Showing results for "Chancellorsville"

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 […]

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“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 […]

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“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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