Category: 150 Years Ago in the Civil War
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The Civil War 150 Years Ago: February 1861
150 years ago February 1861 Lincoln’s inauguration is a month away as President Buchannan struggles to contain secession. Lincoln refuses to make a public speech on the question maintaining his position is clear. February starts badly, when Texas becomes the seventh state to secede on the first. Two days later, the Louisiana senators leave for […]
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Who REALLY Caused the Civil War?
With the Civil War sesquicentennial comes the inevitable fun of even more people arguing past each other about what started the conflict. It was with some amusement, then, that I came across the following explanation in a 1903 regimental history of the 116th Pennsylvania: When the Second Corps massed on the banks of the James […]
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The Civil War 150 Years Ago: January 1861
The Civil War 150 Years Ago January 1861 by James W. Durney America is on a slippery slope as the New Year starts. Each day brings news of secession or states taking over Federal installations. During the first week of January, President Buchanan refuses to accept a letter from the South Carolina commissioners and orders […]
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Citadel Cadets Fire on Star of the West
Not really, although they did 150 years ago. CHARLESTON, S.C. – Gray-clad cadets from South Carolina’s historic military college fired cannons Saturday on a barren, wind-swept island on Charleston Harbor to re-enact the 150th anniversary of a key episode leading up to the Civil War. The event recalled what some consider the first shots of […]