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admin — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 20:15:51 +0000

I will contact who I can, but please update your Civil War blogrolls and remove Blog4History and add my Civil War blog: Civil War Voices @ my Civil War soldier letters archive: Soldierstudies.org.

B4H is becoming less and less a Civil War blog so I would appreciate you passing the word. Thanks much!

Was Keith Olbermann Right? Civil War Nothing to Celebrate!

admin — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:52:57 +0000

I remember back in November (busy time of year for me and didn’t get a chance to discuss it) when former MSNBC host of The Countdown with Keith Olbermann, proposed the question, Why would the any state want to celebrate the Civil War?

Olbermann Quotes:

“The 150th anniversary of, you know, treason and defense of servitude and murder and suicide, billed as a joyous night of fun, dancing, food and drink… Don’t forget the silent slave auction.”

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, treasonous secession that started the Civil War and was the direct result of slavery, happy birthday to you.”

“And as part of the continuing historical revisionism that tries to claim the Civil War had nothing to do with slavery, the secession celebrations have begun. Yay, treason, yay.”

The thing about Olbermann is, you have to know when he is being, well Olbermann… Anyway.

However, it is an interesting question. With the Sesquicentennial, how do we remember the war?

The debates will rage about the cause(s) of the Civil War, could the South have won, why did the North win, ect. There are also heated discussion over who fought, why they fought, and why some didn’t fight? The motives and the experiences!

So, should we “celebrate” the event? The question’s answer seems obvious to me, nothing to celebrate. Olbermann was right, as much as it pains me to say that, the Civil War was a tragedy and the institution of slavery was as well. No balls, banquets or dinner parties, please. Remember it, study it and learn from it. Let’s not break down the nuances of the word “celebrate,” we know what the word stands for. We should not remember the Civil War like we “celebrate” the 4th of July, right?

But it seems I am in the minority here, do a simple Google search for the Civil War and Celebration and the results are troubling! Lots of Celebrating going on! Oh well…

Civil War Reenactment Gone Too Far?

admin — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:35:27 +0000

This past weekend in St. Louis a special Civil War Reenactment took place on the steps of the Old State House, only it was not your typical gun smoking affair. This time a group of historians and local residents reenacted what they called a “last slave sale.”

From the article:

The site of the “auction,” the Old Court House, has a long history related to the slave trade. It was the site of public auctions of all kinds of property at sheriff’s sales, usually in the course of settling estates or enforcing court orders for damages stemming from lawsuits. The Old Court House was also the site of the first hearing of the infamous Dred Scott case.

The auction, as expected” drew some criticism. If you’re interested here it is:

I think the intentions were good and the presentation effective.

How Do We View The Confederate Soldier

admin — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 20:46:43 +0000

Civil War Times editor Dana Shoaf has been doing off and on Video Blogs addressing numerous topics, his latest is an interesting editorial concerning how we remember the Confederate Soldier:

Civil War Letters: Wife Writes of Missing Husband

admin — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 00:44:07 +0000

Through out the years I have come across Civil War letters that I thought were excellent content wise, but just never fell in with the research I was doing. Therefore I want to start sharing these letters with you here, from time to time. The first one:

Albert P. Wright was a 44 year old carpenter when he enlisted as a private on May 13, 1864. He was mustered into Co. I of the 58th Massachusetts Infantry. Albert was captured less than a month later, on June 7, 1864, at Cold Harbor, Va., and was sent to Andersonville Prison, Ga., on June 21, 1864. There is no further information known about Private Wright other than he never returned home from the war. Wright undoubtedly died at Andersonville and is one of many unknown Union soldiers who died there, a fact unknown to his wife Nancy at the time she wrote this letter.

Gilsum, June 23, 1865

Dear Sir,

I beg leave to address you hoping to obtain some advice and council from you in regard to my state aid to which the city of Roxbury talks of discontinuing on account of not being able to learn anything of my husband who was taken prisoner one year ago this month. When he wrote me on the 19 of June/64 he was well but was a prisoner of war and have been able to learn nothing of him since. In case that he should not be living at this present time should I not be entitled to state aid for one year according to the new law? If so, will not the government stand by and defend and maintain the laws she makes? If not, I do not see the use of making laws. A lawyer in Keene told me the other day that I should be entitled to one year’s state aid together with a pension should he not be living. I wish you would be so kind as to tell me whether this is so and if true inform me what can be done to make the Treasurer of Roxbury do his duty. My state aid for Feb. I never rec’d at all. He says he sent it to me by mail and as he did not have it registered I must lose it. I wish you would tell me whether I can recover it of him or not, and if so I wish you would compel him to do his duty in that respect. I have a family of small children to maintain and by his aid is all I have to depend upon. I am unable to earn anything for my health is not good and I want all the law will allow me, and if he is not honest he ought to be looked after. I wrote to my husband’s Captain in May. He wrote me he had not been able to learn anything of him as yet but would inform me as soon as he did. He may be so emaciated that he is not able to come home quite yet and I think it not right to stop my aid until something definite is known at least. I suppose you have no means of ascertaining anything of him at any rate. I will tell you his name and Co., and Regt. He enlisted last May in Readville, Mass. in the Army of the Potomac, belonged in the 58 Regt., Co. I, Mass. Vols., his name Albert P. Wright of Gilsum, N.H. I hope you will excuse the liberty I take in writing you for I think Mr. Dudley not acting according to the laws of the state. Someone ought to apprise you of it. I hope you will be so kind as to favor me with a reply soon.

