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The Beginning of the End?
by Andy Turner
In today’s world of instant news, we’re used to getting the story, getting it as it happens, and getting it right. Like others, I have grown used to this new phenomenon, and sometimes forget it wasn’t long ago at all that news traveled much more slowly.
On This Day: February 16, 1862 – Unconditional Surrender at Fort Donelson
by Andy Turner
In February 1862 the Union desperately needed a hero. The war, which everyone figured to be short, was not going as planned. The loss of Fort Sumter and Confederate victory at the First Battle of Manassas were unexpected. In the west, however, a general was about to rise to prominence, a rise that would eventually lead to the White House.
Rebel Submarine Battery
by Andy Turner
The Civil War, as do most wars, brought about an effort to invent new and creative ways of killing the enemy. One success was the CSS Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy ship. Almost three weeks before the Hunley’s successful attack, Harper’s Weekly published an article in their January 30, 1864, edition about a Confederate “submarine battery” supposedly under construction in Mobile, Alabama.
The Romance of War was Gone, Part 2
by Col. Michael J. Forsyth
On September 2, 1862, with Pope’s legions still in headlong retreat from the disaster at Second Manassas, McClellan gathered his natty staff and rode from Washington to meet the men on the road. The army was in a stunned and demoralized state. The soldiers believed they had not been beaten on the plains of Manassas, rather they had been outgeneraled under Pope’s leadership. As the tangled mass of men plodded toward the forts around Washington they viewed in the distance a man on a black horse pounding down the road with assorted orderlies strung out behind. As the man drew closer the soldiers recognized McClellan and sent up an enormous shout.
The Romance of War was Gone
by Col. Michael J. Forsyth
Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan has become a much maligned figure in the annals of American military history. He symbolizes the early romance of the Civil War as well as the heartbreak and futility of a string of defeats suffered by the Army of the Potomac. The soldiers of that redoubtable army idolized McClellan as the general who made them believe in themselves and as the man who would make everything right in this civil war.
The Longest Ride of the War
By Bennett H. Young
In July 1863 Confederate Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan led his men on what became the longest raid of the Civil War. Going from Kentucky into Indiana and across Ohio, the raid included the longest continuous cavalry ride of the war. Knowing he needed to quickly get around the well-guarded city of Cincinnati before Union troopers could block his path, Morgan led his men on a continuous ride of almost a hundred miles.
Where Lie These Bones?
by Andy Turner
When a person passes from this world, there are options for what to do with their earthly remains. If one chooses cremation, they can have their ashes scattered in more than one place. But if a body is to be buried in the ground, it generally all goes in one spot. Not if you were William Quantrill. He’s buried not in one, or even two, but in three graves.
Lee’s Illness Lost Gettysburg
by Carl Coppolino
Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle fought on American soil. More than 50,000 men were killed, wounded, or captured. It was the pinnacle of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s career, and it was a failure.
Civil War Sites: Magnolia Cemetery, Mobile, Alabama
by Andy Turner
I like to visit cemeteries. Some might think that’s a little weird, but I’m guessing more than a few of you understand what I’m talking about. Cemeteries are beautiful places. They generally have a lot of trees and if it’s an old cemetery they probably have really big, impressive trees. As an amateur photographer, cemeteries always offer great opportunities to get some unusual or different shots. Cemeteries also offer an opportunity to visit with departed relatives as well as famous people from history.
On This Day: January 19, 1862 – The Battle of Mill Springs
Kentucky wanted to stay out of it. The populace of the state was deeply divided between supporting the Union or the Confederacy. To try and keep the division from deepening, the state legislature declared in May 1861 that Kentucky would remain neutral.
