History Commons^™

From The End Of Politics To Legitimate Opposition: Political Perceptions Of The 37th Congress Of The United States In The North 1860-1862, Lauren Dubas

Honors Theses

This paper intends to explore the political landscape of the Union during the first two years of the Civil War, specifically how the people in the North perceived what remained of the Congress from 1860-1862. I will be using a combination of primary and secondary sources to cover the 37^th Congress of the United States, whose members were elected in 1860 and legislated until the next Congressional election in 1862. My research shows several significant stages in the political landscape during this period and uses these stages of partisan politics as the foundation for understanding how the federal government, …

Castle Pinckney Work Continues- Testing And Monitoring During The Down Season In 2020, John Fisher

Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Escape From Camp Ford!, Vicki Betts

Presentations and Publications

Accounts by federal prisoners of war who tried to escape from Camp Ford, Texas, 1863-1865.

Legacy - September 2020, South Carolina Institute Of Archaeology And Anthropology--University Of South Carolina

SCIAA Newsletter - Legacy & PastWatch

Contents:

Ancient Weapons from the Siege of Ninety Six…..p. 1

Director’s Notes…..p. 2

New Books Include Contributions by SCIAA Staff…..p. 4

Artillery Ammunition from the 1781 Siege of Star Fort…..p. 5

The Wateree Bug: Hellgrammites, Dobsonflies, and Mississippian Period Potters…..p. 8

Sixteenth-Century Scale Weights from Santa Elena…..p. 12

Update on the Activities of the Southeastern Paleoamerican Survey (2014-2020)…..p. 17

Field Slave Quarters Discovered at Historic Brattonsville…..p. 23

Castle Pinckney Work Continues: Testing and Monitoring During the Down Season in 2020……p. 26

A Vietnam War-Era Training Village at Fort Jackson…..p. 28

Archaeological Survey at Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site…..p. 31 …

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

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) 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.

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 …

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.

Honor And Compromise, And Getting History Right, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly does not have a Ph.D. in history, although he does have two master’s degrees, in Strategic Studies (from the National Defense University) and in National Security Affairs from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. So perhaps it was simply that he believed what he said about the Civil War this past Monday on Laura Ingraham’s new Fox News ‘Ingraham Angle’ was so innocuous that he could also believe that it wouldn’t even become a blip on anyone’s radar screen. (excerpt)

Forggett, Essie (Fa 1104), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1104. Student paper titled “Slavery in Green County” in which Essie Forggett details the history of the settlement of Green County and its eventual dependence upon slave labor. Forggett also includes stories of slave auctions, punishments, attempted escapes, and religious practices of slaves throughout the region. Paper is based on information collected by Forggett from county clerk records and in-person interviews with slave descendants.

Education In The South: 1870-1930, Joe S. Mixon

Student Research

The fight for better education in the South after the Civil War was a long, arduous process. Illiteracy was at extreme levels as Reconstruction was under way. Many people in the South saw this and tried to remedy the problem as best they could. This paper will look at how education levels in the South increased through the eyes of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the United Confederate Veterans, the Cherokee Indians, and most important of all, Anne Bachman Hyde.

Caught In The Headlights: Revising The Road Kill Hypothesis Of Antebellum Illinois Bank Failures, Scott N. Clayman, Scott Deacle, Andrew J. Economopoulos

Business and Economics Faculty Publications

Illinois had a dismal free banking experience, with over 80% of its free banks failing by the start of the Civil War. Researchers agree that a dramatic change in bond prices was the catalyst, and some have shown that the riskiest banks, ex ante, were the most likely to fail. This study examines how Illinois free banks adjusted their portfolios in the face of increased political and financial risks prior to Abraham Lincoln’s election as president. Lincoln’s nomination in May 1860 and the Democratic Party schism in June 1860 raised the likelihood of secession and the potential for a significant …

Davis, Jefferson Finis, 1808-1889 - Letter To (Sc 3099), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3099. Letter, 9 October 1861, from Kentucky secessionists James W. Moore, J. M. Burns, and Nathaniel M. Menifee to Confederate president Jefferson Davis requesting an urgent meeting to discuss Kentucky’s political situation. Research notes relating to this letter and its circumstances, referencing The Diary of Edmund Ruffin, are also included.

