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…

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…

‘The Gettysburg Story’ film dramatically tells the history of the greatest battle fought in the Western Hemisphere. Narrated by Stephen Lang (Avatar, Gettysburg) and directed by Jake Boritt, the stories of characters who experience the battle come alive through dynamic, innovative imagery that captures the historic battleground as you have never seen it before. Indeed, had a chance over the weekend to watch Jake Boritt’s stunning portrayal of that pivotal…

There’s a new Civil War movie in post-production (meaning its already filmed) that reminds me of Cold Mountain based on its storyline, it’s called, The Keeping Room. It’s by first time writer Julia Hart. The movie stars Sam Worthington who I really liked in Avatar! Here’s the synopsis from the Internet Movie Database: Three Southern women – two sisters and one African American slave – left without men in the…

Faces of the Civil War: An Album of Union Soldiers and Their Stories BY: Ronald S. Coddington Hardcover: 280 pages, 77 halftones Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (August 3, 2004) ISBN-10: 0801878764 ISBN-13: 978-0801878763 This book has obviously been out for a while now and how I came to possess it had nothing to do with the book other than it had a snippet on a soldier in the…