Although there were a few large scale battles in Missouri in the Civil War, most of the fighting in that state and in eastern Kansas consisted of smaller actions conducted by guerrilla and other irregular forces. Both sides employed these tactics, and the result was a brutal and vicious war of a type that was seldom [...]
Continue reading about The Baxter Springs Massacre October 6, 1863
While the Federal garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor was awaiting reinforcement or evacuation in the winter and spring of 1861, a similar drama was playing out in Pensacola, Florida. Three forts provided defense for the U.S. Navy Yard there; Forts Barrancas and McRee on the Florida mainland, and Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa [...]
Continue reading about Lieutenant Adam Slemmer Refuses to Surrender Fort Pickens
Elon J. Farnsworth was born in Michigan in 1837. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the 8th Illinois Cavalry as a 1st lieutenant. He served as an aide to the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps commander, Major General Alfred Pleasonton. Farnsworth was promoted to brigadier general on June 29, 1863. [...]
Continue reading about The Death of General Elon J. Farnsworth at Gettysburg
After the fall of Confederate strongholds at Vicksburg. Mississippi and Port Hudson, Louisiana in July 1863, the Union commander of the Department of the Gulf, Major General Nathaniel Banks, proposed that his forces attack Mobile, Alabama. Mobile was an important railroad center and seaport for the Confederacy, and others in the Federal Military agreed that [...]
Continue reading about The Battle of Sabine Pass September 1863
In an earlier post, I discussed Lt. Alonzo Cushing of the 4th U.S. Artillery, who died at Gettysburg during Pickett’s Charge July 3rd, 1863, and after years of lobbying by supporters, has been awarded the Medal of Honor. Alonzo had two brothers who served during the war. The oldest was Howard B. Cushing, who was [...]
Continue reading about Lt. William B. Cushing and the Destruction of the C.S.S. Albemarle
