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Civil War

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Articles 1 - 30 of 1590

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Incident Of War: Civil War Soldiers And Military Executions Of Deserters, Ruofei Qu Feb 2019

Incident Of War: Civil War Soldiers And Military Executions Of Deserters, Ruofei Qu

James Blair Historical Review

Civil War soldiers’ attitudes toward capital punishment for desertion and the rituals of military execution, both conditioned by wartime necessity, influenced each other. Soldiers generally found the scene of executions impressive and distressing but did not explicitly opposed the executions. Rituals of execution were designed to maximize deterrence, and military officials customarily adjusted them to minimize their negative effects on morale. The rituals sometimes had unintended effects, depending on individual observers’ sensitivities. For most soldiers, however, perceived deterrent effects sufficiently justified the cruelty and humiliation involved in executions.

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Shifting Interpretations: Unionism In Virginia On The Eve Of Secession, Matthew B. Gittelman Feb 2019

Shifting Interpretations: Unionism In Virginia On The Eve Of Secession, Matthew B. Gittelman

James Blair Historical Review

In the winter of 1861, the citizens of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, met to discuss the question of secession. They adopted a set of motions drafted by Judge William Marshal Treadway, which chiefly criticized northern states for refusing to uphold the Fugitive Slave Act and alleged that they were the true violators of the Constitution. If “Mr. Treadway's Resolution” is treated as a microcosm of Virginian thought on the eve of the Civil War, then the document raises serious questions. This paper evaluates the contentions of the Resolution and weighs evidence that both supports and contradicts the subversive claims it ...

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Traitors In The Service Of The Lord: The Role Of Church And Clergy In Appalachia's Civil War, Sheilah Elwardani Feb 2019

Traitors In The Service Of The Lord: The Role Of Church And Clergy In Appalachia's Civil War, Sheilah Elwardani

Masters Theses

Studies of the guerrilla war in the central and southern Appalachian Mountains reveal repeated instances of violence and threats directed at the pastors of mountain churches. Instances of churches being burned, pastors and laymen beaten and at times murdered are sprinkled throughout the primary source materials. The question raised here is why were pastors and specific churches being targeted for violence? The church was the center of the life for secluded Appalachian communities, church leadership carried tremendous weight in influencing loyalties. Research focused solely on the Dunkard Church in Floyd County, Virginia revealed that amidst a particularly violent guerrilla war ...

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Hebron, John L., 1842-1914 (Sc 3323), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jan 2019

Hebron, John L., 1842-1914 (Sc 3323), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript for Manuscripts Small Collection 3323. Letter, 20 February 1862, from John L. Hebron to his mother in Steubenville, Ohio. He reports his regiment’s arrival on the outskirts of Bowling Green, Kentucky, taken from Confederate forces “without firing a gun,” and describes attempting to cross a ruined bridge, his living quarters in a deserted house, and available food supplies. In a 25 February postscript from Nashville, Tennessee, he writes of the troops’ continued lack of success in crossing the river into Bowling Green, and mentions reports that the Confederates plan to “make a stand” south of ...

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Ua1c2/25 Ft. Albert Sidney Johnston Photos, Wku Archives Jan 2019

Ua1c2/25 Ft. Albert Sidney Johnston Photos, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Images of Fort Albert Sidney Johnston.

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The Colfax Massacre: A Culmination Of Political And Racial Disparity, Lian F. Mitzian Dec 2018

The Colfax Massacre: A Culmination Of Political And Racial Disparity, Lian F. Mitzian

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

I wrote this paper for the interdisciplinary humanities course The Development of Western Culture in a Global Context. My writing process consisted of first examining various primary and secondary sources on Southern Reconstruction and the Colfax Massacre. This gave me an understanding of how historians have come to understand the event throughout time. In my research, I found two categories of interpretations, which I then used to organize my ideas and develop my own understanding of the implications of the event.

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Dennis, John, B. 1832 - Letter To (Sc 3300), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Nov 2018

Dennis, John, B. 1832 - Letter To (Sc 3300), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3300. Letter, 2 January 1862, to John Dennis and his parents, Richland County, Ohio from John’s brother. In camp near Bardstown, Kentucky with the 64th Regiment, Company B, Ohio Volunteers, he praises Kentucky’s farms, crops and springs, and refers to two men ofhis acquaintance: William Clark, who is serving with the Confederate Army, and Charles Clark, who he met in Louisville, Kentucky and who boasted of his regiment’s superior skills and African American servants. The envelope bears a pro-Union image.

