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Episodes from "Civil War and Reconstruction," Juniata College (Fall 2008): 1 through 10 of 68

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  1. General Hood Attempts to Restore Order in the Army of Tennessee
    date August 12, 1864map FRANKLIN, Tennesseetags Crime/Violence, Law, Health/Death

                     After Atlanta had been taken, General John Bell Hood commanded his Army of Tennessee to attempt to cut off William Tecumseh Sherman’s railroad supply lines to Atlanta.  This resulted in Hood launching several attacks in Tennessee and destruction of the railroad which weakened his army greatly. Hood had hoped that this would lure Sherman and his troops to pursue them towards Tennessee,...

  2. Crittenden Attempts to Stave off Secession
    date December 18, 1860map Washington City, District of Columbiatags African-Americans, Slavery, Migration/Transportation, Law

    Prior to the Secession of the Confederate States, many people in the United States wanted a compromise in order to prevent secession and the Civil War that would follow. James McPherson noted that in order for the Senate to filter through the proposed compromises they formed the “Committee of Thirteen” which included William H. Seward, Stephen Douglas, Benjamin Wade, and John J. Crittenden....

  3. George Boutwell Fights for Black Rights in D.C.
    date January 18, 1866map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Politics, African-Americans, Law, Government

    With the conclusion of the Civil War, came the question of what to do about the rights of the freedmen who were now considered men instead of property.  George Boutwell gave a speech to the House of Representatives, he rationalized why African Americans should be given at least partial suffrage in the District of Columbia. Among his arguments for Black suffrage in D.C. were: if the freedmen are considered...

  4. Carey Advocates Liberia as the Solution
    date 1832map PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvaniatags Slavery, American Colonization Society

    Nat Turner's methodical slaying of white civilians in Southampton County, Virginia during August of 1831 caused anxiety and concern for whites throughout the country. Although he was captured within months, his rebellion had unintended consequences. It added fuel to an already growing fire – the movement to send free blacks to Liberia. Arguing on behalf of the American Colonization...

  5. War Governors Declare Loyalty to Lincoln
    date September 24, 1862 to September 25, 1862map BLAIR, Pennsylvaniatags Emancipation Proclamation, Governor Curtin

    General George McClellan's inability to secure victory on the battlefield in the summer of 1862 added turmoil to an already fragile situation. Many northern politicians were frustrated with the general's performance, not to mention their anguish over a costly war that was once expected to be a quick victory. Dick Yates, Governor of Illinois, emphasized through speeches and private letters...

  6. An experience on the Allegheny Portage Railroad
    date 1835map CAMBRIA, Pennsylvaniatags Hollidaysburg

    Before the construction of the Horseshoe Curve, the Allegheny Portage Railroad acted as the most efficient form of transportation over the steep Allegheny Mountains. Finished in the spring of 1834, the Allegheny Portage Railroad cost the Commonwealth almost two million dollars and cut a three day journey into six hours. Philip Nicklin braved the treacherous voyage a year after the railroad's completion. ...

  7. An assistant surgeon reports on gangrene
    date January 1, 1865 to December 31, 1865map SUMTER, Georgiatags Civil War, prison, Health/Death

    Andersonville's prison had a hospital crowded with patients, due to the bad living conditions in the cells. The prison was overcrowded with prisoners crammed in rooms, inactive and secluded from society, lacking food, exercise and fresh air. The atmosphere was so polluted that people could hardly breathe. The promiscuity made sickness spread in a heartbeat, and in the winter of 1865, the prison witnessed...

  8. Doubleday Takes Baseball from Brooklyn to the Battle Fields of Dreams
    date 1839 to 1861map KINGS, New York, OTSEGO, New Yorktags Doubleday, Soldier, Civil War, Army

    Sports can bring groups of people together like few other activities. The same can certainly be said for baseball, America's pastime, in the Civil War era. Baseball was being played before the war started, it was played during the war, and it is still played today. Baseball, which went by many names in the time of the Civil War, helped keep the morale of the troops up for both the North and the South....

  9. A drummer boy writes about his experience of the war
    date March, 1863 to 1863map HAMILTON, Indianatags Civil War, camp-life, letters

    The letters of a drummer boy are a gathering of the letters of a sixteen years old drummer boy in the 47th Indiana Regiment during the Civil War. His letters to his parents show how an adolescent would see the war from the front. The 47th was active in the Western theater during the whole war, aside from the Vicksburg campaign, but the little everyday facts show better what war was like. The drummer...

  10. Forrest Escapes Union Forces in Kentucky
    date February 16, 1862map CALLOWAY, Kentuckytags Nathan Bedford Forrest

    Nathan Bedford Forrest enlisted in the War of the Rebellion for the South as a private in 1861. By 1862 he had risen to the position of lieutenant-colonel. Forrest had never been in the army nor had he attended a military preparation institution—he had no military experience yet still rose to be a great commander. At Fort Donelson in Kentucky, Forrest was under the command of Generals Pillow,...

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