Tag Archives: Confederacy

Civilians in the Siege of Vicksburg: Living in Caves, Eating Rats

Vicksburg, Mississippi, situated on a high bluff that allowed the big guns placed there by the Confederates to interdict Union navigation of the Mississippi River, was considered by both North and South as a major key to victory in the … Continue reading

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Ulysses S. Grant vs Robert E. Lee on Slavery

Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant Meet On April 9, 1865, two men sat down together in the parlor of Wilmer McLean’s house at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. The older of the two, impeccably dressed in his finest uniform, … Continue reading

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Robert E. Lee vs Ulysses S. Grant: Unexpected Views on Slavery

Lee vs. Grant on Slavery The year 1856 was significant for both Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant in regard to their attitudes toward slavery. Within a few years, these men would both be generals-in-chief on opposing sides in … Continue reading

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Siege of Vicksburg: The Newspaper Printed on Wallpaper

In the spring and summer of 1863, Union General Ulysses S. Grant laid siege to the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi. During the 47 days of the siege, the city was bombarded every day, and civilians and the rebel soldiers … Continue reading

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Why the Confederacy Was Doomed Even if It Won the Civil War

If the South Had Won In 1961, Pulitzer Prize-winning author MacKinlay Kantor published a book called If the South Had Won the Civil War. Kantor imagined that the slave-holding Confederate States of America (CSA) had defeated the Union and firmly … Continue reading

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How Whites Used “Negro Balls” To Prevent Slave Revolts Before the Civil War

On Monday, January 28, 1861, the city of New Orleans was in a festive mood. Two separate (though definitely not equal) celebrations were being held in the city that night. Both were supposedly joyous occasions, but each had a far … Continue reading

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This Week In 1865: Confederate Diary posts for March 6-8, 1865

As General Grant tightened his grip on Richmond, and Sherman was coming up from behind, residents of the city looked forward fearfully to its evacuation by General Lee’s army. Saturday, March 4, 1865 J. B. Jones John Beauchamp Jones (1810-1866) … Continue reading

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This Week In 1865: Confederate Diary posts for March 4-5, 1865

NOTE: General Jubal Early commanded the last Confederate force in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. On March 2, 1865, in an encounter at Waynesboro with cavalry units under Union General Philip H. Sheridan, Early’s army was defeated, routed, and for all practical … Continue reading

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This Week In 1865: Confederate Diary posts for March 1-3, 1865

Wednesday, March 1, 1865 J. B. Jones John Beauchamp Jones (1810-1866) was a writer who worked in the Confederate War Department in Richmond during the war. His diary was published in 1866 as “A Rebel War Clerk’s Diary at the … Continue reading

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This Week In 1865: Confederate Diary posts for Feb 28, 1865

Tuesday, February 28, 1865 J. B. Jones John Beauchamp Jones (1810-1866) was a writer who worked in the Confederate War Department in Richmond during the war. His diary was published in 1866 as “A Rebel War Clerk’s Diary at the … Continue reading

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