Tag Archives: American Civil War

Stars & Stripes Forever

Posted on August 29, 2025 by smellincoffee

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 →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday & Teaser Tuesday

Posted on July 22, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is books set in _______, so I’m going to fill in the blank with….the American Civil War! “I have even made attempts to see if I could finance a psychiatrist, not because I really do think I am … Continue reading →

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Red Dead’s History

Posted on February 19, 2025 by smellincoffee

As a student of history who also plays a lot of video games which touch on history, I wonder sometimes what skewed version  of history unread players take from it.  Tore Olsson takes that same question and applies it to … Continue reading →

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God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers

Posted on December 13, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Christmas of 1862 approached far differently than the year proceeding. Although the southern war for independence had begun in April of ’61,  the war was then still seen by many as a lark, an adventure – and soldiers on both … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

TW on the Road: saying hello to Santa at a retirement community for Civil War veterans

Posted on December 11, 2023 by smellincoffee

In years past I’d heard of a Confederate Memorial Park somewhere in Marbury, but assumed it was something like we have in Selma: a place where the dead were buried and a placard or statue put up. After the tornado … Continue reading →

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Billy Yank @ Johnny Reb Stadium: PLAY BALL!

Posted on June 15, 2023 by smellincoffee

That title is just a way of me combining two Civil War short rounds into one post. (Billy Yank wins the five-game series, 3 to 2, but in a show of terrible sportmanship, burned the stadium on their departure.) First … Continue reading →

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The War as the South Saw It

Posted on May 10, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Confederate Reader: The War as the South Saw It© 1999 Richard B. Harwell416 pages Mention ‘The War’ in the South without any context, and most anyone will understand which one  you’re referring to – the only War that has … Continue reading →

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Our Man In Charleston

Posted on May 9, 2023 by smellincoffee

Our Man in Charleston© 2016 Christopher Dickey416 pages Our Man in Charleston is a fascinating history of British diplomacy in the South, 1850s-1865, about a British consul working to defend Her Majesty’s interests in the erstwhile colonies, focusing specifically on … Continue reading →

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Of Cicero and base-ball

Posted on May 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

This week I’ve been finishing up a couple of audiobooks. The first is How to Grow Old, a short one by Cicero written during the early part of his retirement from Rome, before the odious Mark Anthony sent men to … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, history, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War

Posted on November 23, 2022 by smellincoffee

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War© 2008 H.W. Crocker III 370 pages This is not a book I’d expected to read,   because as a Southerner who’s been reading different views about the war for twenty years,  I … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments