Showing results for "First Manassas"

“The Heat Is Frightful”: Two Lieutenants & The Gettysburg Campaign, Part 2

The Gettysburg Campaign progressed through the second week of June 1863. However, while some regiments marched long miles and battled or skirmished, others waited or moved miles behind the advance forces. The Civil War journals of Lieutenants Dooley and Rhodes include only one entry each for this week; the 1st Virginia had continued marching, but […]

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A Recap of Our 2019 Emerging Scholars Program

Dan Welch and Chris Mackowski, co-hosts of our Emerging Civil War Podcast, took to Facebook LIVE yesterday during the Grand Opening of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond. If you didn’t have the chance to watch the segments, we’ve collected a convenient archive for you here. (And we have a few pics to share, […]

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Giving No Quarter – How the 39th Missouri Lost the Highest Percentage of Men Killed in a Single Engagement of the Civil War

Ever since the guns went silent in 1865, there has always been a debate about casualty rates for Civil War units and battles among historians and enthusiasts alike. The regiments who sustained these enormous casualty rates have been immortalized in the history books: 5th New York at Second Manassas, 1st Minnesota at Gettysburg, 9th Illinois […]

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A “Melancholy Suicide”: The Death of Brigadier General Philip St. George Cocke

On December 26, 1861, Confederate Brigadier General Philip St. George Cocke’s wife, Sallie, reluctantly left her home that Thursday evening to attend a neighbor’s party. The general had not been well since returning home, suffering from a mental breakdown. He declined the invitation from his neighbor but encouraged his wife and family to go on […]

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From West to East – John Pope and Counter-Insurgency, Part II

(Part II in a series) In June 1862, John Pope assumed command of the Eastern Theater’s newest army made up of disparate forces – the Army of Virginia. Unfortunately, Pope’s strong ego and dislike for the Army of the Potomac’s popular commander George B. McClellan (at least with the soldiers) placed him at odds with […]

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On To Appomattox…

As the days passed and the armies slogged forward in the days after the breakthrough at Petersburg, civilian and soldier alike sensed a coming end of the Army of Northern Virginia. Through the week, Union cavalry and infantry cut off the Confederate retreat, small battles and constant skirmishing erupted along the retreat/pursuit route and the […]

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The Confederate Navy’s Order of Battle at New Orleans: A Reflection of Political Tensions

ECW welcomes back guest author Neil P. Chatelain. The ECW post on September 27, 2018 titled “Order of Battle – Why Those Lists Matter” reminded me of my own research, and I began doing what historians do: using thoughts and research of others to augment my own. The result was a reemergence in my own […]

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USS Mississippi Visits Okinawa

In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in the Far East to open up relations with Japan. His first flagship was USS Mississippi, a side-wheel steamer. Before going to Tokyo, Perry stopped at Okinawa to deal with the Okinawan king regarding coaling and trading rights. Perry landed and went to Shuri Castle, the king’s residence on […]

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The ORs and the Growth of Bureaucracy

Dan Welch’s post yesterday about the history of the Official Records reminded me of an observation I made a few weeks ago while reshuffling my books. The ORs embody the evolution of record-keeping over the course of the war (or, some might say, the growth of bureaucracy!).

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