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Full-Text Articles in History
“Infantry Would Not Do:” Appalachia, The Environment, And The Evolution Of Mountain Warfare During The American Civil War, Lucas Michael Wilder
“Infantry Would Not Do:” Appalachia, The Environment, And The Evolution Of Mountain Warfare During The American Civil War, Lucas Michael Wilder
Theses and Dissertations
Union General Ambrose E. Burnside launched his invasion of East Tennessee in the summer of 1863. The corps he used consisted of half-infantry and half-mounted units to utilize their speed to overcome mountain obstacles. The successful campaign and the capture of the agriculturally rich region of East Tennessee and its vital East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad deprived the Confederacy of resources, ultimately contributing to Confederate defeat. The American Civil War saw commanders plunge into the mountains of Appalachia and encounter a terrain and a people with which many were unacquainted. This dissertation argues that their tactics and strategies for dealing …
The Spirit Of Columbus: Civil War Memory In The Fountain City, 1865-1880, Kevin Fabery
The Spirit Of Columbus: Civil War Memory In The Fountain City, 1865-1880, Kevin Fabery
Theses and Dissertations
During the Civil War men and women from Columbus supported the Confederate war effort through direct military service and the Ladies Soldier’s Friend Society. After the Civil War, the women of Columbus organized the Ladies Memorial Association to beautify Linwood Cemetery and build a Confederate monument. Their efforts between the years 1865 and 1880 was marked by organization of military parades and speech readings during Confederate Memorial Day, and fundraising projects for the creation of the Columbus monument. No research has been done on the work of Columbus’ Ladies Memorial Association. This work is a historic narrative on the efforts …
Gendering Secession: Women And Politics In South Carolina, 1859- 1861, Melissa Develvis
Gendering Secession: Women And Politics In South Carolina, 1859- 1861, Melissa Develvis
Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation examines the writings and literature surrounding elite, white South Carolina women from 1859 and 1861 to trace their increasing political consciousnesses surrounding their state’s secession and the threat of civil war. Their diaries and letters reveal that though these women and their families were staunch supporters of South Carolina’s secession, women reacted to their new circumstances with fears and misgivings that their male counterparts would not, or could not, express. Elite women harnessed familiar and religious concepts to express political hopes and fears, creating a socially acceptable outlet through which to discuss current electoral politics previously considered improper. …
Complicating The Narrative: Using Jim's Story To Interpret Enslavement, Leasing, And Resistance At Duke Homestead, Jennifer Melton
Complicating The Narrative: Using Jim's Story To Interpret Enslavement, Leasing, And Resistance At Duke Homestead, Jennifer Melton
Theses and Dissertations
In the antebellum South, an enslaved person was more likely to be leased out than to be sold during his or her lifetime. Despite its ubiquity, leasing of enslaved people is rarely interpreted at historic sites and is not widely understood by the general public. In this project, I examine leasing and resistance to slavery in North Carolina through the lens of Jim, an enslaved man leased by Washington Duke at the property that is now Duke Homestead State Historic Site. While Duke is famous in North Carolina as founder of the American Tobacco Company, he was a yeoman tobacco …
The Relationship Between The Methodist Church, Slavery And Politics, 1784-1844, Brian D. Lawrence
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 …
Belle Isle, Point Lookout, The Press And The Government: The Press And Reality Of Civil War Prison Camps, Marlea S. Donaho
Belle Isle, Point Lookout, The Press And The Government: The Press And Reality Of Civil War Prison Camps, Marlea S. Donaho
Theses and Dissertations
The study of Civil War prisons is relatively new within the broader study of the Civil War. What little study there is tends to focus on bigger prison camps. It has been established in the historiography that prisoners suffered across the divided nation, but it has not been ascertained how the decisions and policies of the government, as well as the role of the press in those decisions, effected the daily lives of Civil War prisoners. Belle Isle, a Confederate Prison, and Point Lookout, a Union prison, will be analyzed for key differences to provide a fuller picture of life …
“Confederate Soldiers In The Siege Of Petersburg And Postwar: An Intensified War And Coping Mechanisms Utilized, 1864- Ca. 1895”, Matthew R. Lempke
“Confederate Soldiers In The Siege Of Petersburg And Postwar: An Intensified War And Coping Mechanisms Utilized, 1864- Ca. 1895”, Matthew R. Lempke
