Thoughts On History
Partly out of idle curiosity, I was going through the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, the main primary source for the Civil War in terms of official reports and correspondence.. Particularly, I was going through correspondence in early 1864, curious to see some of the process of Ulysses S. Grant planning and … Continue reading Grant, Sigel, and Ord: The Valley and West Virginia, 1864
Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant was accused by Mary Lincoln and some Northern newspapers of being a “butcher” for the casualties incurred by the Overland Campaign of 1864. It’s a charge that was taken up by former Confederates and later members of the “Lost Cause”, who sought to portray a South that outfought the foul … Continue reading The Butcher: Grant or Halleck?
Following the battle for Spotsylvania Court House, Ulysses. S Grant and George Meade’s Army of the Potomac had shifted around Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia again and moved south. Lee managed to reach his preferred defensive location of the North Anna River, and stood just to the south of it. Realizing … Continue reading A Trap At The North Anna River?
The eastern theatre, primarily focused on Virginia, tends to get the most popular and scholarly attention when talking about the American Civil War. In large part this is because of the drama of Robert E. Lee’s repeated against-the-odds victories over the Army of the Potomac before George Meade took command. The commanders Lee defeated tend … Continue reading Union Strategy in Virginia
Breck O'Donnell 
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