Member Article: Four Attacks – Four Failures: The Third Day at Gettysburg
by Bryan J. Dickerson
The Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War is one of the most researched
and written about events in world history. A great many historians have researched,
interpreted, analyzed and re-interpreted what happened leading up to, during and
after these three epic days of battle in the Pennsylvania countryside. Run a search
through Barnes & Noble or Amazon’s websites on Gettysburg and you will find literally
several thousand books on the subject. Historians, scholars, and persons from all
walks of life have debated and argued over these three days like few other events
in history.
The Battle of Gettysburg occupies a unique place in American history. Taken together
with the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi on the day following the battle’s conclusion,
Gettysburg marks a dramatic and decisive turning point in the Civil War. With Vicksburg
in Union hands, the Confederacy was split in two and the Union now controlled the
Mississippi River in its entirety. With defeat at Gettysburg, the Confederacy would
never again be able to mount a major offensive in the East. The momentum of the
war swung irrevocably against the Confederacy.
Book Review: Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the
Civil War
Review by Bruce L. Brager
 At night, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, can be a world class
spooky place. The tiny town sits in a triangle of land, a valley surrounded on all
sides by hills, at the point where the Shenandoah River flows north into the Potomac
River. Across the Potomac is Maryland, most dramatically represented by Maryland
Heights, almost literarily looming over the town. Just a few hundred years to the
east is the border of Virginia. To the south and west is West Virginia. Harpers
Ferry was part of Virginia before the American Civil War, before the creation of
the state of West Virginia. Militarily it was in an odd situation. Before the war,
one of the two major Federal armories was in Harpers Ferry, taking advantage of
the ready source of water for hydropower. The war took care of the armory rather
quickly. The Federals tried to burn; the Confederate took what did not burn.
Member Article: Colonel Patrick O'Rorke: Unsung hero of Little
Round Top
by Roger Daene
The one who writes the history is oftentimes the one who receives the glory. This
is especially true in military history. Those who survive the battle are able to
tell their story known to the public. In some cases, those who die in battle can
either be relegated to obscurity or their achievements are underrated because there
is no one to tell their story. The Lieutenant-Colonel of the 140th New York at the
Battle of Gettysburg was one whose story is relatively unknown.
The town of Gettysburg had grown in size and importance once the railroad had come
to town. Gettysburg was a crossroads town and after the war had begun, supplies
had moved through this bustling Pennsylvania town. In the waning days of June 1863
both armies began to move toward Gettysburg. The town was about to move into immortality
and hold a place forever in American history.
Member Article: Stanley at Shiloh: An Improbable 'Indiana
Jones'
by Walter Giersbach
The early days of April 1862 didn't turn out well for Henry Morton Stanley. A few
months into his enlistment in the Dixie Greys—the 6th Arkansas Regiment—found the
young man marching toward the disastrous Battle of Shiloh. This would set him on
a course he couldn't have imagined.
Stanley wasn't his real name, nor was he an American—just an Englishman from Wales
who liked to read and write and happened to find himself in Arkansas when war broke
out. Joining the Dixie Greys came as much from the lure of adventure as patriotism.
Then, on the morning of April 7, he found himself virtually the only soldier in
gray facing a sea of bluecoats. His fight at Shiloh was over when a Yank shouted,
"Down with that gun, Secesh, or I'll drill a hole through you!"
Member Article: Special Order 191: Ruse of War?
by Joseph Ryan
On September 5, 1862, General Lee crossed his army over the Potomac into Western
Maryland. It had taken him four months to drive Lincoln's armies out of Virginia
and the effort had left his soldiers staggering. He desperately needed to get them
into the Shenandoah Valley, the only place within a radius of sixty miles from his
position, after the fierce battle at Manassas, where they could find subsistence,
rest, and reorganize. But, in turning his army back from the environs of Washington,
it was impossible for him to lead it directly across the Blue Ridge into the Valley.
