Brother versus Brother
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The Maryland Monument at Gettysburg honors men from the state who fought in both sides of the conflict..
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Roundtable: What Civil War Topics Deserve Greater Attention?
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In our first-ever Roundtable this summer, we asked Civil Discourse's scholars what event most influenced the outcome of the Civil War. Our answers were wide-ranging, but they would have been familiar to many of our readers: the Emancipation Proclamation, the Battle of Antietam, the fall of Atlanta, and more. Today, we shift our attention to areas overlooked or left behind by scholars, asking our panel:
What Civil War topics deserve greater attention from historians and scholars?
Read MoreThe Reconstruction of Billy Mahone
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The descriptions of him are priceless. “He looked the image of a bantam rooster or a gamecock,” recalled a veteran. Perhaps it was his odd dress: “He wore a large sombrero hat, without plume, cocked on one side, and decorated with a division badge; he had a hunting-shirt of gray…while he wore boots, his trousers cover them; those boots were as small as a woman’s.” Or perhaps he was just plain odd, “the sauciest-looking manikin imaginable” and “the oddest and daintiest little specimen.” His five-foot stature and frail 125 pound frame didn’t help.
William "Billy" Mahone was a genuine character, and his life was as unique as his stature. Although a rising star in the Army of Northern Virginia by the end of the war, his post-war political career in the darkness of Reconstruction and Redemption is perhaps his true shining moment. “Bantam” Billy Mahone revealed his character not only as a fighter on the battlefield, but as a progressive on the political stage.
Read MoreRomanticizing Myths: the Role of Pop Culture in Civil War History
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About a month ago I attended Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede in Gatlinburg, TN - fully expecting to be horrified by what might ensue. But after I left I was hesitant to apply too much criticism to something that advertises itself simply as a dinner show and is very clearly meant to exist in the realm of imagination and exaggeration.
Recent events, however, have convinced me that ending the myths that endure from the Civil War is not simply the job of historians.
Read MoreEditorial: Removing Confederate Memory: How Far is Too Far?
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With all the discussions in recent months about eliminating Confederate symbols such as the Confederate flag, some have called for the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials as well, everything from the local monument in the town square to the Stone Mountain carving. How far go we go in deleting Confederate memory from American soviety?
Read MoreEditorial: Are Confederate Veterans United States Veterans?
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In the past few months, the public has been swept up in debates about the place of Confederate memory and identity in American culture and society. While the debates started mainly around the use of the Confederate flag in South Carolina in the wake of the tragic shooting there this summer, the discussion has spread far beyond that. For Americans, opening up the “can of worms” that is Civil War memory brings forward emotional arguments along the same fault lines of the 1860s because of how deep the war’s legacy runs in our national story. One of the arguments that I came across a few times was whether or not Confederate veterans were considered veterans of the United States; which, if they were, would impact other arguments about use of Confederate symbols at cemeteries and other memorial events or the place of Confederate monuments in society.
Read MoreConfederate Meccas: The Unexpected Legacy of the Civil War in East Tennessee
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So what is the legacy of the Civil War in East Tennessee? The short answer is, not a good one. War came to East Tennessee in the form of guerilla conflicts that harassed the lesser-developed portions of the United States in 1861.
Read MoreA Challenge Issued: The Hartwood Church Raid
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Four hundred cavalrymen splashed across the icy waters of the Rappahannock River in central Virginia, moving north into enemy territory. The Confederate cavaliers, undeterred by the bitter cold and snowfall nearly eighteen inches deep, consisted of some of the Old Dominion’s finest: portions of the First, Second and Third Virginia Cavalry. At the gray-clad column’s head was twenty-eight year-old Fitzhugh Lee, nephew to Robert E. Lee and already a grim veteran of war’s horrors. On this day, February 24, 1863, Brigadier General Fitz Lee led his men across the Rappahannock in reconnaissance, seeking to determine what movements, if any, the Union Army of the Potomac was undertaking around Fredericksburg. The mission’s directive had come from Robert E. Lee himself.