Yours with respect,

Mrs. Nancy Wright

Deliver Us from This Cruel War: The Civil War Letters of Lieutenant Joseph J. Hoyle, 55th North Carolina Infantry

admin — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 21:56:46 +0000

[Cross posted over at my other site, Soldier Studies.org]

Deliver Us from This Cruel War:
The Civil War Letters of Lieutenant Joseph J. Hoyle, 55th North Carolina Infantry
Front Cover
BY: Joseph J. Hoyle, Jeffrey M. Girvan

Title: Deliver Us from This Cruel War: The Civil War Letters of Lieutenant Joseph J. Hoyle, 55th North Carolina Infantry
Publisher: McFarland, 2010
ISBN: 0786447575, 9780786447572
Length: 233 pages

Joseph J. Hoyle enlisted in the Confederate Army in May 1862 as a private. By the time of his death in September 1864, he was serving as a lieutenant in the 55th Regiment North Carolina Troops. The personal letters of this soldier, supplemented by the editor’s overview of the events and actions of the regiment, offer a view of the common soldier as well as battlefield and camp culture. The letters also reveal, among other things, how this former schoolteacher urged his fellow soldiers forward at Gettysburg despite a sense that the cause was lost.

Jeffrey M. Girvan is a social studies professional development specialist with Prince William County Schools in Virginia.

McFarland and Mr. Girvan have given us one of the better first hand accounts of the Civil War that I have read in some time. Reminiscent of Stephen E. Ambroses A Wisconsin boy in Dixie: Civil War letters of James K. Newton, Girvan’s subject, Joseph J. Hoyle, is an exception and prolific writer who had some interesting and keen insights of the war. Girvan does a far better job of editing his book than does Ambrose, but nonetheless they are counterparts to a degree.

Hoyle was a spiritual man who loved his wife Sarah deeply, but found himself in the middle of a Civil War that would ultimately claim his life. The letters are often touching and poignant, and though Hoyle’s religious belief allow him a somewhat unusual reaction to war, the battlefield did test his convictions and the length of the war his resolve, though he never stopped believing in the fight and wrote home many times as a correspondent to a local newspaper.

Girvan offers up a nice introductory essay that touches on the historiography of social history of the Civil War soldier, and then continues with excellent historical overviews for each chapter along with solid historical exposition. The presentation is very solid with nice illustrations and maps, and Girvan’s timely and informative elicitation makes this book an excellent contribution to Civil War soldier studies.

–Chris Wehner

HBO’s upcoming documentary called WARTORN 1861-2010

admin — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 01:50:47 +0000

Received some info from the good folks at HBO about their upcoming documentary called WARTORN 1861-2010 from executive producer James Gandolfini, which premieres this Veterans Day, November 11th at 9pm on HBO.

Civil War doctors called it hysteria, melancholia and insanity. During the First World War it was known as shell-shock. By World War II, it became combat fatigue. Today, it is clinically known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a crippling anxiety that results from exposure to life-threatening situations such as combat.

With suicide rates among active military servicemen and veterans currently on the rise, the HBO special WARTORN 1861-2010 brings urgent attention to the invisible wounds of war. Drawing on personal stories of American soldiers whose lives and psyches were torn asunder by the horrors of battle and PTSD, the documentary chronicles the lingering effects of combat stress and post-traumatic stress on military personnel and their families throughout American history, from the Civil War through today’s conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The HBO Documentary Films presentation debuts on Veterans Day, THURSDAY, NOV. 11 (9:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

New Book Acquisitions

admin — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 02:07:28 +0000

Numerous books have come my way, including several from McFarland which is always appreciated.

