By the time of the 1865 meeting on the River Queen, something had changed, whether it was Lincoln or Sherman himself or the world-shaking events of the past four years. Sherman came away from the meeting with a wholly different impression of America’s war president.… Read More Gen. Sherman changes his opinion of Pres. Lincoln
Union Cavalry Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s use of “your obedient servant” to conclude this note to his Confederate counterpart would be amusing if it weren’t for the content of his communique.… Read More ‘Your obedient servant.’ Kilpatrick threatens to shoot Rebel prisoners, but observes the social niceties.
I was interested to read in one account that his nickname “Fighting Joe” actually might have come about because of a typographical error, rather than any reputation for aggressiveness on the field.… Read More Did ‘Fighting Joe Hooker’s’ nickname come from a printer’s typo?
About the American Civil War, you often hear that ‘brother fought against brother.’ Maybe it wasn’t really an everyday occurrence, but here is one interesting experience.… Read More ‘This is my brother, and I have been shooting at him.’
In the decades after the Civil War, a hopeful story spread abroad of a Confederate soldier who risked his life to bring water to suffering enemies on the battlefield of Fredericksburg, Va., on the night of 13 December 1862. The legend of the “Angel of Marye’s Heights” has generated skepticism over the years, in part… Read More The Angel of Marye’s Heights: Confirmation of the story of Richard Kirkland
Civil War Nuances 