Read MoreIs Military History Antiquarianism?: Alexander Rose’s Men of War
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In June, Alexander Rose (known for Washington’s Spies which AMC turned into its drama series Turn) released his newest book, Men of War: The American Soldier in Combat at Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima. A direct successor of John Keegan’s groundbreaking The Face of Battle, Rose seeks to create the American version by focusing on American troops in the three iconic battles listed in the title. Like Keegan, Rose wrote the book determined to find the common participant’s experience of the battles, instead of a traditional, top-down military history of the tactics and maneuverings of the armies.
In July, the New York Times published a highly critical review of Men of War written by Andrew J. Bacevich. Bacevich tears Rose apart, even stating that were was no creativity or genius in the work. While every book deserves some critiques, his review sparked discussion and debate among historians, prompting a response on H-War from Rose himself.
Read MoreDid Robert E. Lee Kill A Man? Did Douglas Southall Freeman Cover It Up?
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Tucked away in a brief footnote within later editions of Douglas Southall Freeman's monumental four volume R.E. Lee, the famous Civil War historian penned a short account of an intriguing and "unhappy" episode in Robert E. Lee's younger life. The young Lee spent the summer of 1835 surveying the boundary between Ohio and Michigan Territory. Buried in a Freeman footnote, we learn the following:
An unhappy incident of Lee's experience on this survey was the accidental death of a Canadian lighthouse keeper "in a scuffle" over the use of his tower for running one of the survey lines. The only reference to this, so far as is known, is in Lee to G.W. Cullum, July 31, 1835...A search of Canadian records yields no details.
Did Robert E. Lee kill a man?
Stone Heroes North and South: The Connection between Mount Rushmore and Stone Mountain
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One displays the heroes of the Confederacy—Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson—all on horseback riding across the wide gray canvas that is Stone Mountain near Atlanta, Georgia. The other features four bust-style depictions of famous American presidents—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln—gazing formally from Mount Rushmore over the Black Hills of South Dakota. Each was created out of pride for heritage and nation. Each inspires awe at its size and wonder at the artistic skill necessary to carve such massive.
And each have very different meanings. One is a very nationalistic and patriotic piece featuring four of America’s favorite presidents that was conceived to bring tourism into the area. The other is a monument to the Confederacy led by Southerners who wanted to honor and sustain the Confederate legacy. One honors the United States of America, the other the Confederate States of America. They stand a nation apart, both figuratively and literally (in terms of locations), yet they are connected by the life of one man, the sculptor who set out to complete both projects and ended up finishing neither.
Read More“There is Nothing so American as our National Parks:” Administering the Civil War
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Have you ever wondered how Civil War battlefields became national parks? It all began with a vision, an opportunity, and a car ride with FDR...
Read More"Gallant Conduct": Young Soldiers in the Civil War, Part IV
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The riot began when Dick King punched a Confederate guard named Lieutenant Donnelly. It was hardly a prudent move, but it was nonetheless an understandable one; Donnelly had taken from him a rosette containing a picture of Dick's mother and sister and stomped on it. Dick's friend, 17-year-old Ralph Bates, whom Dick had nicknamed Billy (for no apparent reason; they had become friends after their capture and known each other casually for a couple of days before Dick bothered to ask his new friend's real name) seemed support his actions, even though both boys were beaten unconscious and chained together in the hold of a ship as they were sent farther and farther south, on a journey that would end at the gates of Andersonville Prison.
In fact, though Billy and Dick's story represents some of the most dramtic circumstances faced by the Civil War's young soldiers, the lengths to which they were willing to go for each other are hardly unusual. In time of need, boys frequently proved themselves willing to do whatever needed to be done, often at great personal risk. No history of the participation of underage soldiers in the Civil War, however brief, should skip the chance to tell at least a few of these fantastic, dramatic tales.
Read More"A Comrade Worth Having": Young Soldiers in the Civil War, Part III
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The experience of figuring out how to wear such awful uniforms was the first of many experiences Harry and Andy would share, not only as lifelong friends, but as comrades in arms. They went into battle side by side, tented together, and supported each other through the loss of friends and family.
