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Tag Archives: Petersburg
The Many Deaths of A.P. Hill
I hope to share more about the story of A.P. Hill’s death at this year’s Symposium. Previous historians and two of the participants themselves have ironed out the well-known event, so I am basing my presentation on the sequence through … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Memory, Newspapers
Tagged A.P. Hill, Fort Gregg, Fort Mahone, National Tribune, Petersburg
6 Comments
Bucklin’s Hospital & Camp: “I scarcely ever even stopped” (Part 13)
In Hospital and Camp, A Woman’s Record of Thrilling Incidents Among the Wounded in the Late War by Sophronia E. Bucklin It’s Week 13 of our read-along with extra historical notes and images. If you want to catch up on the … Continue reading
“From Son & Brother, The Soldier Boy”: Crossing The James River, Heading For Petersburg
In June 1864, the armies gathered at Petersburg, Virginia. For campaign or battle anniversaries, I enjoy finding primary sources or battle reports that I haven’t seen or explore before. Last night—while procrastinating on my current events and Civil War history … Continue reading
Lee’s Last Great Field Victory: A Reassessment of Cold Harbor
ECW welcomes guest author Nathan Provost. On June 3, 1864, Federal soldiers waited anxiously to assault the seven-mile-long Confederate line near Mechanicsville, Virginia. The largest engagement of the battle of Cold Harbor was about to take place. Unbeknownst to them, … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Campaigns
Tagged Adam Badeau, Alfred Young III, Ambrose Burnside, Battle of Cold Harbor, David Hunter, E. Porter Alexander, George G. Meade, Gordon Rhea, Henry Halleck, J.F.C. Fuller, Jubal Early, Petersburg, Philip H. Sheridan, Richard Anderson, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant
8 Comments
Ending The War: A Union Prisoner on Lee’s Retreat
First Lieutenant Elias Brookings, Jr., 31st Maine Infantry, found himself in an unusual situation at the end of the war. His unit had been overrun during the frantic fighting around Fort Mahone on April 2, 1865. The Federals ultimately won … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Common Soldier
Tagged 31st Maine Infantry, Appomattox Campaign, Elias Brookings, Fort Mahone, Petersburg
2 Comments
Fighting Rebels and Fighting Fires: The Life of George F. Griffin (Part 1/2)
Sometime around midnight of April 19, 1880, a defective range stove started a fire on the first floor of No. 18, Travers Street, in Boston, Massachusetts. A passing patrolman in the police department saw the flames and raced to a … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Campaigns, Common Soldier, Personalities
Tagged 13th Maine Volunteers, 56th Massachusetts Infantry, Alcander Griffin, Appomattox, Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Battle of the Wilderness, Boston Fire Department, George F. Griffin, Petersburg, Stephen M. Weld, Thaddeus Griffin', the crater, Z.B. Adams
3 Comments
Greene’s A Campaign of Giants Selected for ECW Book Award
Emerging Civil War has chosen A. Wilson Greene’s A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg (UNC Press, 2018) as the recipient of this year’s ECW Book Award. The Emerging Civil War Book Award recognizes a work of Civil War history … Continue reading
Kill General Lee: A Yankee Officer Opposes Reconciliation
We’ve all heard the simplified story. Confederate veterans roll up their battle flags at Appomattox and Robert E. Lee charges them with being good citizens as they return to the United States. Impressed by this act of good faith and … Continue reading
“Move at the Sound of the Bugle, …Straight to the Front”
The 2nd Rhode Island Infantry Regiment formed in June 1861 and fought from First Bull Run through the Appomattox Campaign. By the opening days of April 1865, Elisha Hunt Rhodes – who had enlisted as volunteer corporal – promoted to … Continue reading
A.P. Hill’s Death Wish?: The Problem with Using Quotes
Lieutenant General Ambrose Powell Hill rode to his death during the immediate aftermath of the April 2, 1865 breakthrough at Petersburg. Hill sought to meet Major General Henry Heth at the division commander’s Pickrell house headquarters. Instead he encountered Pennsylvania … Continue reading
