BHR62, I think you are right that Lincoln found the idea of slavery repugnant-even if he held pretty standard views of black men for his ...   Mon Feb 27th, 2012 04:32 pm

The Emancipation Proclamation is crafted the way it is because of Lincoln's belief that slavery could only be abolished through Constitutional amendment. However, as ...   Sat Feb 25th, 2012 12:18 pm

Hank, don't you think that understanding both tactics and strategy along with social, cultural and political aspects of the war give us a more complete ...   Thu Feb 23rd, 2012 01:33 pm

What kind of sources have you found for your book so far? Mark ...   Wed Feb 22nd, 2012 03:11 pm

Yes, Colonel Sherman was notified of his appointment to be the commander of the 13th US Infantry on May 14, 1861. The 13th US ...   Fri Feb 17th, 2012 09:39 pm

What is the source of the quote Barlow? I couldn't find it in Grant's Memoirs. I was hoping to look at it in ...   Thu Feb 16th, 2012 12:59 pm

Interesting take... although I find it more interesting to read what the newspapers and his contemporaries were saying about him in 1862-64 rather than what ...   Fri Feb 10th, 2012 12:33 am

Foote is indeed a brilliant storyteller! I'm glad you are enjoying his work. If you like Foote, you might try reading some of ...   Sat Feb 4th, 2012 03:07 am

Thanks for the link. I hope they are able to digitize it! Mark ...   Mon Jan 30th, 2012 04:45 pm

I was looking at the first one listed on the page. That one is just a big naval gun placed on a flatcar with ...   Wed Jan 25th, 2012 02:49 pm

Here is the picture I mean... Mark http://www.firstmdus.net/Rail%20cars.htm ...   Mon Jan 23rd, 2012 01:00 pm

If you can get a copy of PVT Robert Sneeden's "In the Eye of the Storm" he drew some nice watercolors of what he saw ...   Mon Jan 23rd, 2012 12:14 pm

That's an excellent point Hank. I never thought about it that way. For good or ill, the Federals used a lot of the ...   Fri Jan 20th, 2012 05:17 pm

I agree csamiller. I think the loss of the Ohio River defense line and then the Tennessee River defense line were devastating to the ...   Thu Jan 19th, 2012 01:33 pm

I'm mostly in full agreement with you csamiller, though I am curious as to why people consider Vicksburg such a strategic point. Actually, I ...   Thu Jan 19th, 2012 12:34 pm

I think the biggest reason was Stuart's recent near-defeat at the battle of Brandy Station in early June. His cavalry was completely surprised by ...   Tue Jan 17th, 2012 01:18 am

Welcome! The papers of Peter B. Porter and Peter Augustus Porter are housed in the Buffalo and Erie County Historical society. You might ...   Mon Jan 16th, 2012 12:53 pm

I came across a regimental nickname that I liked the other day in E.H. Rhodes's journal: The 37th Massachusetts Regiment "is a new ...   Fri Jan 13th, 2012 07:09 pm

Well said TD. Mark ...   Sat Jan 7th, 2012 07:26 pm

Yes, I've read it. I think the few people who dislike it are those who take issue with his argument that the war came ...   Sat Jan 7th, 2012 03:33 pm

You bring up an interesting point with respect to the legislative bodies, Mildman. Lincoln certainly benefited from a two party system in the North. ...   Thu Jan 5th, 2012 09:25 pm

Since we like to do counterfactuals here, I got this as a question on a semester exam once. "How would the Civil War have ...   Wed Jan 4th, 2012 02:24 pm

I got an iphone for Christmas and am wondering if anyone has found any good Civil War related apps that I ought to download. Mark ...   Mon Jan 2nd, 2012 01:20 pm

I think a great general understands and leverage his strengths against his opponent's weaknesses. Grant proved quite adept at maneuver and combined arms tactics ...   Sun Jan 1st, 2012 11:48 pm

I think it made more of a psychological difference than a physical difference. The rail fence itself is not going to soak up many ...   Fri Dec 30th, 2011 11:44 am

I think you nailed it Hellcat. The 20th ME at Little Round Top was an interesting side-note to the battle before Michael Shaara and ...   Tue Dec 27th, 2011 11:32 am

I think they went too far in their conclusions to make the show relevant. Nobody in the past 150 years has made that claim. ...   Mon Dec 26th, 2011 08:44 pm

After seeing Mr. Lang play Pickett and Jackson, I'm having a hard time watching him get chased by dinosaurs in Terra Nova! Very versatile ...   Sun Dec 18th, 2011 01:40 am

Without having done any research, he may have been ordered to observe the war in general, and just decided that the Confederate side was a ...   Sat Dec 10th, 2011 01:12 pm

I am wondering, are we thinking too much about tactics and not enough about logistics? Does anyone know what the ANVs supply situation was ...   Tue Dec 6th, 2011 11:43 pm

Ok Hellcat, I think I see where we disagree. I'm assuming that a Confederate victory at Gettysburg would likely have not have totally destroyed ...   Tue Dec 6th, 2011 11:36 am

Forced an end to the war, how? Lincoln was not going to negotiate under any terms other than restoration of the Union. That ...   Mon Dec 5th, 2011 11:33 pm

In regards to the northern militia, they didn't need to actually fight a battle with the ANV to be effective. Just by burning the ...   Sun Dec 4th, 2011 04:48 pm

If the previous experience of the AOP is any indicator, the Yanks would have rallied near Baltimore and tens of thousands of New York and ...   Sun Dec 4th, 2011 11:12 am

I think you are right Albert. That is why a smart commander always gave his batteries support from infantry. The best use of ...   Fri Dec 2nd, 2011 08:55 pm

From the 1865 edition of the Customs of service: "The duties of a corporal are simple and depend for their successful performance mainly upon ...   Fri Dec 2nd, 2011 05:43 pm

Thanks for the link Pender. I got my numbers from Noah Trudeau, "Like Men of War" but I didn't look up where he got ...   Fri Dec 2nd, 2011 02:33 am

I think part of the problem is that its hard to tell the difference between a canister wound and a gunshot wound. Canister is ...   Fri Dec 2nd, 2011 02:29 am

It would be one of the most lopsided (my sources estimated about 150-200 Confederate casualties). Terrible Union generalship and the fact that the USCT ...   Thu Dec 1st, 2011 12:22 pm

I think probably a lot of people around here are familiar with the "Disunion" series in the New York Times. I think they are ...   Tue Nov 29th, 2011 01:02 am