Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Networks Of Resistance : Black Virginians Remember Civil War Loyalties, Amanda Kleintop

Honors Theses

On June 22, 1877, William Charity explained his neighborhood’s Civil War loyalties to special commissioner Isaac Baldwin of the Southern Claims Commission (SCC): “The colored people were mostly all for the union.” Charity, a free black Virginian, recognized that “mostly” did not mean all. He went on to suggest: “some of them were blind.” As a self-identified Unionist, Charity had difficulty envisioning a black man who was not loyal to the Union cause and emancipation during the Civil War. Current debates, however, have seized on those black Virginians Charity called “blind,” taking the “mostly” Unionist majority for granted. Like Charity, …

The Burning And Reconstruction Of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania 1864-1870, Gordon Boyer Lawrence

Master's Theses

Although many studies of Chambersburg's devastation during the American Civil War have been researched, all have focused on the military actions taken by both sides during the conflict. This thesis instead attempts to explore some of the effects of military actions upon the permanent civilian population.

The Introduction develops a sense of the events which transpired in the town on the fateful day of July 30, 1864, provides an overview of potential research subjects, and details sources available to complete successfully the research parameters outlined. The early development of the community is explored in Chapter 1. This data is necessary …

The History Of The One Hundred And Thirtieth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Terrence W. Beltz

Master's Theses

In August 1862, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania quickly responded to President Lincoln's request for more troops. An overwhelming number of Pennsylvania volunteers promptly answered the call that supplied the Union Army eighteen new infantry regiments who were to serve for a period of nine months. This devoted group of central Pennsylvanians, rendezvoused at Camp Simmons, Pennsylvania, in mid-August 1862, was to become soldiers of 130th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers who, with no military experience and little training, would face hardened Confederate veterans at "Bloody Lane" at the Battle of Antietam and "Marye's Heights" at the Battle of Fredericksburg. They were to …

The Botetourt Dragoons In War And Peace, Michael G. Henkle

Honors Theses

This thesis studies a Confederate cavalry company from the immediate prewar years through the war, ending with the death of one of its last members. Most soldiers were residents of Botetourt County, Virginia. The study focuses upon both the men themselves and the battles in which they fought. Letters, diaries, and postwar accounts reveal their thoughts. After the war, many took an active role in both veterans' affairs and their community by joining veteran camps and participating in politics. Near the end, many received pensions or stayed in old soldiers' homes.

Confederate Matrons : Women Who Served In Virginia Civil War Hospitals, A. Elise Allison

Honors Theses

In September 1862, the Confederate Congress authorized hospitals to employ white women as chief matrons, assistant matrons, and ward matrons. This paper examines the lives and experiences of matrons who worked in Confederate hospitals in Virginia. It concludes that only ''exceptional" women with the stamina to endure physical and mental hardships were able to defy conventional ideas about their proper role and contribute to the care of Confederate sick and wounded as matrons.

A Diary Kept On The Battlefield In The Year Of 1863, John A. Holtzman

Honors Theses

Thursday, January 1, 1863.

Left Mr. James Luttrell for Oak Shade thence to Mr. L. Strigfellow where I staid all night. Heard that the Yankees were at Warrenton, also at Waterloo whick proved not to be so.Quite a warm day.

Friday 2.

Left Mr. Satingfellow for camp whick I Found 6 miles of Fredericksburg.

Saturday 3.

Went out on drill-

Sunday 4.

Moved camp some 2 miles up the plank road, found our tents on an eminence has some singing at night. Our chaplan did not preach.