(*Jesters is not a typo!) First it was in Wisconsin earlier this year where students wanted to tear down Abraham Lincoln’s statue citing that he was a symbol of “white supremacy.” Now in Portland they are tearing down Lincoln statues. Presentism in its pure ignorant form. It got even worse when a so-called opponent of the students who wanted to erase our history, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank, voiced concerns about…

After 12 years since the original hardcover publication McFarland has decided to release a paperback edition as it as sold well. This is very exciting. This volume details the Civil War experiences of the 11th Wisconsin Volunteers as they traveled more than 9000 miles in the service of their country. The book looks at the attitude prevalent in Wisconsin at the start of the war and discusses the background of…

Summer of 1862 Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis’s Army of the Southwest reached Helena, Arkansas, on July 12, after a grueling and toilsome march. Though Curtis wanted to secure the state for the Union, he was forced to move away from the capital towards the Mississippi River in order to procure a consistent line of communication and supply. The move to Helena secured the town for the remainder of the…

[Extreme Civil War: Guerrilla Warfare, Environment, and Race on the Trans-Mississippi Frontier by Matthew M. Stith (Louisiana State University Press, 2016). Hardcover, map, photos, notes, bibliography, index. Pages: 230. ISBN:978-0-8071-6314-6. $42.50] The Civil War as total war has been a topic of discussion on this blog and on many others; not to mention for a long time in publications and among historians. Though Mark Grimsley’s study The Hard Hand War, for…

The Civil War era as a topic for Hollywood films has resulted in at best mixed results. Recent films like Lincoln and Glory were enjoyable and their presentation of history admirable. Remember, they are movies and will not ever be historically accurate enough for people. The Free State of Jones is based mostly on a book by Victoria E. Bynum. The movie tells the true story of Newton Knight who…

There is a map (held by the Library of Congress) that surfaced online recently that depicts Washington, D.C., and in particular the White House. It was noted that at one time, within sight of the White House there were 50 saloons and 108 ‘bawdy-houses’ (brothels) in the infamous Murder Bay neighborhood. It is taken from a newspaper clipping from the 1890s and can be found at Slate. According to the…

Dr. Jane Johansson is a professor of history at Rogers State University and operates The Trans-Mississippian Blog. She was kind enough to read my The 11th Wisconsin in the Civil War book and afterwards asked if I’d do an interview about the book and my experiences. It was honor to be asked and I was happy to do so. Here’s a sample: Several months ago, Chris Wehner contacted me and…

Our understanding and interpretation of the American Civil War relies partially on the death toll. Indeed, with regard to most conflicts the death toll is usually one of the first facts (data) that is discussed. The true death toll of the Civil War has been the subject of debate throughout the years; as well as on numerous blogs and websites including on here. Recent studies have determined that we probably have…

Finally received my copies of the February 2014 North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal which published my article “The Confederate Attack on Washington, N.C.” In it I explore the nature of urban combat as the sacking of Washington, N.C. was one of the earliest known examples of fighting that involved citizens within a city who not only were victims, but took an active role in the engagement in some instances. The…