Lincoln's armies would quickly consolidate under McClellan's command again and move
immediately toward Richmond, and he would have to hurry his soldiers across the
wasteland of Northern Virginia to intercept them. Only one strategy would keep the
enemy away from Richmond while he marched his army to the Valley and that was to
move there indirectly, through Maryland.
Member Article: The 15th Illinois Infantry
by Mark Hudziak
On April 20th, 1861 the people of Belvidere, Illinois met at the local courthouse
in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for the military enlistment of 75,000
men following the surrender of Fort Sumter to Confederate forces at Charleston,
South Carolina. Prominent citizens made fiery speeches, with Stephen A. Hurlbut,
attorney at law and a friend of Lincoln, delivering "one of the most ringing and
soul-stirring speeches that ever electrified an audience" according to one newspaper
reporter caught up in the excitement of the moment.[1] Hurlbut was the first to
sign the enlistment roll and by the end of the month a full company of 115 men had
signed on. The men elected Hurlbut Captain of the company.[2]
Member Article: The Eighth New Hampshire Infantry
by Mark Hudziak
It was snowing in Manchester, New Hampshire on January 24th, 1862 as the men of
the Eighth New Hampshire Infantry boarded a southbound train and left the Granite
State. Organized in the fall of 1861, the regiment was mustered into federal service
on December 23rd with Colonel Hawkes Fearing, Jr. in command. Fearing was a Manchester
businessman who had served in a militia unit in his native Massachusetts.
Member Article: Confederate Railroad and the Prolonging of the
Inevitable
by Phillip Muskett
The American Civil War was the first war to include the use of railroads to move
troops to a threatened point effectively. The Confederates used railroads frequently
throughout the war, taking advantage of their interior lines, to move troops quickly
from point to point; specifically the Battle of Chickamauga was decided by the railroads.
The Confederacy defeated several Union armies in this fashion throughout the war.
Member Article: Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862: Maneuver Warfare
at its Finest
by Richard Podruchny
The purpose of this article is to present to the audience an outstanding example
of the implementation of maneuver warfare. In order to do so, this campaign will
be analyzed using the elements derived from Robert Leonhard's work, "The Art of
Maneuver." This analysis will focus on how well Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
utilized the elements of time, identifying the enemy's center of gravity, space,
and the forces used in his hugely successful campaign.[1]
Member Article: Fredericksburg Campaign of 1862: Maneuver Warfare
at its Worst
by Richard Podruchny
The aim of this article is to present to the reader an example of an unsuccessful
maneuver campaign. For this example, we will scrutinize the Fredericksburg Campaign
of 1862. The audience will see this campaign from the Union perspective where concentration
will be placed on how Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside developed his campaign strategy,
how he executed the campaign as well as the maneuvers that followed the Battle of
Fredericksburg which resulted in the "Mud March."
Member Article: Commanders, Correspondents, and the Constitution:
The Birth of Conflict between the Military and the Free Press during the Civil War
by Rob Dean
The emergence of mass-distribution newspapers in the decades before the American
Civil War forced U.S. military leaders to face one of the stickiest dilemmas for
their democracy. The desire of free people to know about their military collided
with the need for military leaders to plan strategy and deploy troops without the
enemy knowing the details of those plans.
Member Article: Unconventional Warfare during the Civil War - John
S. Mosby's campaign for the Shenandoah
by Kryn Miner
Since man picked up a weapon against his fellow being, he has always looked for
a way to defeat his opponent in a more efficient and lethal way. It is our nature
to seek out and exploit the weaknesses of our opponent thus maximizing our gain
verses our risk. It's this thinking that brought about the evolution of unconventional
warfare, or "Special Operations," and the men that mastered its effective use.
Member Article: Sun Tzu and the Overland Campaign of 1864
by Richard Podruchny
This particular work looks at comparing the Overland Campaign of 1864 against Sun
Tzu's six strategic principles that were extracted from the, "Art of War" by Mark
McNeilly through his work, "Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare." The six principles
that will be used are; win all without fighting, avoid strength, attack weakness,
deception and foreknowledge, speed and preparation, and shaping the enemy.[1]
Member Article: Shifting Strategies: Military Theory in the American
Civil War
by Daniel T. Rean
In four years of civil war stretching from the deserts of New Mexico to the valleys
of Vermont, more than 620,000 Americans died. Many of those soldiers were victims
of violent combat, shot by rifles or pistols, run through by bayonets, or blown
apart by cannon fire.[1] However, many of those soldiers were also victims of a
combat style that combined nineteenth century technology and weapons with eighteenth
century tactics.