Like many boy soldiers, the close friendships he formed were one of the hallmarks of army life for Harry Kieffer. He is far from alone in this; although their experiences in the army differed wildly, all of those who recorded their experiences later remembered their friends fondly and those who were lucky enough to survive their service often worked hard to stay in touch.
Read More"Wrap the World In Fire," Part III: Confederate Foreign Policy with Great Britain
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"No you dare not make war on cotton. No power on earth dares to make war upon it. Cotton is king!" -South Carolina Senator James Hammond
To a certain extent, the Confederacy's foreign policy can be summed up by the bold words of James Hammond above. As my previous posts have examined examined possible reasons for British intervention in the Civil War and Union efforts to prevent such an intervention, it is time to turn our eyes South and explore Confederate foreign policy with Great Britain. The Confederacy built much of its policy around "King Cotton," and the result was a foreign policy more disastrous than many could imagine.
Suicide by Enemy Fire? The Cases of Hill and Garnett
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Death is an occupational hazard for the soldier; it is a basic rule of warfare that there will be casualties. A soldier faces death when they enter battle, and accepts that they must be willing to die for their country, their cause, or whatever motivation has brought them to the front line. But it there a point where being willing to die becomes wanting to die, and does that desire for death border on the question of suicide? Let us examine two well known Confederate cases, those of Richard Garnett and Ambrose Powell Hill. Now, I understand that painting one or both of these men’s deaths as suicides might ruffle a few feathers, but that is not necessarily my purpose there. I merely want to put the question out there. Did they want to die? Can suicide result from committing to risky behaviors outside the necessity of the situation, not just intentionally harming oneself? Were these two cases “suicide by cop” type situations or were these just casualties of war?
Read More"Wrap the World in Fire," Part II: Union Foreign Policy with Great Britain
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Abraham Lincoln and Union leaders realized from the war's outset the grave threat British intervention posed. Intervention likely meant successful Confederate independence. No matter what form, be it mediation, recognition, or literal intervention, any attempt by the British to interfere was based upon separation of North and South. The causes of the Union and Confederacy were mutually exclusive; either the Union remained whole or the Confederacy earned independence. British intervention effectively destroyed the cause of preserving the Union.
Read More"Wrap the World in Fire," Part I: The Possibility of British Intervention in the American Civil War
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“If any European Power provokes a war, we shall not shrink from it. A contest between Great Britain and the United States would wrap the world in fire.” United States Secretary of State William Seward uttered these bold words in the summer of 1861, while his nation tore apart at the seams. Yet despite the secession of eleven Southern states, Seward pondered the possibility of war with Great Britain, the world's foremost power. Why? The answer lies in the high-stakes game of diplomacy that was played by both the Union and Confederacy with Great Britain during the American Civil War. For the Union, foreign intervention in the conflict was a constant threat, one that might ensure Southern independence. Conversely, the Confederacy constantly sought and expected foreign recognition and intervention, seeking support and validation for their secession.
Read MoreBook Review: Walt Whitman’s Drum Taps, The Complete 1865 Edition
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This new volume, published at the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War and the original publication of Drum-Taps, seeks to restore the original Civil War volume for readers. By reconstructing the original work, editor Lawrence Kramer, intends to recapture the original voice and intention of Whitman’s poetry. With an excellent introduction and annotations within the poems, this new edition is an excellent resource for those interested in poetry, American literature, or the Civil War.
Read MoreThe Importance of an "Angel": Kirkland at Fredericksburg
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Fredericksburg is a largely unmonumented battlefield. The most prominent monument on the southern end of the field is the “Meade pyramid” largely inaccessible to most visitors; besides that the remains of earthworks stand as a testament to what once occurred there ornamented by a few cannon the park service has placed to represent their use. There are a few small monuments scattered through the town and up to the heights which mocked the efforts of Union soldiers in 1862. The only large monuments to a body of troops, like those you would expect to see at Gettysburg or Antietam, stand in the National Cemetery, and there are only three of them. But there is one monument so large and prominent that is captures the attention of every visitor who walks down the Sunken Road, and that is the monument to Richard Kirkland.
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