Showing results for "Chancellorsville"
Book Review: “Seizing Destiny: The Army of the Potomac’s ‘Valley Forge’ and the Civil War Winter that Saved the Union”.
After the Federal disaster at Fredericksburg in December, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln moaned, “If there is a place worse than hell, I am in it.” The Union war effort, at least in the east, had been met repeatedly with setbacks, and the latest defeat came at a time when Lincoln hoped to drive home his […]
Read more...Gettysburg Off the Beaten Path: Hood’s Protest and Howe Avenue
Part of a series. The Confederate offensive at Gettysburg on July 2nd was supposed to start much closer to the now-famous Peach Orchard than it actually did. Prior to cresting Warfield Ridge, one of the future jumping-off points for the Confederate offensive, First Corps commander James Longstreet was very active. Riding up to division commander […]
Read more...Gettysburg Off the Beaten Path: The 27th Connecticut Monuments at Gettysburg
Part of a series. The 27th Connecticut Infantry was one of those hard luck regiments that served with the Army of the Potomac. The Nutmeg State men entered Federal service during the “Emergency of 1862,” when Robert E. Lee turned the wars Eastern Theater on its ear. Although the unit was made up of 9-month […]
Read more...Effects of a Shell
While doing some research the other day, I stumbled across a sketch that caught my eye. It seemed clever yet gruesome at the same time. Titled “Effects of a shell,” it appeared in the memoir of Sgt. Austin C. Sterns, Three Years with Company K. Sterns served in the 13th Massachusetts Infantry, part of the Federal […]
Read more...The Rebirth of the Army of the Potomac (part two)
Part two of a series. A New Chief of Staff and Improved Supply System Ambrose E. Burnside left the Army of the Potomac with a litany of major problems; many of which were brought on by poor staff work. To alleviate this issue Hooker needed to appoint a new Chief of Staff. The man that […]
Read more...“Some of the Hardest Fighting of the War”: Alfred Pleasonton and J.E.B Stuart at Brandy Station
Conclusion of a series The blue troopers were puzzled as they made their way to the north bank of the Rappahannock River at Beverly Ford. For the past fourteen hours, they had engaged the Confederate cavalry in the open countryside near Brandy Station. During the fight, they had gained ground and exchanged blow after brutal […]
Read more...“Some of the Hardest Fighting of the War”: Alfred Pleasonton and J.E.B. Stuart at Brandy Station
Part one in a series 153 years ago this week, Union and Confederate cavalry clashed across the fields and rolling hills of Culpeper County. Deriving its name from a nearby hamlet and train stop along the Orange and Alexandria railroad, the Battle of Brandy Station was the opening engagement of the Gettysburg Campaign. Most importantly, […]
Read more...In Memory of Al Conner, Jr.
The shady glen look like something out of Middle-Earth: ferns cluster in small patches on the sun-dappled forest floor and piles of lichen-covered rocks sit half-submerged in the ground. A lightly mulched path winds among the trees and among the dips and small hillocks. Old pits the size of mattresses pock the landscape everywhere. The […]
Read more...ECW Weekender: “America’s Fiery Trial” Symposium
This weekend marks the second annual Civil War symposium at the Victoria Read Public Library, in Flushing, Ohio. For the past two years event coordinator Roger Micker has put together a great lineup of speakers. Last years event paid tribute to Dr. John Mattox. Dr. Mattow is the founder and curator of the towns Underground […]
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