Showing results for "Atlanta Campaign"
Book Review: “Radical Warrior: August Willich’s Journey from German Revolutionary to Union General”
In Radical Warrior: August Willich’s Journey from German Revolutionary to Union General, author David Dixon rescues another “B” list historical figure from obscurity and puts him front and center in the American and German narrative. Dixon, a public historian and Civil War author, earned his M.A. from the University of Massachusetts in 2003. His first book, The […]
Read more...The Immortal 17: Civil War Veterans on the Active Army List in 1909, Part 1
While skimming old newspapers online, I discovered a fascinating article published on May 30, 1909, in the New-York Tribune. It was titled, “Memorial Day This Year Finds Sixteen Veterans of The Civil War Still on The Active List of U.S. Army Officers.” This discovery sent me down a research rabbit hole, something any historian is […]
Read more...C’mon, Cump!
In his recent, admiring biography of William Tecumseh Sherman, Brian Holden Reid terms him a “dazzling literary stylist.” Well, watch out for that razzle-dazzle, at least in Sherman’s Memoirs (1875). I am not the first to notice that in his recollections Cump glided through or omitted entirely stuff that didn’t make him look good.
Read more...“I Think, Boys, I am Done For!”: A Prussian General in Union Blue Endures Trying Times in Georgia
ECW welcomes back guest author David T. Dixon August Willich heard the commotion and leapt onto his horse, desperate to rejoin his command.[1] Amid the smoke and confusion, he galloped directly into McNair’s Arkansans, who were mopping up what was left of Kirk’s broken brigade. James Stone, a volunteer aide to General McNair, confronted Willich […]
Read more...Sacred Duty – Sherman Honors Thomas E.G. Ransom
In June of 1884, General William T. Sherman stood before the members of St. Louis’ newest Grand Army of the Republic post. Just having retired from the U.S. Army and residing in the Gateway City, Sherman “was invited by several of the posts of the Grand Army of the Republic to join them, but learning […]
Read more...Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard in the National Tribune
I’m doing a lot of reading in the National Tribune, “the premier newspaper published for Union veterans” in Washington, 1877-1943. This is thanks to 1) its availability online and 2) Dr. Richard A. Sauers’ comprehensive index to all of its articles (Savas Beatie, 2018)–I quote Rick above. There’s tons of material here: the newspaper published […]
Read more...Logan’s Attack at Resaca
The battle of Resaca was, numbers wise, the largest battle fought in the state of Georgia, with 158,787 men engaged on both sides. Fought on this date in 1864, Resaca was also the first major battle of the Atlanta Campaign. After a failed attempt to gain Joe Johnston’s Army of Tennessee’s rear there, both sides […]
Read more...William McLain: On the Subject of Surrendering
ECW welcomes guest author Dan Masters. By August 1864, William Mosby McLain of Co. B, 32nd Ohio Infantry had become an expert on the ins and outs of surrendering. Having taken part in two of the largest mass surrenders of the Civil War and narrowly escaping individual capture in battle, he experienced the “art” of […]
Read more...Book Review: “The Fight for the Old North State: The Civil War in North Carolina, January—May 1864”
The Confederacy faced a series of ever-increasing problems by the winter of 1863-1864. Logistically, they were running out of supplies. Politically, the war that seemed to have no end to its bloody lists was wearing down the morale of the Southern people. There were whispers of pro-peace politicians who were starting to believe that maybe […]
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