20,561 research outputs found
Ambivalent about Tragedy: David Blight on Bruce Catton
November 19, 2013, marked a momentous day in the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg â the 150th anniversary of Lincolnâs Gettysburg Address. The 272 worded speech given four months after the Battle of Gettysburg assigned meaning to the intense fighting and death that had besieged the nation for two years. With the warâs end nowhere in sight, Lincoln directed the American people on how to fathom the tragedy that surrounded them, both figuratively and literally, at the dedication of the National Cemetery in 1863. 150 years after this speech, thousands gathered to celebrate and commemorate those few appropriate remarks Lincoln made at a time when the nationâs future was tragically uncertain. [excerpt
Hidden in Plain Sight: The Coster Avenue Mural
The Gettysburg Battlefield has over one thousand monuments dedicated to a host of brave men who fought and gave their lives during the three day engagement in July of 1863. Littered alongside well-traveled roads and points of attraction on the battlefield, most do not go unnoticed. There are a few, however, that do. One of them commemorates Captain Heckmanâs Battery K of the 1st Ohio Light Artillery, an oft-passed but unnoticed monument on Gettysburg Collegeâs campus and the focus of one of my previous blog posts . Another cluster of monuments in the vicinity of the Gettysburg College campus and Heckmanâs monument is just as much, if not more, removed from what one would consider the traditional battlefield and is often overlooked if not forgotten about. But if the readers of the Gettysburg Compiler are anything like me, the stories behind these forgotten monuments, the ones rarely told, are the most interesting ones of the battle. [excerpt
A Man of Mystery: An Introduction to Mr. Clark Gardner
Clark Alving Gardner was born on June 20, 1839, to Peleg and Julia Gardner in Rodman, New York, a town in Jefferson County. He was the oldest of five children. On July 31, 1862, at the age of twenty-three years, Gardner enlisted in the Black River Artillery, and was called to service on September 11 of the same year.
The Black River Artillery originated from Sackettâs Harbor, New York, located off the Black River Bay in Jefferson County. The 4th, 5th, and 7th Battalion units of the Black River Artillery were consolidated to form the 10th New York Heavy Artillery regiment on December 31, 1862, shortly after Gardner had joined and one day before President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. [excerpt
Wartime Reminiscences: The Story of William R. Tannerâs Civil War Service
Veteran war stories are some of the most fascinating windows into the past that students of history can experience. With World War II veteran numbers quickly diminishing and the risk of these accounts of history being lost, the importance of collecting and passing on veteran stories to future generations is vital. Such was the case with those who fought in the Civil War. As the twentieth century approached, droves of veterans began disappearing from the pages of history. The need for those veteran stories from Americaâs bloodiest war to be recorded and published became not only important to the veterans themselves but also to students like myself who have a genuine interest in studying how the Civil War was remembered by its soldiers. [excerpt
A âfriendship . . . born amidst the thunders of Gettysburgâ: The Barlow- Gordon Incident
July 1, 1863. It is the first day of what will come to be known as the Battle of Gettysburg. Union forces, upon firing the first shot in the early morning hours of that Wednesday, were pushed back from their position near Herrâs Ridge and McPhersonâs woods towards Cemetery Hill. Following orders given by Schurz, twenty-nine year old Brigadier General Francis Channing Barlow moved his division to the right of Schimmelfennigâs division and placed them on top of an elevated piece of land known as Blocherâs Knoll. The Eleventh Corps had yet to begin their retreat through Gettysburg, but they would soon after Barlowâs men extended the already thin line further north. [excerpt
Competing Stories: The Gardner Saga Continues
In 1893, two Philadelphia doctors from the MĂŒtter Museum sent surveys to Civil War amputee veterans in order to compile records on their war amputations circa thirty years after seeing combat. One of those surveys found its way into the hands of Clark Gardner, a fifty-four year old double amputee vet who served in the 10th New York Heavy Artillery. (An introduction to Garnder can be found here.) Gardnerâs responses to the survey are quite compelling and provided vivid details about his war amputations, the healing processes, difficulties he encountered, and artificial limb usage. [excerpt
What Makes a Man?: A Historiography on the Common Soldier and Masculinity
The American Civil War ended with Union victory on April 9, 1865, in the front parlor of the McLean House in Appomattox, Virginia. Robert E. Leeâs surrender to Ulysses S. Grant ensured the southern states would return to the Union and begin the process of Reconstruction. Union soldiers, flushed with victory, reveled in the knowledge that their cause triumphed, that their masculinity and honor was upheld while the southern men were forced to reconcile with their failure as soldiers and men. This victorious sentiment and love toward the Union Army has transcended the celebratory jubilees in which northern soldiers engaged in the years after the war, emerging through the words of historians into the late twentieth century. For generations, historians focused on the broader wartime actions and achievements of generals and politicians compared to the soldiers who did the actual fighting. This changed, however, in the mid-twentieth century. [excerpt
Take on Appomattox
On April 9, 1865, Palm Sunday, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant met in the front parlor of Wilmer McLeanâs house in the little village of Appomattox Court House to discuss the status of their two armies. After swapping stories of the days of their Mexican War service, the two men finally penned their names on terms of surrender, effectively ending the American Civil War. Grant, magnanimous towards the now defeated Confederates, and Lee, humble in his loss, ushered in the era of reconciliation that would bandage up the past four bloody years and push the reunited country forward together as one. [excerpt
George Gordon Meade and Barnegat Lighthouse
Tucked away off the coast of central New Jersey on the small stretch of land called Long Beach Island is a little piece of Civil War history. It is here that a largely unknown monument highlights a figure so well known by those four hours away in the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg. I have been visiting Long Beach Island since I was young, and yet had no knowledge of this Civil War connection that had been staring me in the face until my mother enthusiastically shouted to me, âBrianna! Gettysburg!â As I climbed the sandy hill towards a monument somewhat removed from the beaten path, I was shocked at what the monument was for, but more importantly, at the man to whom it was dedicated. [excerpt
The End is Near: The Civil War in 1864
In the minds of most Civil War lovers, the year 1864 marks the noticeable shift from a conciliatory war to a hard war. Most view it through the lens of Ulysses S. Grantâs Overland Campaign, through William Tecumseh Shermanâs March to the Sea, through the successes of the Union Army. After all, the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 is seen as the âhigh tide of the Confederacy,â marking the falling action point in the war when total Union victory became inevitable. But in actuality, 1864 was just asâif not moreâcritical to the outcome of the war than the prior three years. The changing character of the war in that year muddled who was actually succeeding, making clear winners and losers unknown. Additionally, Abraham Lincolnâs reelection hung in the balance; a presidential change-up would alter the nature of war, especially if George B. McClellan were victorious. [excerpt
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