Identifying an Officer Pictured in a Library of Congress Negative
By Kurt Luther In my first “Photo Sleuth” column in 2015, I wrote about the power of combining perseverance and luck. After years of fruitless searching for photos of my
Tag: george
“I am an American and a Union Man”
Career navy officer Richard Worsam Meade was an irascible man. This quirk in his personality may have been hereditary; his uncle famously exhibited the same trait—Maj. Gen. George G. Meade.
Survivor of Vermont’s Deadliest Day
The deadliest day in Vermont history, May 5, 1864, lives in infamy. Hundreds of miles south of the Green Mountain State, in the rough and tumble landscape of The Wilderness
Custer’s “Main Stay In a Tight Place”
The veteran 2nd Ohio Cavalry earned high praise for its service from legendary golden-haired Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer. According to the June 1, 1865, issue of the Cleveland Daily
Foundation of the Rock
Wise. Calm. Self-poised. Steadfast. These words were used by a comrade and biographer of George Henry Thomas to describe the venerable soldier long after he had been christened with the
At Franklin, “Killed Dead:” Life and loss of a Georgia lieutenant
By Willis Treadwell with Ronald S. Coddington Following the crushing Confederate defeat at the Battle of Franklin, word of the long casualty lists trickled into communities across the South. Grief-stricken
A “Red Burial Blent” at Nashville
On Dec. 16, 1864, the second day of the Battle of Nashville, Maj. Gen. George H. “Pap” Thomas’s Union army readied for a bloody assault. His men marched amidst a
Doughboy: Origins of a Classic Americanism
Though “doughboy” was popularized during World War I, the origin of the word as a military term is disputed, with several explanations emerging over the years. In her 1887 book
Overworked, Overwhelmed and Unappreciated
Henry Meigs Meade had his hands full in 1864. The 24-year-old Navy paymaster was designated as the lone disbursing officer for all of the federal vessels in the regional fleet
Dream Reports: Excerpts from the Dream Journal of Alexander S. Paxton, 4th Virginia Infantry
By Jonathan W. White Reverend George Junkin was furious when he saw a secession flag flying over the main building of Washington College in Lexington, Va. A native of Pennsylvania,