Shakers - South Union, Kentucky (Mss 598), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 598. Shaker Record B, a journal of the activities of the Shaker colony at South Union, Kentucky. The journal has been typescripted from the original, held at the Shaker Museum at South Union. Click on "Additional Files" below for an index of names.

Ambrose Civil War Letters, Archivists

Guides and Finding Aids

Joseph Scrivner Ambrose IV was born in 1835 in Clay County, Kentucky, the sixth child of Joseph Scrivner Ambrose III and Hannah Clements Ambrose. J. S. Ambrose IV joined the Confederate States Army as a captain, Company F, 8th Kentucky Cavalry, on September 10, 1862, in Boone County, Kentucky. During the war, Ambrose participated in a Confederate incursion covering hundreds of miles of Union territory during a nearly month-long campaign, known as "Morgan's Raid." Led by General John Hunt Morgan, the legendary raid went deeper into the North than any other Confederate Army campaign, but the men were forced to …

“The Union Forever”: Frederick, Maryland In The Elections Of 1860 And 1864, Megan E. Mcnish

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Frederick, Maryland has been remembered as a bastion of Unionist sentiment during the Civil War. However, in the Election of 1860, on the eve of the nation’s internal conflict, a large portion of the city’s 8,000 residents voted for a secessionist candidate. The Election of 1860 is famous for straying from the typical bi-partisan election; four candidates ran for office and each appealed to different political sentiments. [excerpt]

This Month In Civil War History: April 2016, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Click the play button below in order to listen to “This Month in Civil War History.” You can also scroll down to read through the transcript if you would prefer to read it. This report is also airing on WZBT 91.1 FM throughout this month. Thanks to WZBT for their help in producing this piece. [excerpt]

Find Your Park Friday: For The Love Of Nature, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

The Civil War Institute will be celebrating the National Park Service Centennial this spring with its brand new “Find Your Park Friday” series. Inspired by the NPS #FindYourPark campaign, the series will challenge our fellows to share their experiences exploring America’s national historical, cultural, and natural resources through trips and internships with the NPS. In our second post, Jeff Lauck discusses his passion for photography and the park that started it. [excerpt]

The Literal Reconstruction Of Vmi: Resolved To Be, Kaylyn L. Sawyer

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This is the last in a three-part series on the legacy of the Civil War at the Virginia Military Institute. You can also check out part one to read about VMI’s struggle for survival in the years immediately after the war and part two for information about the Institute in Civil War memory. [excerpt]

The Literal Reconstruction Of Vmi: Reunion, Restitution, Remembrance, Kaylyn L. Sawyer

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This is the second in a three-part series on the legacy of the Civil War at the Virginia Military Institute. You can also check out part one to read about VMI’s struggle for survival in the years immediately after the war. Stay tuned for the conclusion of the series. [excerpt]

Another Day In Confederate Gettysburg, Scott Hancock

Africana Studies Faculty Publications

Today the Sons of Confederate Veterans ‘celebrated’ the confederate flag at the Peace Light Memorial on the battlefields of Gettysburg. The same battlefields where some of their ancestors suffered a pivotal defeat, and then kidnapped free Black Americans as they fled south. When I found out the SCV had obtained a permit from the National Park Service, I did likewise so I could stand up there with my homemade sign that connects the confederate flag to some of its most seminal moments in history: fighting for slavery in 1863, fighting for segregation in 1962, and murdering nine black South Carolinians …

The Literal Reconstruction Of Vmi: To Obliterate Or Not To Obliterate?, Kaylyn L. Sawyer

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

My family-driven fondness for the Virginia Military Institute is not a secret. I actually have a vintage gridiron-inspired VMI bobble head doll, an inheritance from my great grandmother who was proud to see both her sons graduate from the Institute. While thinking about the Civil War history of VMI for an academic course, I was struck by a most obvious question: Why was Virginia allowed to rebuild the Institute, described by some as a factory for the mass production of Confederates, after its destruction in 1864? I considered the challenge an opportunity for engaging research, and I offer this as …

Slavery And The Civil War: The Reflections Of A Yankee Intern In Appomattox, Jonathan G. Danchik

Student Publications

An overview of the "Lost Cause" and the resultant challenges faced by interpreters in Civil War parks.

