Author: Fred Ray
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Lincoln and Stanton
Two men could not have been more different than Abraham Lincoln and Edwin Stanton. Lincoln had a broad vision, a humane disposition and a folksy way of expressing himself. He could be flexible, was not terribly good at particulars, and could ignore a personal insult if it advanced his cause. Stanton, OTOH was a master […]
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Combat Trash Talkin’
I found this amusing, from Afghanistan, about the verbal war between the Afghan Army and the Taliban. The foes chatter with each other over their Vietnam-era, two-way radio system. It’s such an antiquated system that the Taliban and the Afghan forces share radio frequencies, and verbal barbs, as they try to kill or capture one […]
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Secession (again)
Secession again rears its ugly head, this time on The Volokh Conspiracy. Professor Eugene Volokh opines “I keep hearing the claim that the legitimacy of secession from the U.S. was “settled at Appomattox,” and I wanted to say a few words about why I think that makes little sense.” While he thinks that “today, secession […]
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“A House Divided”
Scott Johnson of Powerline blog has a post commemorating the birth of Abraham Lincoln today. He quotes Lincoln’s famous 1858 “house divided” speech, calling it “one of the most incendiary speeches in American history;” one that propelled the prairie lawyer to the White House. Maybe so (it was perceived differently at the time), but it […]
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Consequences of the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid
What were the consequences of the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren raid? In operational terms, not much. Casualties were minimal and the raid accomplished little. The indirect consequences, however, were important. For one, it convinced the Confederates to strengthen Richmond’s defenses and move their POWs away from the capital, thus removing a tempting target for raids. The biggest fallout […]
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Leading the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid (not just anyone will do)
Eric Wittenberg scored a coup in Like A Meteor Blazing Brightly by finding a letter from former Confederate John Mosby about meeting Col. Isaac Wistar after the war. Wistar confirmed to Mosby the truth of the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren’s raid’s purpose—assassination—which he’d heard from Judson Kilpatrick himself. Wistar also claimed to have been ordered to do the […]
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Indiana University Press sale
I got a card from Indiana University Press about a one-day sale that I’ll pass on to TOCWOC readers. For one day, February 17, all books will be 60% off! All you need do is enter the code SIXTY at checkout to get this steep discount. IUP has books on the Civil War and on […]