Showing results for "Chancellorsville"
Unpublished: A 5th Maine Musician Detailed Mundane and Crucial Events
Unpublished letters written by a 5-4½ musician first class offer historically rich insight into minor and major events involving the Army of the Potomac. Born in Saco, Maine circa 1834, Samuel Franklyn Parcher lived in Portland prior to enlisting in the 5th Maine Infantry Regiment on June 24, 1861. Mustered the same day, he promptly […]
Read more...Unpublished: The Pension Files: Unveiling the Humanity of the Civil War Soldier
ECW welcomes back guest author Douglas Ullman, Jr. As the North reeled from McClellan’s reverse in the Seven Days’ battles in July 1862, the United States Congress signed into a law an act that would have far reaching impacts for both the soldiers and sailors in the armed forces of the United States and the […]
Read more...Descendants of Revolutionary Riders in the Civil War
Most Americans know the story of Paul Revere and William Dawes and their midnight ride on April 18-19, 1775, through the Massachusetts countryside (Revere’s role is better know than Dawes’). I would wager that most readers of this blog know the stories of their Civil War ancestors, too. Revere had three grandchildren serve in the […]
Read more...Battle of Port Republic: “The Place To Try Mens Soulds”
Some accounts in the historiography of the 1862 Valley Campaign give the impression that only the Confederates marched long distances at speed. While the accounts of Stonewall Jackson’s “foot cavalry” are impressive, it must be remembered that these long marches did not endear Stonewall to his infantry at the time. Later, in memory and with […]
Read more...A Morning Surprise for “Stonewall” and His Staff Officers on June 8, 1862
Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson is famed in the history books for his surprise flank attack at Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863. Lost in the storytelling about Stonewall’s surprise at Chancellorsville and his Shenandoah Valley Campaign “brilliance” in 1862 is the account of when Jackson himself was ambushed and nearly captured. The surprise for Jackson […]
Read more...Book Review: The Oxford Handbook of the American Civil War
A good reference book bears several elements, beginning with its title: The Oxford Handbook of the American Civil War thus telegraphs its purpose. Another is heft: this one has 675 pages. Third is a big raft of contributors, and recognizable ones at that. Three dozen scholars are represented here, including Wilson Greene, Kenneth Noe, Michael […]
Read more...Week In Review: May 16-22, 2022
It’s a nice balance of east and west Civil War feature articles this week, along with some international flair, too… Monday, May 16: Question of the Week highlighted the history of the Gulf States. Edward Alexander wrote about a Pennsylvania family on Petersburg’s front lines.
Read more...America’s First Air Force: Union Aeronauts and McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign, Part Four – Davis, Lee, and Longstreet Were Standing in a Field
ECW welcomes back guest author Jeff Ballard Read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three. Serving as an airborne sentry was the first, and perhaps the most obvious role of the balloon on the battlefield and Lowe’s balloons gave McClellan unparalleled visibility. At an altitude of 1000 feet, and with good weather, observers could see […]
Read more...America’s First Air Force: Union Aeronauts and McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign, Part Three – Gaines’ Farm Station
ECW welcomes back guest author Jeff Ballard Read Part One and Part Two. The final week of May 1862 denoted the high-water mark of McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign as five corps of the Army of the Potomac partially encircled Richmond. By the 23rd, both the Gaines’ Farm and the Mechanicsville stations, nine and six miles north-northeast […]
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