John Sedgwick was born in Cornwell Hollow, Connecticut in 1813 and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1837. He served in the Mexican War and was a major in the 1st U.S. Cavalry at the outbreak of the Civil War. He rose quickly in rank, and was commissioned a brigadier general of [...]
Continue reading about The Death of Major General John Sedgwick May 9th, 1864
Major General William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea was near an end in mid December 1864. After capturing Fort McAllister on the Ogeechee River below Savannah, Georgia on December 13th, there was just one objective left. That last objective was the capture of the city of Savannah itself. The commander of the Confederate forces [...]
Continue reading about William T. Sherman’s Christmas Gift of Savannah, Georgia
Civil War seacoast mortars were very large mortars used defensively in fixed fortifications and in coast and river defense. They were also used in siege operations and occasionally in other offensive endeavors. The largest mortar in the Federal arsenal was the 13 inch seacoast mortar, so named for the size of the weapon’s bore. Perhaps the most [...]
Continue reading about The Seacoast Mortar called “The Dictator” at the Siege of Petersburg 1864
In March of 1864, a land force consisting of the Union Army’s 19th Corps and portions of the 13th, 16th, and 17th Corps under the command of Major General Nathaniel Banks headed northwest up the Red River in Louisiana. Accompanying the army was Admiral David D. Porter and the Mississippi Squadron, a fleet of vessels designed [...]
Continue reading about Colonel Joseph Bailey’s Red River Dam
Patrick Cleburne was born near Cork, Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day in 1828. He served three years in the British Army before emigrating to the United States in 1849. He eventually settled in Helena, Arkansas, and entered Confederate service in 1861 as Colonel of the 15th Arkansas Infantry. An outstanding field commander who was well [...]
Continue reading about Confederate General Patrick Cleburne’s Emancipation Proposal
On the morning of June 19, 1864 the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama left the port of Cherbourg, France and prepared to do battle with the United States Navy’s sloop of war USS Kearsarge. The Alabama had entered port on June 11th for repairs and refueling, and the Kearsarge found her there three days later. [...]
Continue reading about The Battle Between the USS Kearsarge and CSS Alabama June 19, 1864