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Weir Family Collection (Mss 651), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Nov 2018

Weir Family Collection (Mss 651), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 651. Letters and papers of the Weir family of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, and related members of the Rumsey and Miller families. Well-to-do merchants and farmers, the Weirs were leading supporters of the Union during the Civil War, providing advocacy, financial support, and military service. Also includes a letter from the brother of steamboat pioneer James Rumsey defending his legacy as an innovator.

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Messer, George, 1833-1863 (Sc 3297), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Nov 2018

Messer, George, 1833-1863 (Sc 3297), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3297. Letter, 10 August 1863, of George Messer to his wife Lottie Messer in DeWitt County, Illinois, written from camp southwest of Lebanon, Kentucky. He describes the forces gathering in the area and praises his current officers. Despite the amenities of his camp, he recounts the prevalence of illness and his struggle with chronic diarrhea, which he fears will prevent him and others from accompanying the regiment on a planned march to east Tennessee.

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Thompson, B. F. (Sc 3296), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Nov 2018

Thompson, B. F. (Sc 3296), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3296. Letter, 27 July 1863, to his wife from B. F. Thompson, in camp with the Union Army near Danville, Kentucky. He details preparations for a march, including the issue of new guns and equipment and packing up old guns for return. He reports a rumor of Confederates crossing the Cumberland River but is uncertain of his regiment’s next movements.

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Hobson, William Edward, 1844-1909 - Relating To (Sc 3283), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Oct 2018

Hobson, William Edward, 1844-1909 - Relating To (Sc 3283), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3283. Certificate of Honorable Discharge, 23 January 1899, issued to William E. Hobson, Bowling Green, Kentucky, by Post No. 55, Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Kentucky. The certificate includes data about Hobson’s service and the date he joined the Post.

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Row, Jacob D., 1835-1910 (Sc 3281), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Oct 2018

Row, Jacob D., 1835-1910 (Sc 3281), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3281. Letter, 4 December 1864, of Jacob D. Row, 17th Indiana Infantry, to his wife Hannah in Lakeville, Indiana. Writing from Louisville, Kentucky, he tells of improving from an illness but complains of weakness and tremors. He advises her to “sell our corn for what you can get” prior to a trip to Ohio, as he will not be coming home on furlough.

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Ligon, Lucy Ann (Parker) Robbins, 1833-1891 - Letters To (Sc 3278), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Oct 2018

Ligon, Lucy Ann (Parker) Robbins, 1833-1891 - Letters To (Sc 3278), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3278. Letters to Lucy Ann Robbins Ligon, the daughter of Fulton County, Kentucky judge Josiah Parker and his wife Lucy A. Parker, written while she lived in Crittenden County, Arkansas with her late husband’s brother, and in Hickman, Kentucky after her remarriage. Lucy’s parents relay news of her siblings and of pre-Civil War Hickman, and at the outbreak of war dramatically describe the division of loyalties, the townspeople’s fear and uncertainty as invasion threatens from the North, the enlistment of local men, two destructive fires, economic conditions, the suspension of ...

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Ballew, William A., 1842-1915 (Sc 3277), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Oct 2018

Ballew, William A., 1842-1915 (Sc 3277), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3277. Letter, 12 November 1864, from William A. Ballew to Thomas Hopkins, Clinton County, Kentucky. Writing from Spring Hill, Tennessee, where he is serving with the 12th Kentucky Infantry, Ballew notes his regiment’s support of presidential candidate George B. McClellan (“little mack”). Although they were not yet enfranchised, he cites a mock election held by African Americans in Nashville as evidence for President Abraham Lincoln’s likely reelection. He notes the good health of his fellow soldiers, including Hopkins’ two sons, Lewis and Shelby.

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Hopkins, Lewis Franklin, 1841-1921 (Sc 3275), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Oct 2018

Hopkins, Lewis Franklin, 1841-1921 (Sc 3275), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3275. Letter, 18 April 1864, to his parents in Clinton County, Kentucky, from Lewis F. Hopkins, 12th Kentucky Infantry. Encamped at Burnside’s Point, Kentucky, he reports on the construction of fortifications and the soldiers’ demand for horses. He finds the food plentiful, but is unhappy that civilians in the vicinity who have come from Tennessee and are likely to have Confederate sympathies are drawing from the camp commissary.

