 2022
It’s a nice balance of east and west Civil War feature articles this week, along with some international flair, too… Monday, May 16: Question of the Week highlighted the history of the Gulf States. Edward Alexander wrote about a Pennsylvania family on Petersburg’s front lines.
Read more...America’s First Air Force: Union Aeronauts and McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign, Part Four – Davis, Lee, and Longstreet Were Standing in a Field
ECW welcomes back guest author Jeff Ballard Read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three. Serving as an airborne sentry was the first, and perhaps the most obvious role of the balloon on the battlefield and Lowe’s balloons gave McClellan unparalleled visibility. At an altitude of 1000 feet, and with good weather, observers could see […]
Read more...America’s First Air Force: Union Aeronauts and McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign, Part Three – Gaines’ Farm Station
ECW welcomes back guest author Jeff Ballard Read Part One and Part Two. The final week of May 1862 denoted the high-water mark of McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign as five corps of the Army of the Potomac partially encircled Richmond. By the 23rd, both the Gaines’ Farm and the Mechanicsville stations, nine and six miles north-northeast […]
Read more...“Battlefield Season”
“Battlefield season,” as I refer to early May, is always an especially busy time of year for me. Of the five battlefields I live among, the battles of Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania all took place in early and mid-May, with North Anna (another of my favorites, and nearby) taking place immediately thereafter.[1] In the midst […]
Read more...Week in Review: May 1-8, 2022
It’s been a full week of battle anniversary posts with a variety of perspectives and “emerging” accounts…
Read more...The Absalom McGee Family: The Farm becomes a Cavalry Camp during the Overland Campaign
Part 2 The trials of the Absalom McGee Family did not end in 1863 with the battle of Chancellorsville. While Frances and the children tried to put their home back together, Absalom had trailed the retreating Federal army, seeking safety from his own neighbors who hated his Unionist beliefs. Unfortunately, his plan backfired. Returning home, […]
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