History Commons^™

Montgomery: The Murals In The Dome, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

A broad sweeping portico looms behind the gay couple riding horses on a summer's afternoon. The man wears a brown coat and tall black top hat. The woman dresses in the finery of the turn-of-the-century. A hunting dog stands at attention as the horses stride across the plantation's spacious lawn. Back on the porch, a black "mammy" figure watches over a young girl. [excerpt]

Montgomery: Jeff Davis' Seal Of Solomon, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Set into the marble steps of Alabama's Capitol building is a brass star. Gleaming against the white stone, the star stands at the top of the stairs on the Capitol's west face. The star reads, "Placed by Sophie Bibb Chapter Daughters of the Confederacy on the spot where Jefferson Davis stood when inaugurated President of C.S.A. Feb. 16. 1861." [excerpt]

“A Debt Of Honor”: The Hegemonic Benevolence Of Richmond’S Female Elites At The “Last Confederate Christmas” Of 1864, Ashley M. Whitehead

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

In poignant remembrance of the last Christmas in the Confederate White House, Varina Davis, First Lady of the Confederacy, reflected upon that special event in an extended article for the New York Sunday World, some thirty-two years after the Confederacy’s final Christmas. Davis recounted the event fondly and praised the transformation of her female peers into perfect models of Confederate endurance under the extreme duress of civil war. In re-creating the dramaturgy of the three-part event, which was organized and hosted in large part by the Confederacy’s First Lady, Davis opened a critical window into southern sensibilities and the cultural …

"The Most Awful Problem That Any Nation Ever Undertook To Solve": Reconstruction As A Crisis In Citizenship, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

Reconstruction is the step-child of the Civil War, the black hole of American history. It lacks the conflict and the personalities that make the Civil War so colorful; it also lacks the climactic feuds and battles, and dissipates into a confusing and wearisome tale of lost opportunities, squalid victories, and embarrassing defeats whose ultimate endpoint is the great American disgrace - Jim Crow. It lives with the short end of the historical stick for accomplishing too much, then accomplishing too little, with the result that almost the worst thing that can be said about someone in American history is that …

"The Latent Enmity Of Georgia": Sherman's March And Its Effects On The Social Division Of Georgia, Michael Jason Spurr

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In September 1864, Union General William T. Sherman's Savannah Campaign targeted the growing animosity between wealthy and poor Georgians when he proposed that Union forces "arouse the latent enmity of Georgia." This thesis continues the study of the March to the Sea by examining the effect of Sherman's campaign as it pertained to the social divisions between Georgians. Sherman's army alone did not ruin the state's ability to remain a vital contributor to the war effort, but rather focused upon the already growing social disputes between Georgians over economic contributions, military sacrifice, and political support. Even before Sherman's army arrived, …

The Development Of A Legend: Stonewall Jackson As A Southern Hero, Andrew R. Chesnut

Senior Honors Theses

Throughout history, most individuals have lived their lives, and then faded into oblivion with little to remember them by. Relatively few receive credit for significantly affecting the course of human history and obtain appropriate remembrance in accounts of the past. For those whose memories endure, due to the unrepeatable nature of past events, history remains vulnerable to the corrupting influence of myths and legends that distort historical realities. Confederate Lieutenant General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson (1824-1863) serves as a prime example of an historical figure, who, though deserving of his place in history, has been subsequently distorted by biographers and memory. …

The Irish In The Civil War, W Dennis Keating

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

In this article, I will discuss the role of the Irish in the Civil War focusing on some famous units, primarily on the Northern side but also some in the South. I will profile the three leading Irish-American military leaders of the war – Thomas Francis Meagher of the Irish Brigade, “Little” Phil Sheridan of the Union, and Patrick Cleburne of the Confederacy. While “Stonewall” Jackson was of Ulster Scots-Irish stock, I am not including him. Seven Union and six Confederate generals were Irish-born. And I will discuss the conflict between the Irish immigrants and the Negroes, which erupted in …

[Introduction To] Crucible Of The Civil War: Virginia From Secession To Commemoration, Edward L. Ayers, Gary W. Gallagher, Andrew J. Torget

Bookshelf

Crucible of the Civil War offers an illuminating portrait of the state’s wartime economic, political, and social institutions. Weighing in on contentious issues within established scholarship while also breaking ground in areas long neglected by scholars, the contributors examine such concerns as the war’s effect on slavery in the state, the wartime intersection of race and religion, and the development of Confederate social networks. They also shed light on topics long disputed by historians, such as Virginia’s decision to secede from the Union, the development of Confederate nationalism, and how Virginians chose to remember the war after its close.

Apple Of Gold In A Picture Of Silver: The Constitution And Liberty, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

In the threatening winter of 1861, as the United States was being ~ inched ever- closer td the outbreak of civil war by the secession of the Southern states over the issue of black slavery, the newly elected president, Abraham Lincoln, opened up a confidential correspondence with a f6rmer Southern political colleague, Alexander Stephens of Georgia. Stephens had made headlines in November 1860, in a speech to the Georgia legislature, urging Georgia not to follow tlie South into secession. Lincoln sent him a friendly note, asking- for a printed copy of the speech-and perhaps warming Stephens to an invitation to …

Snapshot Within A Portrait: The Civil War In Clark County, Arkansas, 1861-1865, Stephanie Harper

Honors Theses

Pointilism is described as "the application of paint in small dots and brush strokes so as to create an effect of blending." From a distance, the artistic style of pointilism appears to be a complete work of art but closer inspection reveals a series of miniscule dots that combine to form the entire image on the canvas. The American Civil War is a large portrait in American history. However, its description is not limited to battles and war heroes. A true portrait encompasses all aspects of the war effort from the citizens on the home front to the soldiers in …

The Great Valley And The Meaning Of The Civil War, Edward L. Ayers

History Faculty Publications

To understand the coming of the Civil War, then, we need to pick up the story before Fort Sumter and to carry it deeper than national events. We need to understand both the advocated of conflict and those who sought to avoid it regardless of the cost. We need to understand the communities people fought to defend, the institutions that held them together and that drove them apart.