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Fry, Samuel Van Buren, 1840-1903 (Sc 3276), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Oct 2018

Fry, Samuel Van Buren, 1840-1903 (Sc 3276), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3276. Letter, 31 July 1864, of Samuel V. Fry, 16th Kentucky Infantry, to Ruth Jane Sapp. From Dalton, Georgia, he writes of engaging Confederate forces near Atlanta in a "big fight every day” and hopes to see her if he survives the war. He urges her not to “give me up for lost and take some other gentle man in my place.”

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Dr. James L. White -- "History Of The Confederate General Hospital Located At Farmville, Va, 1862-1865", Maeve Losen Oct 2018

Dr. James L. White -- "History Of The Confederate General Hospital Located At Farmville, Va, 1862-1865", Maeve Losen

Theses, Dissertations & Honors Papers

Dr. James L. White (1833-1909) was not born and raised in Farmville, Virginia, but he called the town home, nonetheless. Using White’s own accounts, with the aid of medical periodicals, newspapers, and Civil War databases, readers are able to best understand the life of one of Farmville’s former physicians. This biographical sketch, along with accompanying resources, describes not only his professional career as a surgeon and doctor, but his early life, experiences during the American Civil War, and impact on the town of Farmville in the late-nineteenth century and into the early-twentieth century.

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Review, Surveillance And Spies In The Civil War: Exposing Confederate Conspiracies In America’S Heartland, By Stephen E. Towne, Evan Rothera Sep 2018

Review, Surveillance And Spies In The Civil War: Exposing Confederate Conspiracies In America’S Heartland, By Stephen E. Towne, Evan Rothera

Secrecy and Society

Review of Stephen E. Towne's Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War: Exposing Confederate Conspiracies in America’s Heartland.

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Helm Family Papers (Mss 633), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Sep 2018

Helm Family Papers (Mss 633), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscript Collection 633. Correspondence, business papers, deeds, and miscellaneous records of the Helm family of Butler County, Kentucky, and related families.

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Chapin, Margaret (Terwillinger) (Sc 3239), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jul 2018

Chapin, Margaret (Terwillinger) (Sc 3239), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection SC 3239. Letter, dated November 16, 1862, by Margaret T. Chapin, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, to her husband, David S. Chapin, at Camp Despair in Kentucky. Margaret copies a section of a song from a hymnbook. David S. Chapin writes back to Margaret, on the other side of the paper, dated December 22, 1862, from Camp Despair. He writes that Margaret would receive his pension if he dies. He tells her that she would earn $96 a year, or $11 a month. He reminds her to send stamps in her next letter, he ...

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Morgan, William Montrose, 1842-1926 (Sc 3231), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jul 2018

Morgan, William Montrose, 1842-1926 (Sc 3231), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3231. Letter, February 2, 1862, of William Montrose Morgan to his parents and sisters, of Wisconsin. From Camp Wood, Kentucky, he writes of the rainy and snowy weather; the number of soldiers sick in company regiments; he describes his regiment and his brigade commander as being the best in the division. He comments about the regiment being on guard duty and held in reserve to protect a bridge and ferry on Green River. The letter describes that there are 20,000 men in his regiment under General Negley; Union materials were being transported ...

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Kibbee, Amos Watson, 1828-1915 (Sc 3230), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jul 2018

Kibbee, Amos Watson, 1828-1915 (Sc 3230), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3230. Letter, 26 January 1862, of Amos Watson Kibbee to his cousin, Hattie Tuttle, of Painesville, Ohio. From Camp Barker in Cairo, Illinois, he writes about camp life and rumors of possible cavalry soldiers being discharged and his experiences of late-night scouting duties. He also describes being in an advance guard with other soldiers, taking the town of Blandville, Kentucky, and arresting suspicious civilians. He writes about guarding a prisoner of war, and his change of religious views. Includes an Illinois Union envelope.

