FORTS HENRY & DONELSON (Part the First)
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| Henry Wager Halleck (1815-1872) |
In which we give the background to Ulysses S. Grant’s February, 1862 campaign to capture Forts Henry & Donelson in northern Tennessee.
Our book recommendation for this episode is Forts Henry and Donelson: The Key to the Confederate Heartland by Benjamin F. Cooling.
Listen to Episode 89: HenryDonelsonPartFirst
MILL SPRINGS (Part the Second)
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| Felix Kirk Zollicoffer (1812-1862) |
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| George Bibb Crittenden (1812-1880) |
In which we look at the Battle of Mill Springs, which was fought in south-central Kentucky on January 19, 1862.
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| A fanciful depiction of the death of Felix Zollicoffer. |
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| A map of the “Battle of Fishing Creek” (a.k.a Logan’s Cross Roads, Mill Springs) |
Our book recommendation for this episode is Mill Springs: Campaign and Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky by Kenneth A. Hafendorfer.
Listen to Episode 88: MillSprings
MILL SPRINGS (Part the First)
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| George Henry Thomas (1816-1870) |
In which we set the stage for the Battle of Mill Springs, which was fought in Kentucky on January 19, 1862.
Our book recommendation for this episode is The Battle of Mill Springs Kentucky by Stuart W. Sanders.
Listen to Episode 87: MillSprings
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
ALBERT SIDNEY JOHNSTON
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| Albert Sidney Johnston (1803-1862) |
In which we give you a short episode about the life of Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston.
Our book recommendation for this episode is Albert Sidney Johnston: Soldier of Three Republics by Charles P. Roland.
“A masterly biography of a man cast in the heroic mold.” ~ Journal of American History
Listen to Bonus Episode: http://civilwarpodcast.libsyn.com/bonus-episode-albert-sidney-johnston
TIMBERCLADS & IRONCLADS
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| One of the Union’s timberclads, the U.S.S. Conestoga |
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| U.S.S. Tyler |
In which we take a quick look at the timberclads and city-class ironclads of the Federal’s “brown water navy” in the western theater of the Civil War.
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| One of Pook’s Turtles, the U.S.S. Cairo |
Our book recommendation for this episode is Mr. Lincoln’s Brown Water Navy: The Mississippi Squadron by Gary D. Joiner.
“Historian Gary D. Joiner has crafted a clear, concise, and masterful narrative history of the decisive role played by the Mississippi Squadron in winning the Civil War in the West. One of the least studied aspects of the conflict, this illuminating story of the improvised Brown Water Navy and the intrepid Union sailors who experienced the war from the deck of a western gunboat will enthrall the reader.” ~ Stacy D. Allen, chief historian, Shiloh national Military Park
Listen to Bonus Episode: http://civilwarpodcast.libsyn.com/bonus-timberclads-ironclads