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A March Made in Georgia: Sherman’s Famous March to the Sea
Today, we are pleased to welcome guest author Derek Maxfield. One hundred-fifty years ago this fall, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman led an army of sixty-thousand men on a militarily-unorthodox...
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James Wilson and the Battle of Nashville, Part I
James Wilson, seated in the center facing the viewer’s right, with his staff at City Point Virginia in 1864. Courtesy of the Library of Congress The weather was gradually changing, perhaps for the...
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On Victory
Douglas MacArthur famously said, “In war, there is no substitute for victory.” Yet as one looks at the Civil War, many battles seem not to offer a clear winner, or at the least, they offer a...
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The Swamp Lizard Gets His Nickname
Federal soldiers moving across the Salkehatchie.Courtesy of the Library of Congress. As the second week of February, 1865 opened Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s armies were nearing the South Carolina...
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The Swamp Lizard Turns the Flank: Joseph Mower’s Assault at Bentonville
Joseph Mower. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Reveling in victory, Maj. Gen. Joseph Mower watched as the enemy to his immediate front collapsed, the Confederates scampering to the rear for safety....
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Day Three: The Road to Vicksburg
Part seven in a series “You’re heading into banjo country,” a friend of ours warns us. He’s worked at Vicksburg, and we’ve asked him for advice on following Grant’s route across Mississippi. We spent...
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Whiskey and War: The Case of Joseph Mower at the Battle of Corinth
Soldiers statue outside the Corinth Interpretive Center. Over the course of the last year and a half, one of the officers who has grabbed my attention is Maj. Gen. Joseph Mower. Having served in the...
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Some Reflections on William Tecumseh Sherman
I must admit, it is exceptionally difficult to reflect on William Tecumseh Sherman. No question, he was one of the most enigmatic individuals of the American Civil War. The mere mention of his name in...
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The Stakes of Vicksburg
On April 30, and May 1, 1863, Union Major General U.S. Grant crossed his Army of the Tennessee over the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg. He then cut loose from his supply sources and plunged...
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Winfield Scott Reconsidered
On this day in 1841, precisely 175 years ago, Major General Winfield Scott became Commanding General of the U.S. Army. He held this post for 20 years and four months, longer than any other Commanding...
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Question of the Week: 9/26-10/2/16
Would you consider Vicksburg a combined campaign? How dependent was General Grant on the naval forces of Admiral David D. Porter?
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Book Review: “A Civil War Captain and His Lady”
It is a rare thing when a series of letters over 150 years old is found intact, but to find two sets of them, in response to each other–well, that is cause for celebration. Author Gene Barr has been...
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1860’s Politics: The Challenges of 1862
Obviously, there wasn’t a presidential election in 1862, but races for the seats in the U.S. Congress were very important. Who would gain control of the legislative branch? How would the outcome of the...
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The Second City
The Civil War defined America – that statement is heard often in many quarters. We use that phrase in ECW’s tagline. Many effects from that conflict are quite visible in today’s America, while others...
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The Great Naval Leaders
On May 10 I lectured about the Battle of Midway to Old Dominion University’s Institute of Learning in Retirement. Over the course of a wonderful discussion, I assessed one of the U.S. commanders,...
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From Champion Hill
In honor of the Civil War Trust’s announcement that it has preserved more land at the Champion Hill battlefield, site of the largest battle of the Vicksburg campaign. I took this photo at Champion...
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Gen. Isaac F. Quinby: A Math Professor Goes to War
Brig. Gen. Isaac F. Quinby It is no secret that I spend a lot of time in the 19th century. The Victorians are endlessly fascinating and the Civil War was a defining, if incredibly destructive, moment...
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Into the Volcano with the Ironclad CSS Arkansas
Vicksburg Part I of this tale left the lonely Arkansas and Captain Isaac N. Brown on July 15, 1862, facing a gauntlet of Yankee deep-water warships, steam rams, river ironclads, gunboats, and bomb...
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Turning Point: Assault on Battery Wagner by the 54th Massachusetts
Around a small hamlet in southern Pennsylvania, Robert E. Lee’s vaunted Army of Northern Virginia was stymied and driven back after three days, July 1st through the 3rd, of bloodletting at the Battle...
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The Mississippi River Squadron and the “Great Artery of America” (Part 2)
Emerging Civil War welcomes back guest author Kristen M. Pawlak Part 1 can be found here. As the first of the major naval battles to secure the Mississippi River from 1862 until 1863, Fort Henry also...
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