"Becoming Southern: The Jews Of Savannah, Georgia, 1830-70, Mark I. Greenberg

Mark I. Greenberg

No abstract provided.

"Becoming Southern: The Jews Of Savannah, Georgia, 1830-70, Mark I. Greenberg

Western Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Tobacco And Its Role In The Life Of The Confederacy, D. T. Smith

History Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the role that tobacco played in influencing Confederate policy during the American Civil War. Surprisingly, very little research has been done on this subject; historians have virtually ignored the influence of tobacco upon Southern economic interests between 1850 and 1870.

The southern tobacco-producing states grew 439,183,561 pounds of raw tobacco in 1860. Southern manufactured tobacco was worth $21,820,535 in 1860, and along with other agricultural products, especially cotton, played an important economic, political, and diplomatic role in the life of the Confederacy. The tobacco industry represented a very strong interest group in the Upper South during the …

"Ambivalent Relations: Acceptance And Anti-Semitism In Confederate Thomasville", Mark I. Greenberg

Mark I. Greenberg

No abstract provided.

"Ambivalent Relations: Acceptance And Anti-Semitism In Confederate Thomasville", Mark I. Greenberg

Western Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

John Bankhead Magruder And The Defense Of The Virginia Peninsula, 1861-1862, Leonard W. Riedel Jr.

History Theses & Dissertations

The viability of the Confederacy depended on its ability to organize a government and military defense force. Two early concerns were the operation of Gosport Naval Shipyard and protection of the Confederate capital at Richmond. Poised between them was Fortress Monroe.

With undisputed Union mastery of the Chesapeake Bay, Fortress Monroe was a constant reminder of the tentative security of these critical points. The man chosen to protect the Peninsula was Virginian, John Bankhead Magruder. Less than one year later, his efforts were denigrated by Commanding General Joseph E. Johnston who wanted to pursue his own strategic plan.

Under constant …

The Piedmont Railroad: A Reflection Of Confederate Railroad Policy, David Maurice Self

History Theses & Dissertations

Confederate railroad policies had a disruptive effect on the final outcome of the war for the South. This thesis endeavors to examine the history of the construction of the Piedmont Railroad as it reflected Confederate railroad policy during the American Civil War. The work is devoted specifically to a study of the obstacles confronting the construction of the Piedmont Railroad from its inception to its completion. One finds throughout this period a fluctuating Confederate policy concerning its railroads and no permanent. official agency to coordinate its affairs. The Piedmont Railroad was to be a vital part of the system of …

Washington, Arkansas: "The War Years" (1860-1865), Don Yancey

Honors Theses

To the ignorant visitor to Washington, Arkansas, it may seem a bit strange that this tiny, decaying Southern town played such an important role during the War Between the States. The strangeness disappears, however, when one learns of how its location in the South, its people, and its monetary and troop contributions meant to the war effort here in Arkansas. Even when the Federals took control of Little Rock, the state capitol, Washington volunteered its services to serve as the Confederate State Capitol. Despite its later decline, Washington occupies a commanding position in the state history of Arkansas and the …

Headquarters Western Sub-District Of Texas [Civil War Broadside], James Edwin Slaughter, L. G. Aldrich

Lower Rio Grande Valley Curated Material

"Headquarters Western Sub-District of Texas,

Brownsville, December 9, 1864.

General Orders, No. 12,

In accordance with orders from District Headquarters, the following instructions to troop [sic] serving in this District, are again promulgated for the information of all concerned.

Eagle Pass, Laredo, Rio Grande City and Edinburg have been ordered open ports for the ex-portation of all cotton by the way of the frontier; and any cotton found crossing the river at any other point, expect by special permission from these Headquarters, or evidently proceeding to any other than the designated ports, will be confiscated and one-half of the proceeds …

Arkansas Secession Ordinance, 1861 May 6, Arkansas Secession Convention

Arkansas Secession Ordinance, 1861 May 6

This is the secession ordinance by which the state of Arkansas seceded from the Union, in May of 1861.

Arkansas Secession Ordinance, 1861 May 6

Finding aids

This collection contains the document that authorized Arkansas's secession from the Union.

The Confederate Military Commissions Of Edwin G. Lee, 1860-1864, Commonwealth Of Virginia, Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, Adjutant And Inspector General's Office, Confederate States Of America, John Withers, James Seddon, John K. Mitchell, Paymaster's Office, Confederate States Army, Staunton, Virginia, Edwin G. Lee

Edwin G. Lee Papers

Official military commissions, resignations, receipts for pay and other documents associated with the military career Edwin G. Lee. The documents include:

An appointment as first lieutenant in the Virginia militia, June 1860

An appointment as a major in the "active volunteer forces" of Virginia, July 1861

An assignment to the 33rd Virginia Regiment, July 27, 1861

A resignation (at rank of Colonel), December 1862

A commission as Lieutenant Colonel in the 33rd Virginia Regiment, dated January 14, 1863 with term of service beginning in April of that year

A certificate of nomination by the President (of the Confederate States) to …