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Our Country: Northern Evangelicals And The Union During The Civil War Era [Bibliography], Grant Brodrecht Jun 2018

Our Country: Northern Evangelicals And The Union During The Civil War Era [Bibliography], Grant Brodrecht

History

On March 4, 1865, the day Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address, Reverend Doctor George Peck put the finishing touches on a collection of his sermons that he intended to send to the president. Although the politically moderate Peck had long opposed slavery, he, along with many other northern evangelicals, was not an abolitionist. During the Civil War he had come to support emancipation, but, like Lincoln, the conflict remained first and foremost about preserving the Union. Believing their devotion to the Union was an act of faithfulness to God first and the Founding Fathers second, Our Country explores ...

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Civil War, 1861-1865 - Reenactors (Sc 3228), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jun 2018

Civil War, 1861-1865 - Reenactors (Sc 3228), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3228. “26th Kentucky Volunteers: To Save the Union,” a handbook for a company of Civil War reenactors based in Owensboro, Kentucky. Includes a history of the 26th Kentucky Volunteers and a guide to aspects of reenacting including uniforms, equipment, camp setup and rules of conduct.

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Hebron, John L., 1842-1914 (Sc 3226), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jun 2018

Hebron, John L., 1842-1914 (Sc 3226), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3226. Letter, 31 January 1862, of John Hebron to his mother, written from Camp Jefferson, Bacon Creek, Hart County, Kentucky. He thanks her for a food package, comments on his health and, in response to her question, replies that he knows of no one being confined for failing to keep his gun clean.

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Ms-225: Joshua Blake Civil War Naval Journal, Laurel J. Wilson Jun 2018

Ms-225: Joshua Blake Civil War Naval Journal, Laurel J. Wilson

All Finding Aids

In this journal, Blake details his experiences aboard the USS Preble, which was one of the ships that were deployed to the Gulf Coast as part of the Eastern Gulf Blockading Squadron. His time on the USS Preble is detailed in the first 41 pages of the journal. On page 46, Blake switches to detailing his time aboard the USS Augusta from 1866-67, and also details his 1869 passage to Genoa aboard a ship called the Magdalene. On page 132, Blake switches back to 1862, detailing his two months aboard the USS Connecticut. A possible explanation for this pattern of ...

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Warren, Kaye (Fa 1150), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2018

Warren, Kaye (Fa 1150), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1150. Student folk studies project titled “From Slavery to Freedom for the Negro Race in Logan County [Kentucky]” which includes survey sheets with a brief description of African American life in Logan County, Kentucky. Sheets may include interviews, written records, photographs, informant’s name, age, and address.

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The Soldiers & Sailors Monument: A County-Wide Civil War Memorial, Matthew R. Ballard May 2018

The Soldiers & Sailors Monument: A County-Wide Civil War Memorial, Matthew R. Ballard

Pioneer Record

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is perhaps one of the most impressive and beautiful war memorials in our area, but the true significance of the shrine is often overshadowed by the novelty and "thrill of the climb" up the winding steel staircase. In the face of grave sacrifice, a community struggled to memorialize the hundreds of young men, sons, brothers, and fathers, who left the security of home for ideals far greater than themselves.

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The Relationship Between The Methodist Church, Slavery And Politics, 1784-1844, Brian D. Lawrence May 2018

The Relationship Between The Methodist Church, Slavery And Politics, 1784-1844, Brian D. Lawrence

Theses and Dissertations

The Methodist church split in 1844 was a cumulative result of decades of regional instability within the governing structure of the church. Although John Wesley had a strict anti-slavery belief as the leader of the movement in Great Britain, the Methodist church in America faced a distinctively different dilemma. Slavery proved to be a lasting institution that posed problems for Methodism in the United States and in the larger political context. The issue of slavery plagued Methodism from almost its inception, but the church functioned well although conflicts remained below the surface. William Capers, James Osgood Andrew, and Freeborn Garrettson ...

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Webster, Mrs. William - Letter To (Sc 3221), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2018

Webster, Mrs. William - Letter To (Sc 3221), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3221. Letter written by “Ann” to her sister, Mrs. William Webster in Lorain County, Ohio, apparently after leaving home to join her husband Ed, stationed at a garrison in Columbus, Kentucky. Ann writes of her recent illness and the frequency of sickness in women coming from the North; of Ed’s military duties; of a “boy” back home; and of her lack of fear when alarms are raised at the garrison. In an apparent reference to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, she doubts that he will “gobble” them up. Ed adds a postscript ...

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