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis crafts a narrative about how Confederate soldiers during the siege of Petersburg experienced an intensified war that caused them to refine soldierly coping mechanisms in order to endure. They faced increasing deprivations, new forms of death, fewer restrictions on killing, dwindling fortunes, and increased racial acrimony by facing African American soldiers. In order to adjust, they relied on soldierly camaraderie, Southern notions of honor, letter writing, and an increasingly firm reliance on Protestant Christianity to cope with their situation. Postwar, these veterans repurposed soldierly coping mechanisms and eventually used institutional support from their states. Camaraderie, honor, literary endeavors, …
Archaeological Potential Of The Rio Grande Valley: A Look At Brazos Island With A Historical Focus On The Civil War, Robin L. Galloso
Archaeological Potential Of The Rio Grande Valley: A Look At Brazos Island With A Historical Focus On The Civil War, Robin L. Galloso
Theses and Dissertations
The history of the Rio Grande Valley and the role it played in the Civil War is a developing field for both history and archaeology. This work helps to fill the existing gap that is present in academia and shows the archaeological and historical potential of this unique coastal area. The Brazos Island was heavily used during the Civil War by both the Confederacy and the Union. This thesis shows the rich history of Brazos Island and its archaeological potential through a multi-interdisciplinary lens, although rooted in the field of history. It covers a brief overview of the road to …
"Life Under Union Occupation: Elite Women In Richmond, April And May 1865", Amanda C. Tompkins
"Life Under Union Occupation: Elite Women In Richmond, April And May 1865", Amanda C. Tompkins
Theses and Dissertations
This paper crafts a narrative about how elite, white Richmond women experienced the fall and rebuilding of their city in April and May 1865. At first, the women feared the entrance of the occupying army because they believed the troops would treat them as enemies. However, the goal of the white occupiers was to restore order in the city. Even though they were initially saddened by the occupation, many women were surprised at the courtesy and respected afforded them by the Union troops. Black soldiers also made up the occupying army, and women struggled to submit to black authority. With …
Shifting Authority At The Confederate Relic Room, 1960-1986, Kristie L. Dafoe
Shifting Authority At The Confederate Relic Room, 1960-1986, Kristie L. Dafoe
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis explores the Confederate Relic Room and its final years in the hands of the United Daughters of the Confederacy before the South Carolina state government fully took over the museum. This small, localized perspective on the organization shows that the UDC was still actively commemorating the Civil War well into the late twentieth century, which challenges the current historiography that consistently ends in the 1930s. By researching this museum, insight into how the UDC’s mission and public perception had changed can be gained. In order to fully examine the museum’s history in the late twentieth century, this thesis …
Before They Were Red Shirts: The Rifle Clubs Of Columbia, South Carolina, Andrew Abeyounis
Before They Were Red Shirts: The Rifle Clubs Of Columbia, South Carolina, Andrew Abeyounis
Theses and Dissertations
This paper argues that historians should reexamine the motivations of rifle clubs during Reconstruction by looking closely at what events the clubs held and the actual men who made up the organizations. The clubs from Columbia, South Carolina were more social and political organizations than otherwise given credit. Most of the men who joined the rifle clubs tended to be men who were too young to have fought in the Civil War and not bitter veterans trying to "redeem" the state. The clubs began years before the violent "Red Shirt" campaign of 1876-77, and were more focused on organizing balls …
Not Our Fight: The Roots And Forms Of Anti-War Electoral Dissent In Civil War Wisconsin, 1860-1865, Mark Anthony Ciccone
Not Our Fight: The Roots And Forms Of Anti-War Electoral Dissent In Civil War Wisconsin, 1860-1865, Mark Anthony Ciccone
Theses and Dissertations
Although it has been discussed and examined at great length, the history of Civil War-era Wisconsin remains controversial in many ways. Though this state remained a loyal, integral part of the Northern bloc for the duration of this conflict, it was simultaneously divided deeply along political lines--Republican, Democratic, and the extreme wings of both parties--which brought about serious legislative and, at times, physical conflict between the parties and among their constituents over the nature of the state's participation in the Civil War, and the war's intended goals. And for the entirety of the war, there remained serious opposition on the …
"Newest Born Of Nations": Southern Thought On European Nationalisms And The Creation Of The Confederacy, 1820-186, Ann L. Tucker
"Newest Born Of Nations": Southern Thought On European Nationalisms And The Creation Of The Confederacy, 1820-186, Ann L. Tucker
Theses and Dissertations