Member Article: Bear River Massacre
by Lonny L. Grout
Along U.S. Highway 91, in the Southeast corner of Idaho, twenty miles from the Idaho/Utah
border is the site of the Bear River Massacre. The site is one of the best kept
military history secrets in America. On the 29th of January, 1863, during the American
Civil War occurred one of the greatest massacres of Native Americans by U.S. troops
in American history.[1]
Member Article: Nutmeggers on Antietam Creek: Major Generals Joseph
K. F. Mansfield, John Sedgwick, and Connecticut Regiments in the Maryland Campaign.
2 September through 20 September 1862
by Larry Freiheit
This paper will present the activities of four Connecticut regiments during the
Antietam Campaign as well as participation of two prominent Connecticut generals,
Maj. Gen. Joseph King Fenno Mansfield and Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick. Mansfield was
mortally wounded during the Battle of Antietam while Sedgwick was seriously wounded.
To help understand these two regular Union army veterans, their non-military lives
and their military careers before the Civil War will be summarized. To help set
the stage, an overview of the Antietam Campaign including events leading up to it
will be presented first, followed by details about the regiments, and finally, the
two generals.
Member Article: Was Nathan Bedford Forrest the Best Confederate Cavalry
Leader in the West?
by Larry Freiheit
Had the Civil War not occurred when it did allowing Nathan Bedford Forrest to serve
as a cavalry officer, we very likely would not be studying or even reading about
him today. Of course the same could be said about Ulysses S. Grant and many other
notable Civil War commanders. What separates Forrest from other successful general
officers are his accomplishments despite his almost total lack of education or military
background and his impoverished upbringing. His rise from private to lieutenant
general was clearly earned, not gained through political influence or social standing.
His military success are due to virtually every element which made up this man,
but more importantly, how he conducted his martial career given his physical, mental
and spiritual makeup is what arguably made him the best Confederate cavalry general
during the war.
Member Article: The City Point Explosion
Review by Bruce L. Brager
Saturday, July 30, 1864, Federal forces besieging Petersburg, Virginia, completed
tunneling under Confederates lines, blew a giant hole in the lines, stunned their
enemy in the area, and then sit and waited before attacking. The net result was
a lot of dead soldiers, and a new phrase "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory,"
created by Abraham Lincoln.
 Press Release: Historic Photos of Petersburg
by John S. Salmon
Historic Photos of Petersburg is second in a series highlighting the key
figures and events of the Civil War. Turner Publishing's Historic Photos series
has been acclaimed as a staple in the collection of anyone who loves history.
Turner Publishing has assembled a comprehensive collection of photographs surrounding
the monumental Battle of Petersburg and its aftermath. These historic photographs
are reproduced in a large, high-quality format. The 10 x 10 gift book showcases
the black-and-white images, and John and Emily Salmon narrate the experience in
knowledgeable, well-researched text, telling the story of the Overland Campaign
like never before.
Member Article: Dalton to Atlanta - Sherman vs. Johnston
by Allen Parfitt
On November 28, 1863 the Confederate Army of Tennessee lay in camp at Dalton, Georgia,
discouraged and defeated. It had been only 76 days since the army, reinforced by
Longstreet's Corps from the Army of Northern Virginia, had finally won a long-sought
victory over the Yankees at Chickamauga Creek. But their enigmatic commander, General
Braxton Bragg, had frittered away the victory, electing to besiege rather than assault
the beaten Federals in Chattanooga, then with President Jefferson Davis' misguided
encouragement, sending General Longstreet and his corps away on a fool's errand
to capture Knoxville.
