In July 1863, Union forces Major General Quincy Gillmore’s Army of the South landed on Morris Island outside Charleston, South Carolina.  Gillmore’s objective was to take control of Charleston Harbor and eventually, Charleston itself.  Charleston and vicinity was heavily defended, including Battery Wagner on Morris Island, artillery emplacements on James and Sullivan’s Islands, and Fort [...]

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John A. Kellogg was born in Pennsylvania in 1828 and was the grandson of a soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War. Kellogg’s family moved to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Territory, in 1840. Kellogg became a lawyer in Mauston, Wisconsin and was elected district attorney of Juneau County in November 1860. But when the Civil [...]

Continue reading about The Capture and Escape of Captain John A. Kellogg of the Iron Brigade’s 6th Wisconsin Infantry

Mark on March 1st, 2011

150 Years Ago in the Civil War Late in the morning of March 4th, 1861, President elect Abraham Lincoln left Willard’s Hotel in Washington DC, boarded a carriage, and departed for the Capitol. He was accompanied by outgoing President James Buchanon. The route to the Capitol was lined with soldiers both on the ground and in the [...]

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With the upcoming sesquicentennial of the firing on Fort Sumter and the beginning of the Civil War rapidly approaching, there is no shortage of commemorative events in the Palmetto State.  Many events as well as ongoing exhibits are in the Charleston area. There are way too many to mention here, but here are few highlights [...]

Continue reading about April 2011 Civil War Sesquicentennial Events in South Carolina

150 Years Ago in the Civil War As the new year began, several southern states began seizing federal military installations as a precaution while the issue of secession was considered. Arsenals were seized in Alabama and Florida.  Alabama took over Forts Morgan and Gaines in Mobile Bay;  Georgia seized Fort Pulaski near Savannah and Florida took [...]

Continue reading about More States Secede, Confederate Government Formed: January and February 1861

The Civil War was in the news as 2010 drew to a close.  Here’s a summary of three events that attracted the attention of the media. Booth Descendants Approve Exhumation of Edwin Booth for DNA Testing After assassinating President Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth escaped to Virginia, where he was cornered in a tobacco barn [...]

Continue reading about Booth DNA Testing, Decoded Message From Vicksburg, and Secession Ball in Charleston: Civil War in the News December 2010