Showing results for "Wilderness"
The Topography of Spotsylvania
Last Friday and Saturday, I had the opportunity to give a tour of the Spotsylvania and North Anna River battlefield to a great group from the Central Ohio Civil War Round Table. I have walked Spotsylvania many times; however, one of the main topics I kept coming back to on Friday was how topography influenced […]
Read more...Just You Wait
It can be hard when researching primary sources from the American Civil War to separate ourselves from the big-picture understanding that we have of the momentous struggle. We know the final outcome and the logical pattern that led to the end. Thus when reading accounts from the war–with the end result, and timing of that […]
Read more...Booth’s Escape Route (conclusion)
By ECW Correspondent Pat Tintle. In the days following the president’s assassination, while American citizens mourned the death of their leader, Union troops searched surrounding rural areas for Booth. In the morning following Lincoln’s death, Union troops set up headquarters in the Bryantown, unbeknownst that Booth laid just four miles away with his broken leg […]
Read more...Where Was George Gordon Meade?
A Google search of the many sketches and paintings that have become the iconic, popular images of Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House may unveil a startling revelation. The commander of the Army of the Potomac, the principle U.S. Army in the Eastern Theater was not present in Mr. McLean’s parlor on April […]
Read more...Visiting Pamplin Park on the Road to Appomattox
For anyone following Lee’s retreat and Grant’s pursuit this week, be sure to start your run at Pamplin Park, where Federal troops first broke the Confederate line. While the anniversary of the breakthrough was April 2, it’s worth a stop at Pamplin to get a true understanding of the story. With the anniversary a couple […]
Read more...The Downfall of a Federal Corps Commander: Warren-Sheridan and the Five Forks Controversy: Part Three
Part Three in a Series. On March 25, 1865 Robert E. Lee launched his last true offensive of the war, and in reality the only true offensive he undertook during the Siege of Petersburg. The Battle of Fort Stedman placed all of Lee’s cards on the table. If successful, Confederate forces could break Grant’s siege […]
Read more...ECWS Endnotes/Footnotes/Citations
Emerging Civil War Series Footnotes/Endnotes/Citations The Aftermath of Battle: The Burial of the Civil War Dead by Meg Groeling: Endnotes and Sources The Carnage Was Fearful: The Battle of Cedar Mountain, August 9, 1862 by Michael E. Block: Footnotes Dawn of Victory: Breakthrough at Petersburg, March 25-April 2, 1865 by Edward S. Alexander: Footnotes and Sources […]
Read more...The Downfall of a Federal Corps Commander: Warren-Sheridan and the Five Forks Controversy: Part Two
Part Two in a Series. It was actually an amazing feat that Gouverneur K. Warren still retained a corps command at the start of 1865. His wartime record was solid, but far from stellar. As I mentioned earlier, Warren was an odd duck. His wartime photographs show a confident and somewhat dashing officer. Upon closer […]
Read more...The Downfall of a Federal Corps Commander: Warren-Sheridan and the Five Forks Controversy: Part One
Part One in a Series. It is a well-known fact that many historians live with the characters that they write about for many years. Delving into a major project often exposes us to an abundance of characters that are well known to the Civil War community as a whole. Some historians have made their entire […]
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