Member Article: The Maple Leaf Adventure
by Thomas M. Fleming
The sinking of the troop transport Maple Leaf on April 1, 1864, by a Confederate
mine floating in the St. Johns River near Jacksonville, Florida, is an event unknown
even to most people well-versed in the history of the American Civil War. It took
place in a relative backwater of that conflict, resulted in comparatively few casualties,
and determined the outcome of no major battle or campaign. Yet, a colorful story
lies behind the Maple Leaf and the people she carried, on dinner cruises
and later to war, in cool Northern waters and in warm Southern ones. It is a story
of bustling commerce and small-town recreation in the mid-19th century Northeast,
as well as of military daring, frustration, and suffering along the coasts and rivers
of the rebellious Southeast.
Member Article: The Battle of Pea Ridge
by Allen Parfitt
The story of the Confederate States of America usually starts in places like Charleston
and Richmond, goes on to Nashville and Montgomery, and winds up at New Orleans and
Vicksburg. But the Confederacy did not end at the Big River. There were three Confederate
states, and potentially a fourth beyond the Mississippi, and some visionaries dreamed
of extending the young nation clear to the Pacific Ocean. But through most of the
Civil War the Trans-Mississippi was a backwater, an afterthought to events happening
elsewhere. There were many reasons for this, but perhaps the most important was
a fierce battle fought in the wilds of northwestern Arkansas on March 7-8,1962.
When Major General Henry Halleck assumed command of the Western District of the
United States Army in November 1861 he inherited a mess.
Member Article: "They will not
be forgotten": A Narrative History of the 138th Pennsylvania
by Stephen Light
"ADAMS COUNTY TO ARMS!" read an advertisement in Gettysburg's Star and Banner
newspaper on July 17th, 1862. President Lincoln had issued a call for 300,000 more
troops, and Gettysburg was preparing to answer that call. The ad which appeared
that day appealed to the "patriotic, able-bodied men of Adams County to come forward
immediately and enroll themselves in the defense of the Union."[1] Thus began the
recruitment of Companies B and G of the 138th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers.
This regiment, like many of the regiments in the Civil War, was composed of citizen
soldiers who had volunteered to leave their families, homes, and jobs to serve the
United States. In fulfilling their duty to their country, many men would fall wounded,
killed, or victim to disease. Others would survive the war and go on to do great
things in their own private lives. All should be remembered. This is a narrative
history of the 138th regiment.
Read more...
Member Article: The Battle
of Franklin
by Allen Parfitt
In late 1864, with the war looking bleak for the Confederacy on all fronts, the
Army of Tennessee under the leadership of General John Bell Hood marched north on
the last great Confederate offensive of the war. This is a brief account of that
offensive through the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864.
Read more...
Member Article: For Want
of a Nail: An Evaluation of the Confederate Ironclad's Construction History, Service
History, Tactical & Strategic Employment
by Larry Parker
"He is not impressed with the necessity of building ships." John N. Maffit entered
those prophetic words in his diary following a meeting with Jefferson Davis shortly
after the civil war began. Future Captain of the commerce raider CSS Florida
, Maffit was one of the first United States naval officers to resign his commission
and offer his services to the South. Those ten words make a fitting epitaph for
the Confederate States Navy, and with it, the Southern cause.
Read more...
Member Article: The Battle
of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, August 10th, 1861
by Caleb Greinke
"Sir--Your requisition is illegal, unconstitutional and revolutionary; in its object
inhuman & diabolical. Not one man will Missouri furnish to carry on any such
unholy crusade against her Southern sisters," once spoke Governor Claiborne Fox
Jackson in response to Abraham Lincoln's call for 75,000 recruits to quell the Rebellion.
As if to cement his already treasonous position, Jackson would add for good measure
to all of Missouri, "Rise then, and drive out ignominiously the invaders who have
dared desecrate the soil which your labors have made fruitful, and which is consecrated
by your homes!" Clearly, Jackson was rearing for a fight -- and surely enough, he
would have it and much, much more.
Read more...
