REUNION: Regimental Esprit De Corps
The debate over how we can apply (or combine) qualitative and quantitative research to Civil War soldiers has led some to proclaim that soldier studies has run into a “scholarly logjam.” The overwhelming amount of soldier letters alone produces a problematic situation. Historians can cherry pick from a plethora of primary sources that, indeed, allows us (if we wish) to make a claim on just about any ideological basis. So…
Read more...BOOK REVIEW: Gettysburg: The Last Invasion
Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo. Alfred A. Knopf, 2013. Cloth, ISBN: 0307594084. $35.00. I am not a big “battle study” book guy; I have maybe a shelf and a half dedicated to this genre of historiography. It’s not because it is beneath me, but because they are above me. I am not a military historian on that level. I know the general movements of important divisions and…
Read more...The cause of the Union and the Freedom of five million Blacks
Spent much of today working/research for yet another book on Civil War Memory (I am a good year away from a compete manuscript!) that focuses on the soldiers and how they remembered such issues as patriotism, Union, slavery, ect., as expressed in their reunion association publications. Though historians emphasize that Civil War veterans were citizen first and not professional soldiers, these men hardly talked nor acted like it as they…
Read more...The Glistening of Bayonets
I’ve read it countless times in soldier’s letters, “I saw the glistening bayonets of heavy masses of infantry…” or something to that effect. The impact of seeing a brigade (or larger) of the enemy in their front with bayonets fixed cannot be overstated. However, there is some debate as to the use and effectiveness bayonets had on combat during the American Civil War. For example, The 1870 Surgeon General’s Medical…
Read more...Battle of Big Black River Bridge
Colonel William H. Kinsman of the 23rd Iowa Infantry was a hero on May 17, 1863. After his smashing defeat at Champion’s Hill, Confederate Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton decided one last time to stop or at least slow Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s advance on Vicksburg at Big Black River and an important bridge that resided there. Brigadier General Michael K. Lawler’s Second Brigade (21, 22, 23 Iowa, 11…
Read more...Book Review: The 14th Brooklyn Regiment in the Civil War
The 14th Brooklyn Regiment in the Civil War A History and Roster BY: Frank Callenda Regimental histories written today are a labor of love. A thankless task and one that does not pay well — you will never recoup the worth of time and money spent in monetary terms. But once again, that is not why we write them. With that said, Callenda clearly wrote about a group of men…
Read more...Milliken’s Bend A Civil War Battle in History and Memory
Milliken’s Bend: A Civil War Battle in History and Memory by Linda Barnickel Hardcover, 320 pages Linda Barnickel is described as “an archivist and freelance writer with master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and The Ohio State University.” Though not possessing a PhD, Barnickel is truly a historian and proves as much with her fine book, Milliken’s Bend: A Civil War Battle in History and Memory. Her work has…
Read more...New Letter: Know that we are trying to do our duty to the best of our ability
Charles L. Harris, born August 24th, 1834 in Bridgeton, New Jersey, was a prominent Madison resident when the war broke out. He immediately enlisted and became a Lieutenant in the First Wisconsin regiment. Three months later he welcomed the rank of Colonel in the Eleventh Wisconsin, at the age of 27. A confident man of medium height (he stood 5’8”), Harris was well educated, having graduated from West Point, and…
Read more...This was done by an Alligator
Whenever I watch Swamp People I think back to the Civil War soldier trekking through the swamps and bayous of Louisiana or Mississippi and wonder how often they encountered alligators? I know, there are a ton of more educational topics to discuss — who cares, my blog! Alfred E. Waldo and his fellow 35th Massachusetts Infantry members arrived at Vicksburg, MS, on June 16th, 1863 during Grant’s siege of the…
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