“THE BOTTOM IS OUT OF THE TUB”
In which we continue to lay out the background to McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign.
Our book recommendation for this episode is “McClellan’s War: The Failure of Moderation in the Struggle for the Union” by Ethan S. Rafuse.
YEAR IN REVIEW- 1861 (July-December)
In which we use a couple of episodes to take a look back at what happened during the first year of the Civil War.
Our book recommendation for this episode is The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War by David J. Eicher.
“The Longest Night is a remarkable blend of scholarship and writing. It should stand for a long time as the best and most complete single-volume military history of the Civil War. A splendid achievement.” ~ Jeffry D. Wert
Listen to Episode 86: YearInReview1861
YEAR IN REVIEW- 1861 (January-June)
In which we use a couple of episodes to look back at what happened during the first year of the Civil War.
Our book recommendation for this episode is The Civil War Day by Day, An Almanac, 1861-1865 by E.B. Long with Barbara Long, with a foreword by Bruce Catton.
Listen to Episode 85: YearInReview1861
BLUE & GRAY FOREIGN RELATIONS (Part the Second): THE TRENT AFFAIR
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| Charles Wilkes (1798-1877) |
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| James Murray Mason (1798-1871) |
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| John Slidell (1793-1871) |
In which we continue our discussion of Union and Confederate diplomacy by looking at the Trent Affair, which took the U.S. and Britain to the brink of war.
Our book recommendation for this episode is Caution and Cooperation: The American Civil War in British-American Relations by Phillip E. Myers.
“Phillip E. Myers places Anglo-American relations during the Civil War within the broader context of the whole nineteenth century, arguing convincingly for the lack of any real chance of British intervention on the side of the Confederacy… Based on extensive research in the United States and Great Britain, this major reinterpretation of the transatlantic relationship is ‘international history’ in its truest sense.” ~ Mary Ann Hess, Editor, New Studies in U.S. Foreign Relations Series
Listen to Episode 84: ForeignRelationsPartSecond
BLUE & GRAY FOREIGN RELATIONS (Part the First): “KING COTTON DIPLOMACY”
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| William Henry Seward (1801-1872) |
In which we discuss Union and Confederate foreign relations early in the Civil War, especially the South’s use of “King Cotton Diplomacy.”
Our book recommendation for this episode is Blue & Gray Diplomacy: A History of Union and Confederate Foreign Relations by Howard Jones.
“No other single volume offers such a comprehensive view of the challenges facing both Union and Confederate diplomats in London and Paris- and the motivations and responses of those courts. Jones has given us an exceptional study, a work on Civil War foreign affairs that is clearly written and synthesizes the most recent scholarship.” ~ John Belohlavek, University of South Florida
Listen to Episode 83: ForeignRelationsPartFirst
BELMONT
In which we discuss (among other things) the Battle of Belmont, which took place on November 7, 1861.
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| Leonidas Polk (1806-1864) |
Our book recommendation for this episode is The Battle of Belmont: Grant Strikes South by Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes, Jr.
“In this definitive study of U.S. Grant’s first Civil War battle, Nathaniel Hughes has done for Belmont what Wiley Sword did for Shiloh and Peter Cozzens for Stones River. This is a lively account, as well researched as it is well written.” ~ James I. Robertson
Listen to Episode 82: Belmont
MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME
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| Beriah Magoffin (1815-1885) |
In which we set the stage for the Battle of Belmont (Nov. 7, 1861) by discussing Kentucky’s self-proclaimed neutrality early in the Civil War, and how the Confederate move to seize Columbus, KY pushed the Bluegrass State off the fence and into the Union camp.
Our book recommendation for this episode is Decision in the Heartland: The Civil War in the West by Steven E. Woodworth.
“Woodworth presents with precision and clarity a comprehensive overview of the war in the West. Penned with a unique level of intimacy and a highly focused perspective based on years of research and analysis, the book weaves a captivating narrative and is a delightfully good read.” ~ Journal of American History
Listen to Episode 81: MyOldKentuckyHome
REHEARSAL FOR RECONSTRUCTION (Part the Second)
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| Salmon Portland Chase (1808-1873) |
REHEARSAL FOR RECONSTRUCTION (Part the First)
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| Former slaves of Confederate Brigadier General Thomas Drayton photographed on Hilton Head Island, May 1862. |
In which we set the stage for a discussion of the Port Royal Experiment, which took place on South Carolina’s Sea Islands and which many people view as a “rehearsal for reconstruction.”
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Our book recommendation for this episode is Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in America, 1861-1865 by James Oakes.
“Was Lincoln really a ‘Reluctant Emancipator’? Freedom National answers that question eloquently and fully. Oakes argues that Lincoln, from the moment of his inauguration, began using every political and military means at his disposal to wipe out slavery forever.” ~ Howell Raines, Washington Post
Listen to Episode 77: PortRoyalExperiment
PORT ROYAL SOUND
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| Samuel Francis Du Pont (1803-1865) |
In which we look at the Battle of Port Royal Sound, South Carolina (November 7, 1861).
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| Thomas West Sherman (1813-1879) |
Our book recommendation for this episode is Now for the Contest: Coastal & Oceanic Naval Operations in the Civil War by William H. Roberts.
“Now for the Contest tells the story of the Civil War at sea in the context of three campaigns: the blockade of the southern coast, the raiding of Union commerce, and the projection of power ashore. The book also examines how both sides mobilized and employed their resources for a war that proved to be of unprecedented intensity and duration. For both antagonists, the conduct of the naval war was complicated by rapid technological change, as steam power, metal armor, and more powerful ordnance sparked experiment and innovation both in naval construction and tactics.”
Listen to Episode 76: PortRoyalSound
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| U.S.S. Wabash |