Showing results for "Chancellorsville"

“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, […]

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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 […]

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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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Symposium Spotlight: Steve Davis and Hood’s Grand Assault at Atlanta-July 22, 1864

Steve Davis is one of the most recent additions to the Emerging Civil War stable of authors. Steve was introduced to ECW by publisher Ted Savas, as the Emerging Civil War Series looked to expand its reaches farther into the Western Theater.  He is currently putting the finishing touches on two books for the series, […]

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Black Confederates: Laborers or Soldiers? (part one)

part one of a series When I first arrived at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in 2005, I was very interested in researching black Confederate soldiers. Over the past 11 years, I have read books on this subject, talked with Civil War historians, participated in symposiums, given Civil War presentations, discussed with living […]

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Written Words: “The General Died”

The casket was closed. Upstairs, Dr. McGuire and some of the other officers slept – or pretended to slumber. The candle flickered. He paced across the room and back, his boots echoing hollowly. General Lee knew. The Virginian governor knew. He had told them. The heart-stopping news would be sweeping through the army by now – […]

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What’s in a Name? Hell Itself

In a war that he piled one horrific scene on another, soldiers had plenty of opportunity to catch their own glimpses of hell: “Hell’s half-acre” at Spotsylvania’s Bloody Angle; the Hell Hole at New Hope Church during the Atlanta campaign; “the vortex of Hell” at Gettysburg’s Wheatfield. In that context, then, perhaps Horace Porter’s characterization […]

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The Death and Memory of Alexander Hays

The following excerpt, related to events 152 years ago today, is adapted from my new book Hell Itself: The Battle of the Wilderness, part of the Emerging Civil War Series. Proceeds from the sale of the book go to support the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield. “This morning was beautiful,” wrote Brigadier General Alexander Hays on May […]

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Authors Signings at the Emerging Civil War Symposium

We are happy to welcome the following authors to the Third Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge. Authors will be available Friday and Saturday for book signings, sales, and conversations. Edward Alexander: Dawn of Victory: The Breakthrough at Petersburg Sarah Kay Bierle: Blue, Gray & Crimson: A Story of Civilian Courage at Gettysburg […]

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