When nineteenth-century southern nationalists seceded from the Union and created a southern nation, they sought to justify their actions by situating the Confederacy as one of many aspiring nations seeking membership in the family of nations in the middle of the nineteenth century. To support their argument that the Confederacy constituted a legitimate and independent nation, southern nationalists claimed nineteenth century European nationalist movements as precedents for their own attempt at nation-building, using the southern nation's supposed similarity to, or, at times, differences from, these European aspiring nations to legitimize the Confederacy. Such claims built on a long antebellum precedent …
Interpreting The War Anew: An Appraisal Of Richmond’S Civil War Centennial Commemoration, Brandon Butterworth
Interpreting The War Anew: An Appraisal Of Richmond’S Civil War Centennial Commemoration, Brandon Butterworth
Theses and Dissertations
In existence from 1959 to 1965, the Richmond Civil War Centennial Committee was formed for the purpose of planning and executing Richmond’s Civil War centennial commemoration. In this thesis, the author will examine the history of the Richmond Civil War Centennial Committee (RCWCC) and its efforts to develop a new historical narrative of Richmond and the Civil War. This paper will assess Richmond’s previous attempts to commemorate the Civil War and will argue that the RCWCC contributed to the advancement of Richmond’s Civil War narrative by de-emphasizing past Confederate celebration attempts led by heritage groups and advancing a “reconciliation” narrative. …
The Walter And Inger Rice Center For Environmental Through Time: A Study In Environmental Change, Human Land Use And Its Effects Along The Lower James River, Chris Egghart
Theses and Dissertations
Historic cartographic sources, historical accounts, and ethnographic and archaeological data are used help reconstruct past settlement patterns and land uses that together acted to shape the changing cultural landscape of the Virginia Commonwealth University Walter and Inger Rice for Environmental Studies (Rice Center). The Rice Center is located in Charles City County along the north bank of the James River between Richmond and Williamsburg. Presented is a baseline description of the present day condition of the Rice Center property. This is followed by a detailed account of the physiographic and ecological changes that occurred along the Lower James River since …
A Peculiar Place For The Peculiar Institution: Slavery And Sovereignty In Early Territorial Utah, Nathaniel R. Ricks
A Peculiar Place For The Peculiar Institution: Slavery And Sovereignty In Early Territorial Utah, Nathaniel R. Ricks
Theses and Dissertations
Between 1830 and 1844, the Mormons slightly shifted their position on African-American slavery, but maintained the middle ground on the issue overall. When Mormons began gathering to Utah in 1847, Southern converts brought their black slaves with them to the Great Basin. In 1852 the first Utah Territorial legislature passed “An Act in Relation to Service" that legalized slavery in Utah. This action was prompted primarily by the need to regulate slavery and contextualize its practice within the Mormon belief system. Ironically, had Congress known of Utah's slave population, it may have never granted Utah the power to legislate on …
Life In An Occupied City: Women In Winchester, Virginia During The Civil War, Laura Jane Ping
Life In An Occupied City: Women In Winchester, Virginia During The Civil War, Laura Jane Ping
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis examines the homefront experience of middle class, white women living in Winchester, Virginia during the Civil War. The experience of women in Winchester was unique because of Winchester's proximity to both the Union and Confederate capitals. Although the majority of Winchester's women were Confederate supporters a significant minority of the population remained loyal to the Union. Winchester citizens' divided status was further complicated by numerous occupations of the town by both armies. This thesis argues that in order to cope with wartime hardships women's concepts of patriotism changed as homefront morale waned. While early in the war women's …
Unconquerable Defiance: Richmond Newspapers And Confederate Defeat, 1864-1865, Anne K. Berler
Unconquerable Defiance: Richmond Newspapers And Confederate Defeat, 1864-1865, Anne K. Berler
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis describes and analyses how the Richmond press operated as a propaganda machine during the final year of the Civil War. It argues that the newspapers of the Confederate capital regularly exploited the propaganda value of the news they reported, employing methods including distortion of facts and libelous personal attacks. They displayed a seemingly total disregard for veracity in their zeal to convince their readership that the cause was not lost, and created a false picture of the real situation to a population which was war-weary and desperate for reassurance that victory was still possible. Defeats were minimized and …