Showing results for "North Anna"
Exchanging a Saber for a Cane: The Case of Colonel Charles Augustus May
In 1861, over 250 U.S. Army officers resigned their commissions. The majority joined the rebellion, while a few remained loyal to the Union. Nineteen officers (seven percent) didn’t serve on either side. The choice was not so simple for these officers. Some were loyal to the Union but would not take up arms against friends […]
Read more...The Louisiana Unification Movement and the Political Limits of Reconstruction
In the messy annals of Reconstruction, one of the most perplexing episodes was the short-lived but fascinating Unification Movement of Louisiana. A New Orleans political alliance of both black and white elites, the movement tried to merge concerns over corruption and high taxes with a racially progressive agenda. The movement was biracial and elite in […]
Read more...McIlvaine’s Hotel: A Landmark on the Road to Gettysburg
For those who over the years have traveled to Gettysburg with some regularity, I’m sure that each of us have some landmarks that once passed let us know we really are on the way to Gettysburg. For myself, there’s still a sense of anticipation each time I take the Breezewood exit off the Pennsylvania Turnpike. […]
Read more...The Wet March: USS Monitor Almost Sinks
If by “on the march,” we mean the exercise of rapidly shifting a combat unit from behind the lines to where the action is while overcoming formidable obstacles of terrain and weather, then the U.S. Navy had its own wet marches.
Read more...On The March Through Some Civil War Lyrics
A quick survey of the music and lyrics in Irwin Silber’s book Songs of the Civil War reveals some interesting details about “marching” in Civil War culture. The following notes are not intended to be a comprehensive study, but rather a reflection of the attitudes and sentiments around marching as reflected in the lyrics of […]
Read more...On the March to Sailor’s Creek with Tucker’s Naval Battalion
One thousand Confederate sailors and Marines defended Richmond by April 1865. Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes commanded the James River Squadron’s ironclads, wooden steamers, and torpedo boats. The Confederate Naval Academy, officers in training, operated CSS Patrick Henry. Captain John R. Tucker commanded land batteries guarding the James River at Drewry’s Bluff. A scattering of sailors […]
Read more...Listen In! ECW’s Women Talk About The History
Last week all the ECW women were invited to a Zoom call to chat about research, ideas, and a variety of other topics related to historian/researcher experiences. As part of the meeting, they answered a few questions with the willingness to share the answers on the blog for Women’s History Month. We hope you enjoy […]
Read more...Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet in Chattanooga, Part IV
ECW welcomes back guest author Ed Lowe Read the series What If…? This brings up the question that what if Longstreet had decisively defeated Burnside at Campbell’s Station, reaching that vital road junction before Burnside and pinning his army up against the Tennessee River? Grant did not initiate operations in Chattanooga until November 23, with […]
Read more...The Most Frightened Man and the Ironclads
One hundred and sixty years ago yesterday, March 8, 1862, a frustrated commander in chief convened another council of war to prod Major General George B. McClellan into action. McClellan proposed to transport the Army of the Potomac down the Chesapeake and up the Rappahannock River to the Virginia town of Urbanna, outflank Confederate forces […]
Read more...