Member Article: The
Life and Death of the Tenth New Jersey Infantry
by Kyle Morrissey
The Tenth New Jersey Infantry was organized under the provisions of an act of congress
approved July 22 1861, and by authority issued by the war department. It was directed
to private residents of the state of New Jersey, and not in any way under the control
or supervision of the state authorities. When the organization of the regiment was
completed on Oct 1st it proceeded to Camp Beverly N.J. Then from there went to Washington
DC on Dec 26th 1861 with 35 officers, 883 non commissioned officers and privates,
a total of 918 men. After they marched to Camp Clay on the Bladensburg turnpike
a mile from Washington DC, they were reorganized and designated the Tenth New Jersey
Infantry.
Read more...
Member Article: The Death of Union
General Samuel K. Zook
by A. M. Gambone
This article is taken from a biography of General Zook, a life-long bachelor who
was mortally wounded in the Wheatfield at Gettysburg on the 2d day [02 July 1863].
He led the Third Brigade belonging to Brigadier-General John C. Caldwell's First
Division, part of Major-General Winfield Scott Hancock's II Corps. We focus upon
the center of that field about 3:00 p.m. on the 2d, after Major-General Daniel Sickles
moved his III Corps forward.
Read more...
Member Article: Ft. Barrancas:
The First Shots Fired in the Rebellion
by Walter Giersbach
 The firing
on Fort Sumter in Charleston's harbor traditionally marks the opening salvos of
the Rebellion. But before this assault on April 14, 1861, there was another battle—the
first shots of the Civil War—hundreds of miles to the south in Florida.
On Jan. 8, 1861, United States Army guards repelled a group of men intending to
take Fort Barrancas in Pensacola Harbor. Historians say that this event could be
considered the first shots fired on Union forces in the Civil War.
Read more...
Member Article: Custer and
the Battle of Waynesboro
by William R. Betson
No American military figure is more controversial than George Armstrong Custer.
A general and national hero in his twenties, his fabled death at the Battle of the
Little Big Horn only increased his legendary status among his countrymen. But history
can be fickle, and history lately has not treated the "boy general" well. His reputation
has changed from grand, courageous hero to despised war criminal. Indeed, for many
his persona now embodies the sins of United States policy toward Native Americans.
Read more...
Member Article: Skirmish
in the East Woods - September 16th, 1862
by Scott Mingus
Within two days after fighting had ceased at South Mountain, Union commander George
B. McClellan moved his forces into position east of Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg,
Maryland, opposite Rebel forces west of the creek. Still uncertain as to how many
men he actually faced in Lee's opposing army, McClellan and his staff spent much
of September 16th on a reconnaissance of the Rebel line, nearly 4 miles in length
snaking west of the creek. Lee was missing A. P. Hill's "Light Division," which
was still at Harpers Ferry, and other units had yet to arrive in Sharpsburg.
Read more...
Member Article: The
Battle Rainbow: Jackson and his Chaplains
by Chaplain Russ Campbell
The Seven Days' Battles ended early in July, 1862 with Union Major General McClellan's
106,000 man army withdrawing from the outskirts of Richmond. General Lee's much
smaller Confederate force had confused and confounded General McClellan. Even though
Lee's army suffered more casualties, it could claim victory. After this series of
battles, soldier R. E. Eppes wrote to his wife, "I have not Received so much as
a sratch. Surely God is with mee hee has kept me in the hollow of his hand Surely
he has heard theese heart pleadings of those near and dear ones at home for the
Fervent Effectual Prairs of the Writious availeth much." (1)
Read more...
Member Article: The Mistakes of All Mistakes
by Phil Andrade
This is how Shelby Foote, pre-eminent among historians of the American Civil War,
describes Lee's insistence on committing his Army of Northern Virginia to the infantry
assault forever after known as "Pickett’s Charge". Foote elaborates "...And that
was the mistake he made, the mistake of all mistakes....and there was scarcely a
trained soldier who didn’t know it was a mistake at the time, except possibly Pickett
himself..."
Gettysburg, Foote surmises, was the price the South paid for having R.E.Lee.
Read more...
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