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…

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…

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…

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…

Major General Joseph Hooker actually had a pretty good strategic plan in place before the Battle of Chancellorsville. He intended to secretly march part of his army northwest, cross the Rappahannock and attack Lee’s rear. Meanwhile, with Major General John Sedgwick and his 30,000 men at Fredericksburg, Hooker intended to hit the Rebels with a large double envelopment. He also initiated a cavalry raid (Major General George Stoneman) to Lee’s…

I’ve been reviewing with my APUSH students for their upcoming AP Exam and thought about soldier studies and a few concepts that we cover over and over again in class, one being: Levels of Questions. Obviously as good stewards of history we know that how we frame our questions is very important and that we must use critical control when we do. With regard to history we focus on the…

This interview would not have been possible without the help of the fine folks at Savas Beatie publishing. Lance Herdegen is the former director of the Institute of Civil War Studies at Carroll University. He previously worked for the United Press International (UPI) news service covering national politics and civil rights. He presently is an historical consultant for the Civil War Museum of the Upper Middle West. Mr. Herdegen is…

From what I can gather (discussed here and here) the main theme of the FCWH conference in Gettysburg was for a call to move our “public memory” of the war beyond a heroic understanding of soldiers and battle. I understand this mainly to be Battlefield Tours and such, as certainly within the classroom not a lot of this of this takes place from my experiences? Sure, for example, discussion about…

Just this past week historians (academic, digital, amateur) and educators gathered to discuss the future of Civil War history, here during our sesquicentennial celebration and moving forward. The depth and width of exploration during the conference (according to the program) is impressive. Topics included: Civil War memory, teaching the war, gender, race, religion, battlefields, generals, leadership, and others. All wrapped up with a final day Panel that considered the central…