Category: Civil War Research
-
Rifle pits
When reading about battles we frequently come across references to rifle pits, usually strung out in a line across the battlefield, often in front of a defensive position. The immediate tactical purpose was to screen the front and provide warning of and harassment to an approaching enemy force. Fine, but what did a rifle pit […]
-
Valentine scrapbook
Came across a very nice scrapbook of illustrations by a Union veteran H. E. Valentine, mostly of Eighteenth Corps in the Petersburg area. The ink wash drawings are here, and if you hunt around there are some higher res versions available. More letters and other source material on the Virginia Tech Civil War Collection home […]
-
Osprey Publishing
Those of us in the miniature wargaming hobby are very well aware of the British book publisher, Osprey. Based in Oxford, the company was originally created as a subsidiary of a tea company that had packaged trading cards of military aircraft with their tea products. The cards’ artist proposed a series of books on warplanes, […]
-
Why did Everton Conger burn down Richard Garrett’s tobacco barn?
Of all the stories regarding Everton J. Conger and his successful capture of John Wilkes Booth, one that has always intrigued me is why did Conger decide it was time to fire Richard Garrett’s tobacco barn after hours of making what seemed empty threats to do so? From Conger’s own testimony all we get is […]
-
Civil War (and other) Research
When I was in college 25 plus years ago, doing research consisted mainly of going to the library, pulling books and journals off the shelf, slogging through reel after reel of microfilm and, if you were lucky, finding a gem or two that was buried deep within a dry dusty tome. While the basics of […]
-
Studying the June 22 Fight Near Jerusalem Plank Road: Maps
After posting a short blog entry commemorating the anniversary of the Battles for Jerusalem Plank Road on June 21, I was astonished to find that there has never even been so much as a magazine article focusing on the fighting on June 22, 1864 between Mahone’s Confederate Division and the Union II Corps, led that […]
-
The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864
With my intense interest in the Petersburg Campaign, I would be remiss if I did not mention the anniversary of Day 1 of the four day Battle of Petersburg. General Beauregard defended the eastern portions of the Dimmock line surrounding Petersburg, and his troops hung on by the slimmest of margins while the general tried […]