Strange and Obscure Stories of the Civil War


Book Description

Presents a series of historical anecdotes about little-known, miscellaneous events and personal experiences of the American Civil War.




Strange and Obscure Stories of the Civil War


Book Description

Strange and Obscure Stories of the Civil War is an entertaining look at the Civil War stories that don’t get told, and the misadventures you haven’t read about in history books. Share in all the humorous and strange events that took place behind the scenes of some of the most famous Civil War moments. Picture a pedestal in a public park with no statue on top; Rowland’s book explains that when the members of the New York Monument Commission went to hire a sculptor to finish the statue, they were shocked to discover that there was no money left in the agency’s accounts to pay for the project. The money for the statue of Dan Sickles had been stolen—stolen by former monument committee chairman Dan Sickles! Brig. Gen. Philip Kearny was the son of a New York tycoon who had helped found the New York Stock Exchange, and who groomed his boy to be a force on Wall Street. The younger Kearny decided his call was to be a force on the field of battle, so despite a law degree and an inheritance of better than $1 million, he joined the U.S. Army and studied cavalry tactics in France. His dashing figure in the saddle earned him the name of Kearny the Magnificent, probably because Kearny rode with a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other while holding the horse’s reins in his teeth. This habit proved useful after he lost his left arm in the Mexican War, because he was able to continue to wave his sword with all the menace to which he was accustomed while still guiding his horse.




Best Little Stories from the Civil War


Book Description

A collection of more than one hundred true stories from the Civil War era that recount the exploits of key figures and chronicle important events that shaped the war.




Civil War Curiosities


Book Description

This fascinating collection explores the unusual and often bizarre persons,attitudes, and events of the Civil War. Illustrated and indexed.




Best Little Ironies, Oddities, and Mysteries of the Civil War


Book Description

Collects 114 stories showing the twists and turns of fate that occured in the time surrounding the Civil War, including the question of who fired the first shot and the tale of Union color-bearer Kady Brownell.




Ghosts and Haunts of the Civil War


Book Description




Friendly Fire in the Civil War


Book Description

More than 100 true stories of comrade killing comrade: defective ammunition accidental shootings blinding smoke deliberate fire upon comrade mistaken uniforms inexperienced troops unknown passwords On May 2, 1863, Stonewall Jackson was on the verge of the greatest victory of his career. Shortly before 10 P.M. he rode through the woods near Chancellorsville, Virginia, to find where the Federals had established their line. As he returned, his own men, in the noise and confusion, opened fire, woulding Jackson several times. One of the Civil War's first heroes died eight days later. Stonewall Jackson's death is but one example of Confederate killing Confederate or Yankee killing Yankee. No war was as intense and chaotic as the American Civil War. Author Webb Garrison has brought together Jackson's story and 150 other instances of friendly fire in this unique book that strips away the romanticism of the Civil War. "[With] night setting in, it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe. Several of our own command were killed by our own friends." ?Ambrose Wright at Malvern Hill "I thought it better to kill a Union man or two than to lose the effect of my moral suasion." ?Union Officer Louis M. Goldsborough "Whilst in this position my regiment was shelled by our own artillery. The officer in command should be made to pay the penalty for this criminal conduct." ?Confederate Col. Edward Willis, speaking of a battle at Gettysburg "Seemingly not content with the speed that the enemy were slaughtering us, one of our own batteries commenced a heavy and destructive fire on us." ?Union Maj. Thomas S. Tate, speaking of Tupelo, Mississippi




Myths and Mysteries of the Civil War


Book Description

Fourteen Mind-Boggling Tales from America’s Deadliest Conflict—commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War • Was Ulysses S. Grant really a “perpetual drunk”? Some said he never met a bottle he didn’t like. But did his headache medication also cause intoxication-like behavior? And did much of the talk originate with those jealous of Grant? • Was Stonewall Jackson just a “sucker”? Thomas Jonathan Jackson became known not only as a brilliant strategist but also as an eccentric who obsessively sucked lemons. Was it a love of fresh fruit? Or his favorite method of dealing with heartburn? • What happened to the lost Confederate gold? Ever since the evacuation of Richmond on April 2, 1865, rumors abounded that the Confederate treasury had been loaded aboard a train and sent on its way into hiding. Can we “follow the money”? In at least one case the answer is “yes.” From the legend of the Yankee “human shield” behind Nathan Bedford Forrest’s saddle to the unexplained sinking of the Hunley, Myths and Mysteries of the Civil War makes history fun and pulls back the curtain on some of the most fascinating and compelling stories of the war that almost tore America apart




Amazing Women of the Civil War


Book Description

The Civil War is most often described as one in which brother fought against brother. But the most devastating war fought on American soil was also one in which women demonstrated heroic deeds, selfless acts, and courage beyond measure. Women mobilized soup kitchens and relief societies. Women cared for wounded soldiers. Women were effective spies. And it is estimated that 300 women fought on the battlefields, usually disguised as men. The most fascinating Civil War women include: Harriet Tubman, a former slave, who led hundreds of fellow slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad Four hundred women who were seized in Roswell, Georgia, deported to Indiana, and vanished without a trace Belle Boyd, the "Siren of the Shenandoah," who at the age of seventeen killed a Union soldier "Crazy" Elizabeth Van Lew, who deliberately fostered the impression that she was eccentric so that she could be an effective spy for the North "The poor fellow sprang from my hands and fell back quivering in the agonies of death. A bullet had passed between my body and the right arm which supported him, cutting through my sleeve and passing through his chest from shoulder to shoulder." ?Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross "We were all amused and disgusted at the sight of a thing that nothing but the debased and depraved Yankee nation could produce. [A woman] was dressed in the full uniform of a Federal surgeon. She was not good looking, and of course had tongue enough for a regiment of men." ?Captain Benedict J. Semmes, describing Mary Walker, M.D.




Southern Stories


Book Description

Stories were collective, as in the case of the antebellum proslavery argument or Confederate discourses about women. Sometimes they were personal, as in the private writings of figures such as Lizzie Neblett, Mary Chesnut, Thornton Stringfellow, or James Henry Hammond. These men and women regularly employed their pens to create coherence and order amid the tangled circumstances of their particular lives and within a context of social prescriptions and expectations.