Civil War Times December 2019

MONUMENT CONTROVERSY Fifteen historians weigh in on what should be done with civic memorials to the Confederacy and its leaders. bit.ly/EmptyPedestals PHOTO I.D. Has diligent research uncovered the identity of the Devil’s Den sharpshooter? bit.ly/SharpshooterPhoto BURNSIDE TO BLAME? A new look at Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s actions at the Battle of Antietam suggests he was made into a scapegoat for others’ failings. bit.ly/BlamingBurnside HISTORY NET NOW Sign up for our FREE monthly e-newsletter at: historynet.com/newsletters LET’S CONNECT Like Civil War Times Magazine on Facebook FOLLOW US @CivilWarTimes GO DIGITAL Civil War Times is available on Zinio, Kindle, and Nook A Complete Civil War Times index from 1958 to present is available at aferguson.net…

THE GREATEST LEADER OF AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR When South Carolina seceded from the Union, the first person offered the job of commanding the Union forces to return the rebel state to the fold was Robert E. Lee. But when his home state voted to join the Confederacy, he resigned his commission in the Union Army and took command of the Army of Northern Virginia. What he did then is legend and he remains the most admired general on either side of the conflict for his superb strategy and ability to find success in the face of far superior numbers. Now, his military achievements inspire The Robert E. Lee Proof Coin from the Bradford Exchange Mint. Magnificently plated in 99.9% silver, this exclusive coin’s reverse showcases the historic Great Civil War General surrounded…

LINCOLN MEMORIAL Harold Holzer’s gracefully written and CWT’s finely adapted and edited “For the People” was worth the price of a subscription—and more. Having spent 22 years of my life working in the District of Columbia, I eventually succumbed to the familiarity with its monuments that breeds, not contempt, but a certain degree of apathy. This article re-stirred my appreciation for French’s powerful image, which, as the author correctly observes, has gained in significance for a nation still coming to terms with the meaning of emancipation. Thank you for what you do. Bill Palmer, West Point, Va. The article “For the People” in the October 2019 issue states that The Gettysburg Address and words from Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address are carved on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial. The Gettysburg Address is…

April 17-19 Tennessee: Fort Donelson, Stones River &Franklin $550 Join Gregg Biggs, Richard McMurry & Larry Daniel for this unique tour of three winter battles which defined the Civil War in Tennessee. April 24-26 Chickamauga, Chattanooga & Missionary Ridge $550 Join distinguished historian A. Wilson Greene for this exciting tour of the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga. We’ll spend two days at Chickamauga and our final day touring the sites in Chattanooga. Sept. 18-20 Fredericksburg’s Battlefields $550 Register now to follow historians Robert Krick and Frank O’Reilly as they guide you over the hallowed ground at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness & Spotsylvania. Sept. 25-27 Petersburg: Lee vs. Grant $550 Join A. Wilson Greene for this comprehensive tour of the Petersburg campaign. This tour will include City Point, Jerusalem Plank Road, Battle of the Crater, Weldon Railroad, Boydton Plank…

Two recent ceremonies at the magnificent Cuyahoga County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in downtown Cleveland’s Public Square renewed the memory of soldiers from Cleveland and the surrounding county. On June 19, framed panels naming 107 USCT soldiers were put inside the small memorial room at the base of the 125-foot memorial, adding to the 9,000 names already inscribed on 30 marble tablets on the walls. The additional names were discovered thanks to research initiated in 2001 by history teacher Paul LaRue and his students at Washington High School in Washington Court House, Ohio. Their research on seven USCT veterans buried in a local cemetery led to the monument commission conducting further research and discovering 100 more names—with perhaps more to come. The ceremony was conducted on the anniversary of Juneteenth,…

The military historian T. Harry Williams once observed that a unit history is the “story of a democracy at war.” Civil War companies and regiments, in particular, reflect the values and attitudes of the communities in which they were raised. Through sources like compiled military service and pension records, we can gain insights into how the war affected soldiers and their home communities. Several digital roster collections and databases can help start a company research project, and one of the best is the “Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls” at the Illinois Secretary of State’s website. Visitors can search more than 285,000 soldiers and find: date, place, and age of enlistment; physical features of the volunteer; records of significant wounds, captivity, or desertion; discharge and reenlistment dates. A collection like…