Monthly Archives: April 2013
Did Lincoln Deliberately Provoke a War at Fort Sumter? Part 2
After receiving the opinions of General Scott and his Cabinet, Lincoln sat down to consider whether or not to withdraw the troops from Fort Sumter. Reflecting his orderly, organized mind, he made a list of the pros and cons. In reading this list, we can see that the overwhelming amount of considerations favor abandoning Fort […]
The Heritage Instead of History Crowd Shows Its Ignorance Again
Brooks highlighted this article on his blog. As he pointed out, the comments section is rich. It’s written by Sonia Kuguru, a sophomore at Wake Forest University from Nairobi. Ms. Kuguru writes about her reaction to seeing a confederate battle flag on the back of a fellow student in math class. While talking about her […]
Did Lincoln Deliberately Provoke a War at Fort Sumter? Part 1
We see that charge made by neoconfederates all the time. The claim is made that Lincoln needed to have a war to implement what he wanted to do to “the south.” Of course, “what he wanted to do” varies each time the tale is told. They can’t even get their own conspiracy theories straight. Let’s […]
What Was the Food Situation at Fort Sumter?
Specifically, what was the food situation at Fort Sumter as far as Lincoln knew? On taking office after his inauguration, Lincoln was presented with two letters from Fort Sumter. The first was a letter from Major Anderson dated February 28, 1861: No. 58. Fort Sumter, S. C. Feby 28th, 1861. Colonel: I have the honor […]
David Blight on What Caused the Civil War
Dr. Blight’s Civil War class at Yale University is available to us students of the war on YouTube. Enjoy.
Did Robert Anderson Violate His Orders?
Many neoconfederates will claim that by moving his garrison to Fort Sumter, Major Robert Anderson violated his orders. Even though they’re wrong, they have a historical basis for this belief. Secretary of War John B. Floyd, who would soon join the rebellion, thought Anderson did violate his orders. You can see his reaction here. Floyd […]
Was There a Peace Agreement in Charleston Harbor in 1860-61?
Neoconfederates like to make the claim that there was a peace agreement in effect in Charleston Harbor. They make a couple different claims regarding this. First, some claim the alleged agreement was in effect when Anderson moved his men to Fort Sumter and that Anderson’s move was a violation of this alleged agreement. Second, some […]
J.E.B. Stuart’s Ride Around Gettysburg
This was Jeffry Wert’s presentation at the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg this past Saturday, April 13. He started off by saying he regarded JEB Stuart as the finest light cavalryman America ever produced. May 3, 1863, according to Jeff, was arguably Stuart’s best day. He took over command of the Second Corps for […]
The Man Who Saved the Union by H. W. Brands
I just finished reading this massive tome. Those who have read widely in Ulysses S. Grant scholarship will probably not find something here they didn’t already know, but I don’t believe Prof. Brands’ goal was to unearth anything new regarding Grant. He’s using biography as a device with which to tell the history of the […]
Digital History — One Example
The University of Virginia has a historical census tool available online here. I’ve used this many times over the past several years. It’s incredibly useful. Not only can we get results regarding census information, but we can also get maps from this tool, all at the click of a mouse. For example, we can have […]
Student of the American Civil War 
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