Head Shot: The Science Behind the JFK Assassination
Author: G. Paul Chambers
Binding: Hardcover
260 pages (illustrations)
ISBN: 978-1-61614-209-4

Author joins a crowded study area concerning the loan gunner (Lee Harvey Oswald) theory since the Warner Commission report. Book after book has challenged the evidence that has been provided in support of the loan gunman theory. Chambers book is well researched, well written, and his handling of the scientific evidence is stellar, however, I am still not convinced that anyone has proved without a doubt that there was some conspiracy and that there was another shooter.

G. Paul Chambers, PhD, is a contracted NASA research physicist for the Energetic Materials and Detonation Science Department of the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Maryland. As a research physicist specializing in Condensed Matter and Radiation Sciences at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC.

The next book is of the genre that not only do I love, but my students do as well.

The Man Who Shot the Man Who Shot Lincoln: and 44 other forgotten figures in history
Author: Graeme Donald
ISBN 10: 1849081700
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
288 pages
Binding: Hardcover

The so-called “forgotten” or unknown elements of history are always interesting and offer students and educators alike, some interesting stories to share with their peers. As an educator I ways use, when applicable, such books when lecturing in order to hopefully re-engage the student and keep their interest.

Donald’s book is a nice addition to the genre and will be of use to most any educator.

From the publisher:

We have all heard about the great generals of military history, and those whose heroic deeds changed the course of war. This is not their book. Instead, this offbeat and engaging book reveals the stories of 46 bit-players of military history: Hitler’s personal pilot, Hanna Reitsch; Pierre Basile, the crossbowman whose arrow hit Richard I; Major John D Barry, the Confederate who mistakenly gave the order to fire upon General Stonewall Jackson, and Lee Duncan, who rescued a puppy from the German trenches of World War I and took him back to America, where he became famous as Rin Tin Tin. If you think you know your history, prepare to think again.

Finally, a couple of nice Civil War books from McFarland.

Gettysburg as the Generals Remembered It: Postwar Perspectives of Ten Commanders
Author: Robert P. Broadwater
ISBN 978-0-7864-4995-8
appendix, notes, bibliography, index
203pp. softcover 2010

From the publisher:

This is an examination of reminiscences of the primary leaders on both sides at the battle of Gettysburg and a comparison of these reminiscences to the historical record. Many generals presented statements written decades after the Civil War, when the Gettysburg Campaign was the topic of historical research and personal controversy. This comparative history illuminates how history is shaped as well as how the famous battle unfolded.

The selected offerings are as follows:

The Comte de Paris, USA
General Oliver Howard, USA
General Henry W. Slocum, USA
General Abner Doubleday, USA
General Daniel Sickles, USA
General David Gregg, USA
General John Newton, USA
General Daniel Butterfield, USA
Major General John Gibbon, USA
Lieutenant General James Longstreet, CSA
General Fitzhugh Lee, CSA

I thought the selections were solid and the offerings provided for some interesting reading, with that said, is this a “must have” book, not sure, but well worth it for the collector or librarian.

Glory Was Not Their Companion: The Twenty-Sixth New York Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War
Author: Paul Taylor
ISBN 978-0-7864-4924-8
54 photos, maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
231pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2010

This is the softcover reprint of the 2005 hardcover release. Taylor’s regimental history was well received in 2005 and after thumbing through it and reading several chapters I was very impressed. Taylor’s writing style is fluid and very readable, and his research as solid as could be asked. Highly recommend this regimental history.

Business card of Abraham Lincoln

admin — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 18:31:05 +0000

Is this real or not and was it published by Lincoln?

UPDATE: It is not by Lincoln and in fact the fake business card of Abraham Lincoln was “probably printed by the Democratic committee in 1864.” [Source]

Civil War History Camp for Kids

admin — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:14:27 +0000

Recently Elementary students in Virginia attendede the The Cedar Creek Battlefield Kids’ Civil War History Camp to learn about the daily lives of Civil War soldeirs, the battlefield, and some Civil War history.

John Ortman brought his son to the event and declared, “When a 10-year-old develops an interest in history, I think you need to feed that,” Ortman said.

From the news story:

Members of the 5th U.S. Artillery, Company D; the 100th Pennsylvania Company A; and the 1st Virginia Cavalry, Company H, all lent a hand in explaining aspects of the war, from marching instruction to combat demonstrations on horseback.

Before they saw any action, recruits had to take an oath of allegiance to “support, protect and defend the Constitution and the government of the United States against all enemies domestic or foreign.”

The group then began learning facing movements and how to get into formation by standing elbow to elbow, all with the help of their fearless leader, Sgt. Jeff Pennington, of the 100th Pennsylvania Company A.

“Don’t be afraid, you’re soldiers,” he said.

To read more…