Civil War Traveler and Blogger
The fight thus far at Spotsylvania had been nothing short of a slaughter house. The continuous fighting for twenty hours at the Bloody Angle was the pinnacle of that slaughter with 17,000 casualties in all. Who was to blame? Many pointed fingers at Lieutenant General Ulysses Grant’s “grit of a bulldog” as Abraham Lincoln called… Continue reading The Final Week of Bloodshed – Conclusion to Spotsylvania
On the morning of May 5th 1864, as the rear guard of Gouverneur Warren’s V Corps led by Charles Griffin’s division were ready to move further south to follow the rest of the army, Confederates were seen funneling down the Orange Turnpike and slipping to either side to form their battle lines. When word reached… Continue reading “A Battle of Invisibles” – Saunders Field – May 5th, 1864
While I have not been privileged in exploring every aspect of the Chancellorsville battlefield (just the visitor center so far) some wonderful historians have and aren't shy about sharing their knowledge. I follow one such historian on the Emerging Civil War Blog, Chris Mackowski. Below are some brief videos shot and uploaded in May of… Continue reading Standing at the Crossroads
The Battle – Part 2 At a quarter past 5 o’clock in the morning, the Confederates stormed out of the Wilderness, the Rebel Yell like barreling thunder to those startled Federals. A short resistance was put up by Colonel Adolphus Bushbeck’s 154th New York, about 5,000 men, but it was still no use. The left… Continue reading Chancellorsville – The Carnage Was Fearful – Part 2
(Because this battle - just one front, mind you - is so massive, I've split this blog into two parts for reading convenience) Background After the failed “Mud March” of late January, 1863, the Army of the Potomac was put under the command of Joseph Hooker. The man who replaced Ambrose Burnside was the same… Continue reading Chancellorsville – The Carnage was Fearful – Part 1
For those who don’t live in Virginia, or those who don’t live in densely populated areas of any state, I’d like to clear something up that no one really explained to me when I first started this journey into Civil War history. As we explore battles within Virginia, please keep in mind that the majority… Continue reading Virginia and its Battlefields
Many people have a “bucket list”. A general bullet-point list of everything they want to do before they die. Some of these points can be pretty poetic like, “Find true love”, or “see my grandchildren graduate college”. Others are generic like “See the Grand Canyon” or “Swim in the English Channel”. One that tends to… Continue reading Light Show Above Fredericksburg
Within the Civil War era exists a certain preconceived image of how wars were fought and how soldiers behaved. There’s this idea of valiant heroism. Who else would have been brave enough to charge across an open field into a storm of bullets? It was a different time, but the mindset of the soldier –… Continue reading Fredericksburg – A Crucible of Valor
There are two impressive monuments upon the Manassas Battlefield – in my humble opinion. Now, there are quite a few of them. Memorials and plaques abound across the national park. But I’m talking about two that stand out to me, as an amateur historian and battlefield trekker. The first is the monument to Thomas “Stonewall”… Continue reading History of Judith Henry and Her House
Civilians and soldiers on both sides of the war thought the conflict would be swift and decisive. The southerners, fueled by their convictions and need for independence, was equally matched by the northerner’s enthusiasm to preserve the Union and future of their nation. Yankees believed they could whip the uncultured farm boys, while the Rebs… Continue reading Mayhem At Manassas
Belle on the Battlefield 