Showing results for "Wilderness"
Fighting at Monocacy’s Thomas Farm
Today is the 153rd anniversary of the battle of Monocacy—the “Battle that Saved Washington.” Fought just miles south of Frederick, Maryland along the banks of the Monocacy river the battle was Federal Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace’s last-ditch effort to slow Lt. Gen. Jubal Early’s march on the District of Columbia. To commemorate the battle, I […]
Read more...The Final Resting Place of Lee’s “Old Warhorse”
Gainesville, Georgia, a town of 36,306 people at the last census, sits in North Georgia perched on the banks of Lake Lanier and straddling Interstate-985. Yet, in this Georgia town, lie the remains of James Longstreet, affectionately known during his life-time as “Pete” or during the American Civil War as Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s […]
Read more...The Most Overlooked Phase of the Overland Campaign
I often wonder what motivates people to buy the Civil War books they do. Are they interested in learning something? Being entertained? Both? Do they want to hear their favorite story told one more time, maybe in a new way? Or maybe exactly as they expect it to be told, without anyone monkeying with it […]
Read more...Chris Kolakowski: Leadership Makes the Difference on New Year’s Eve 1862
We’re two months away from the Fourth Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge (Aug. 4-6). We’ve asked each of our speakers to share with us a story related to the topic they’ll be presenting as part of our “Great Defenses of the Civil War” line-up. Today, we feature Chris Kolakowski, who’ll be speaking […]
Read more...“Great Good Service”: Union Cavalry Holds Cold Harbor, June 1, 1864
After taking command of the Army of the Potomac’s cavalry corps in April 1864, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan was determined to expand the duties of his troopers. Traditionally, the primary role of cavalry was that of scouting, screening and intelligence gathering. But throughout 1863, beginning at Kelly’s Ford and Brandy Station, the role of the […]
Read more...Unwritten History: Who Shot J.E.B. Stuart?
Yellow Tavern is an engagement that continues to interest me. Although much of the battlefield has been obliterated by modern development, traces of it still remain and like many other battles, so do unanswered questions. The regimental alignment of Brig. Gen. Williams C. Wickham’s brigade on the final Confederate line is still open for debate. […]
Read more...A City of Hospitals, Short on Supplies
From the Portland, Maine, Daily Eastern Argus on Wednesday, May 25, 1864: A letter written from Fredericksburg after the battle of the Wilderness says:— “In a guano ware-house a magnificent veteran, leaning against the wall with his blouse on (to protect him from the cold of the bricks) whose left sleeve and shoulder were drawn […]
Read more...A Bump in the Road to Spotsylvania: The Battle of Todd’s Tavern
On May 5-6, 1864, in the Battle of the Wilderness, Robert E. Lee brought the spring offensive launched by George Meade’s Army of the Potomac to a grinding halt. Rather than retreat, General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant, who was traveling with Meade’s army, ordered him to prepare for a night march around Lee’s right flank to […]
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