“BATTLE OF THE HEMP BALES”
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| Sterling Price (1809-1867) |
In which we discuss the successful siege of Lexington by Sterling Price’s Missouri State Guard in September, 1861.
Our book recommendation for this episode is actually a back issue of North & South magazine. Issue #3 of the magazine, from February 1998, has an excellent article about the siege of Lexington by Jeff Patrick.
Listen to Episode 68: BattleHempBales
WILSON’S CREEK (Part the Second)
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| Ben McCulloch (1811-1862) |
In which we cover the action at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek (August 10, 1861).
Our book recommendation for this episode is Wilson’s Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It by William Garrett Piston & Richard W. Hatcher III.
“The definitive study of a long-neglected but important battle… It should be seen as a blueprint for the way all Civil War books ought to be written.” ~ Journal of American History
Listen to Episode 67: WilsonsCreekPartSecond
WILSON’S CREEK (Part the First)
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| Nathaniel Lyon (1818-1861) |
In which we discuss the activities and maneuvering of both sides prior to the Battle of Wilson’s Creek (August 10, 1861) in southwest Missouri.
Our book recommendation for this episode is Campaign for Wilson’s Creek: The Fight for Missouri by Jeffrey L. Patrick.
Listen to Episode 66: WilsonsCreekPartFirst
MAYHEM IN MISSOURI (Part the Second)
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| Franz Sigel (1824-1902) |
In which we continue our look at the mayhem that broke out in Missouri at the start of the Civil War. In this episode, we cover the ‘Battle of Carthage,’ and set the stage for the Battle of Wilson’s Creek.
Our book recommendation for this episode is The Civil War in Missouri: A Military History by Louis S. Gerteis.
“Making a case for the national importance of Civil War military campaigns in Missouri, Louis Gerteis portrays the operations of Union and Confederate armies in vivid detail. Although Missouri was notable for the intensity of its guerrilla warfare, this book demonstrates that conventional armies largely determined developments in the state, forming the anchor of Union control in the trans-Mississippi theater.” ~ James M. McPherson
Listen to Episode 65: MayhemMissouriPartSecond
MAYHEM IN MISSOURI (Part the First)
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| Claiborne Fox Jackson (1806-1862) |
In which we look at the mayhem that broke out in the important border state of Missouri at the start of the Civil War.
Our book recommendation for this episode is actually a magazine article in a back issue of North & South magazine. Volume 2 #5 (June, 1999) of North & South has an article titled “Don’t Yield an Inch! The Story of the Missouri State Guard” by William Garrett Piston & Thomas P. Sweeney.
Listen to Episode 64: MayhemMissouriPartFirst
EX PARTE MERRYMAN
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| John Merryman (1824-1881) |
In which we discuss Chief Justice Roger Taney’s dramatic challenge to Abraham Lincoln’s suspension of “the great writ of liberty” (habeas corpus).
Our book recommendation for this episode is The Body of John Merryman: Abraham Lincoln and the Suspension of Habeas Corpus by Brian McGinty.
“An original, comprehensive, and well-written narrative about the first constitutional crisis pitting Abraham Lincoln against Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. Anyone interested in American history, the Constitution, and the Civil War will be anxious to read this excellent book.” ~ Frank J. Williams, former Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and founding chair of The Lincoln Forum
Listen to Episode 63: ExParteMerryman
CIVIL WAR MEDICINE (Part the Second)
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| Union soldiers practice loading injured men into an ambulance. |
In which we continue our discussion of medical issues affecting Civil War soldiers. In this episode, we look at what happened to a soldier after he was wounded on the battlefield.
Our book recommendation for this episode is actually an article in the January 2009 issue of America’s Civil War. That article is titled “Life Is Better Than Limb” and posits that wartime amputations, while extreme, saved thousands of lives and helped spur the development of modern prosthetics.
Listen to Episode 62: CivilWarMedicinePartSecond
CIVIL WAR MEDICINE (Part the First)
In which we look at some medical aspects of the Civil War. In this episode, we focus on diseases, which killed many many more Civil War soldiers than did wounds.
Our book recommendation for this episode is The Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicine by Glenna R. Schroeder-Lein.
“Disease and medical practices during the American Civil War have been the subject of important scholarship in recent years. This encyclopedia is an invaluable reference work for consultation by those who are interested in these questions. Clear, concise, accurate, its entries are readily accessible to the lay reader. I wish it had been available when I wrote my books on the war.” ~ James McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom
Listen to Episode 61: CivilWarMedicinePartFirst
CONFEDERATE FLAGS
In which we take a quick look at the story behind the famous Confederate battle flag, as well as the history behind the Confederacy’s three national flags.
The Confederacy’s first national flag, the so-called “Stars and Bars” (March, 1861-April, 1863)
South Carolina Secession Flag
St. Andrews Cross Flag (Scotland)
Confederate Battle Flag, also known as the “Southern Cross” (November, 1861)
The Confederacy’s second national flag, the so-called “Stainless Banner” (May, 1863-February, 1865)
The Confederacy’s third national flag (March-April, 1865)
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| The Stars and Bars flying over a battered Fort Sumter in April, 1861. |
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| Battle flag of the 18th North Carolina. |
Our book recommendation for this episode is The New York Times’ Disunion: Modern Historians Revisit and Reconsider the Civil War from Lincoln’s Election to the Emancipation Proclamation, edited by Ted Widmer.
“In Disunion, some of the country’s finest historians take us through the first two years of the Civil War. Their lively, readable essays offer striking insights into both Americans’ immediate experiences and the vast social changes unleashed by the conflict.” ~ Eric Foner
Listen to Episode 60: ConfederateFlags
FIRST MANASSAS (Part the Eighth)
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| Oliver Otis Howard (1830-1909) |
In which we conclude our discussion of the First Battle of Manassas (July 21, 1861), looking at the Federal army’s retreat and the failure of the Confederates to pursue, and then we offer some final thoughts on the war’s first major battle.
Our book recommendation for this episode is The Civil War in the East: Struggle, Stalemate, and Victory by Brooks D. Simpson.
“Informative, solidly researched, well-written, and unfailingly interesting, The Civil War in the East will further solidify Brooks Simpson’s place as one of this generation’s outstanding scholars of the Civil War.” ~ Ethan S. Rafuse
Listen to Episode 59: FirstManassasPartEighth