The "Unfinished Work:" The Civil War Centennial And The Civil Rights Movement, Megan A. Sutter

Student Publications

The Civil War Centennial celebrations fell short of a great opportunity in which Americans could reflect on the legacy of the Civil War through the racial crisis erupting in their nation. Different groups exploited the Centennial for their own purposes, but only the African Americans and civil rights activists tried to emphasize the importance of emancipation and slavery to the memory of the war. Southerners asserted states’ rights in resistance to what they saw as a black rebellion in their area. Northerners reflected back on the theme of reconciliation, prevalent in the seventy-fifth anniversary of the war. Unfortunately, those who …

Say “Neigh” To Abuse: On The Treatment Of Horses And Mules In The Civil War, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

The stuffed head of Old Baldy, General George Meade’s favorite horse, can be found mounted on the wall of the Grand Army of the Republic Museum in Philadelphia. General Robert E. Lee’s horse, Traveler, received gifts and international adoration even after the war’s end, and General Ulysses S. Grant’s three war mounts, including one pony stolen from a plantation belonging to Jeff Davis’ brother, rested comfortably in fame and verdant pastures until the ends of their lives [excerpt].

"Let Us Cross Over The River And Rest Under The Shade Of The Trees,": My Final Post For The Summer, Steven J. Semmel

Blogging the Library

As the summer comes to a close, the more I think about my experiences here at Special Collections. This internship was completely different compared to my past internships, going from giving tours to creating finding aids for collections. I lived a Civil War Era Studies student’s dream, being able to handle a wide range of artifacts and documents while helping preserve them at the same time. The Hosford Collection has portions of it digitized on GettDigital and I am currently working on reorganizing and editing the Civil War Vertical File Manuscript. The Hosford Collection helped me establish my understanding of …

Faces Of The Civil War, Steven J. Semmel

Blogging the Library

As the internship enters its final month of the summer, I’ve been processing and looking at various Civil War collections. This era in history is well known for the bloody conflicts that separated the nation. However, not much is known about most individuals that fought in different regiments across the country, or even what they looked like. Special Collections is home to a few faces that at Gettysburg, out West, prisoners at Andersonville, or stationed in places like Florida. The collections I have recently processed included photos of those soldiers at different stages in their life. [excerpt]

The Unfinished Work: Slavery Today, Kevin P. Lavery

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

2.7 million. That’s an estimate for the number of slaves in the world today. The true number is probably higher, even though the United States abolished slavery 150 years ago. Most of today’s slaves go unseen and unaided, victims of an opaque system of exploitation that conspires to keep them oppressed. [excerpt]

Business, Education, And Enjoyment: Stakeholder Interpretations Of The Gettysburg Museum And Visitors Center, Ava M. Muhr

Student Publications

An anthropological study of the Gettysburg Museum and Visitors Center undertaken to understand the ways in which the visitor experience is conditioned by their own personal background, as well as filtered through the carefully constructed historical narrative created by museum historians, National Park Service rangers, and administrators. The Gettysburg Museum and Visitors Center is a site in which multiple stakeholders contend to ensure that their interpretations of the museum’s purpose is being upheld. This paper will examine the ways in which these various stakeholders – primarily NPS rangers, Civil War historians, and history buffs – interpret the catalyst(s) for constructing …

Assessing Reconstruction: Did The South Undergo Revolutionary Change?, Lauren H. Sobotka

Student Publications

With the end of the Civil War, came a number of unanswered questions Reconstruction would attempt to answer for the South. While the South underwent economic, political and social changes for a short period, old traditions continued to persist resulting in racist sentiment.

“Caught Between Southern Pride And Southern Blame”: Brad Paisley’S “Accidental Racist”, Brianna E. Kirk

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

An ongoing and rather controversial debate in the Civil War world is that over the rightful placement of the Confederate battle flag in American memory. Being such a provocative symbol both in terms of history and race relations, its ‘true’ meaning and ‘true’ symbolism are constantly in flux. With recent disputes on the removal of the Confederate flag from Robert E. Lee’s tomb at Washington and Lee University making their way into the mainstream news, the complicated meaning of the rebel symbol and where it belongs in American memory have earned their places at the forefront of the national consciousness. …