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Tag Archives: American Civil War
The Expatriation of Franklin Pierce
Continuing in the tragedy of Franklin Pierce, I chose to follow a short biography of him with this, a more focused look Pierce’s exit from the presidency, when he found himself wholly isolated. Four years ago, he had earned a … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged 1850s, 1860s, American Civil War, biography, Franklin Pierce, Garry Boulard, Hail to the Chief, history, Jefferson Davis, the impending crisis
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Confederate Women
Continuing in my march through Bell Irwin Wiley’s social histories of the Civil War, I bought Confederate Women immediately after reading Billy Yank. Confederate Women looks at the diaries and letters of three socially prominent southern belles and … Continue reading
Selections from the Battle Cry of Freedom
Quotes Austere and humorless, Davis did not suffer fools gladly. He lacked Lincoln’s ability to work with partisans of a different persuasion for the common cause. Lincoln would rather win the war than an argument; Davis seemed to prefer winning … Continue reading
Posted in General, quotations
Tagged American Civil War, James McPherson, quotations
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The Battle Cry of Freedom
Battle Cry of Freedom is widely regarded as the finest single-volume history of the Civil War — and after finally reading it, I understand why. McPherson compresses an era of extraordinary complexity into a narrative that feels both sweeping and … Continue reading
Posted in General, history, Reviews
Tagged 1850s, 1860s, American Civil War, history, James McPherson, military
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November 2025 in Review
Welcome to Advent! While today is only the last day of November, it does close the liturgical year’s longest season — Pentecost, or “Ordinary Time” — and begin the story of good news again. This morning, my Adult Formation class … Continue reading
The Plain People of the Confederacy
The Plain People of the Confederacy takes a look at three often overlooked demographics of the South: poor whites, whom everyone forgets exist; women; and blacks. As it happens, Wiley has written volumes on each of these categories (poor whites … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged American Civil War, American South, Bell Irwin Wiley, history, race, slavery and rebellion, social history, women
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Billy has Gone for a Soldier: the Life of Billy Yank
Shortly after Bell Irvin Wiley penned The Life of Johnny Reb, a social history of southern soldiery, he wondered: what about the other fellows? What brought them to the colors, pulled them away from lives of comfort to march thousands … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged American Civil War, Bell Irwin Wiley, history, social history
3 Comments
For Cause and Comrade
The moment I saw this book at a university booksale I knew I wanted it, because in the second story of that same library I’d researched my senior seminar paper to earn my BA in history. For Cause and Comrades … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged American Civil War, history, James McPherson, letters and diaries, military, primary sources
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Stars & Stripes Forever
The War between the States is nearly a year old, but Abraham Lincoln now has a bigger problem. Last November, a Navy ship intercepted a British mail packet on suspicion that it was carrying Confederate diplomats bound for Europe; … Continue reading
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