This post contains a list of Civil War/History articles published this past week around the Internet. Click on the title to go to the full article.
150 years after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Americans are still fighting over the great issues at the heart of the conflict. An article by David W. Blight, professor of American History and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition at Yale University.
Column by Ron Soodalter appearing in the New York Times Opinionator Disunion Blog. An excerpt …
“The death toll among general officers during the Civil War was staggering … there were general officers whose violent departures had little if anything to do with the field of battle, [but] came about as a result of passion and offended honor.”
Another post appearing in the New York Times Opinionator Disunion Blog, this time by Kevin Morrow. An excerpt …
“Shortly before noon on April 3, 1865, a telegraph operator on duty at the War Department in Washington, D.C., received an electrifying message over the wires. ‘Here is the first message for you in four years from Richmond,’ it read.
"Leaping up from his seat, the operator ran to an open window and cried out, ‘Richmond has fallen!’ The news spread swiftly, and, as one observer later remembered, ‘Almost by magic, the streets were crowded with hosts of people, talking, laughing, hurrahing, and shouting in the fullness of their joy.’”
The de facto end of the Civil War—150 years ago, on April 9, 1865—was the beginning of the region's identity. An article by James C. Cobb appearing in on Time.com website.
A post from Jocelyn Green’s blog on amputation and the use of prosthetic limbs during the Civil War. She starts the post with a quotation by Oliver Wendell Holmes.
“It is not two years since the sight of a person who had lost one of his lower limbs was an infrequent occurrence. Now, alas! There are few of us who have not a cripple among our friends, if not in our own families. A mechanical art which provided for an occasional and exceptional want has become a great and active branch of industry. War unmakes legs, and human skill must supply their places as it best may.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, M.D., “The Human Wheel, Its Spokes and Felloes,” 1863
Another post from Jocelyn Green’s blog.
- Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell
- Georgeanna Woolsey
- Dr. Mary Edwards Walker
- Captain Sally Tompkins
- Clara Barton
An article by Katrina Koerting appearing in the Lynchburg News & Advance newspaper. Park ranger Chris Bingham’s research reveals these groups of soldiers were diverse. An excerpt …
‘The National Park Service always has known there were seven U.S. Colored Troop regiments at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, but not much was known about the men within these Union groups, including who they were or even how many were there.’
Missouri 150 Years Ago
Every week, Len Eagleburger (co-edited by Beverly Shaw) edits a newsletter called “Ozarks Civil War Sesquicentennial Weekly.” One of its sections is entitled “Missouri 150 Years Ago.” These are the links to articles which appeared in the Columbia Daily Tribune newspaper published in Columbia, Missouri.
Report on killing, burning by soldiers draws sharp reaction by commanders
Chariton County woman accused of riding with bushwhackers
Bushwhackers murder two black men for leaving former owners
General writes there are ‘100 families...who ought to emigrate or die’
Cooper County exile writes sorrowful letter to daughter in Texas
Union attacks break rebel lines, Confederate government flees Richmond
