fall was a trusting nature and l of business acumen. Additionally Grant held the traditional army
officer’s view that Congress was the boss.42 We can only specu-
late whether Grant made all the correct decisions. Grant could not reasonably have foretold all the nuances associated with the Gilded Age. If Grant was so bad, then there really should no have been much corruption in later presidencies, yet there wa
Grant made some very hard, decidedly unpopular, decisions no
matter which way he turned. In that respect, he is no different from modern presidents. It is un
many correct choices. He used his military experience to help
after Grant left office before t civil rights issues received the attention again that it deserved
Grant’s Reconstruction program was constructive. Grant was hu-
man. He was put into a position of having more power than he adequately knew what to do with. Like all of us, he used his ex-
perience, character, personality strengths, and weaknesses every day that he served. He was an ex traordinary military genius who, though promoted beyond his political capabilities, performed
recognized as a good president and a military mastermind.
Bibliography rimary Sources: Grant, Ulysses Simpson, Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. Oliver, Philip and Guild Press of Indiana, The Civil War CDRom: The War of the Rebellion (A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Carmel: Guild Press of Indiana, 1996.
econdary Sources: Ables, Gisela R., Howard Bodner, Chris Drake, Harry Goss, Susan Hult, J. Kent McGaughy, Charles Robinson,
and Joella Robinson, eds. (Houston Community College), “A Special Covenant…”
History. New York: American Heritage Custom Publishing,
S. Grant (Great American Generals Series). New York: Gallery Books, 1990. Catton, Bruce, U.S. Grant and the American Military Tradition. Boston: Little, Brow and Company, 1954.
Boston: Little, Brown and Company, Inc., 1960
Hart, B.H. Liddell, Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American. New York: Da Capo Press, 1993.
Marilynn S. Johnson, America’s History. Boston: Bedford/St. 100 Signi
Scaturro, Frank J., Forts Sum Presid second-in
text surr MD: University APress unique America, Inc., 1998 Augustine
South, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, Inc., 1960), p. 8. Catton, U.S. Grant and the Military Tradition, p. 152.
F. Norton Boothe, Ulysses S. Grant (Great American Generals Series), (New York: Gallery Books, 1990), p. 69. Ibid., p. 70. Ibid.
Grant Reconsidered, (Lanham, MD: University Press of
CWN America, Inc., 1998), p. 63. 7. Ibid., p. 64. 8. Gisela R. Ables, et al., eds., “A Special Covenant …” Perspective on American History, (New York: American Heritage Custom Publishing, 1999), p. 381. 9. James A. Henretta, et al,, America’s History, 4th edition, (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000), p. 481. 10. Ibid. 11. Ibid., pp. 477-479. 12. Ibid., p. 477. 13. Ibid., p. 478 14. Ibid. 15. Ibid. 16. Catton, U.S. Grant and the
Military Tradition, p. 143. 17. Henretta, et all, p. 478. 18. Catton, U.S. Grant and the
19. Ibid., p. 147. 20. Henretta, et al., p. 479.
23. Ibid., p. 68. 24. Ibid. 25. Ibid., p. 69. 26. Henretta, et al., p. 489.
IN THE WAR 100 Significant Civil War Photographs: Charlesto in the War features newly restored images of
scenes in the famed city, taken 1860–1865. The cameramen include the better-known, such as GeorgeCharleston ographs: N. Barnard in and George the War S featur he as famed somecity,lesser-known taken 1860–1865. ones: Samuel Charles Quinby, the partners Haas & Peale, born better-known, such as George N. Barnard and & Durbec. e lesser-known ones: Samuel Cooley, Char
Peale, Text Osborn & Durbec.Davis and Jack Melton by Stephen
k accompanies Melton accompanies eacheachfeatured featured phot describing the surrounding and the history pictured scenes an them. The
tings: that portion surrounding them. ofThe Charleston selected known im
” variety (the areaofof settings: the city destroyed by the Gr that portion
ton Arsenal, as TheandBattery, the many churches “Burntth known “the
the areaHoly City.” Special sections of this book of the city destroyed by the Great Fir
guns imported from England by the Confederates December 1861), the Charleston Arsenal, and ws. the many churches that allow Charlestonians to The Defense leston goes back call theirs “the to Holy City.” of Charlesto Special s erate major of engineers, and to Reminiscences of book are devoted to the huge Blakely guns 860-’61 (1876) by Capt. Abner Doubleday, Federal
imported from England Charlestonians by the Confede have contributed to t N.close-ups Rosen andof Barnard’s Richard views.III. The h W. Hatcher nt Photographs draws on these and other works. ance upon the writings of actual participants, such
914) and Emma Edwards Holmes (1838–1910). The history of Civil WarCivilCharleston e,
The 100 Significant WarDefense of Charleston offers rewards War Harbor (189 for all readers, e Johnson, Confederate major of engineers, and serious student. Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie in 1860-’61 (1876) by Capt. Abner Doubleday, Federal second-in-command. Since then Charlestonians have contributed to the his of their city, notably Robert N. Rosen and Richard W. Hatcher III. The historical tex surrounding 100 Significant Photographs dr on these and other works. A unique feature reliance upon the writings of actual parti such as Augustine T. Smythe (1842–1914) an Emma Edwards Holmes (1838–1910). As a contribution to this literature, 100 Significant Civil War Photographs: Charles the War offers rewards for all readers, fr casual novice to the serious student. 160 pages, Over 100 Photos, Maps, Index, Bibliography, Softcover. ISBN: 978-1-61850-167-7 Stephe
Wilderness, I carefully negotiat the underbrush as the sharp tree limbs seem to intentionally assault my face and arms. It is ov ninety degrees, and the Virginia humidity seems even higher as my clothes become sodden with perspiration. I eventually see the light of a clearing and fina make it to the edge of the water This could easily be a narrative from any soldier during the 1864 battle of the Wilderness, b it is not. It is what I experien most days in my own backyard. You see, my wife and I live on t Wilderness battlefield. When your employer one day says to you, how would you like to relocate to Virginia and you can pick anywhere you want, opportunities for an armchair mili tary historian become bountiful. In 1994, my wife Lisa and I relocated from central New Jersey, which is rich with Revolutionary War resources, to Virginia, and settled in Spotsylvania County. We purchased a ready-built home on a partially cleared acre of land. The home also happens to be on a well-known water source that was once commonly known as Wilderness Run, prominent
in both the Chancellorsville and Wilderness battles. The Run was dammed decades ago to create three lakes for our current subdivision. Several years ago, the
subdivision drained these lakes repair the dams. I was surprised to see that the lake in our back yard still had the original cut the Run, and it was bordering ou own shoreline. It was not long before we decided to purchase the heavily wooded lots on each side of our home. These are pristine undisturbed parts of the Wilderness Battlefield. It looks somewhat different now, the trees are muc taller than they were one hundred and fifty-six years ago whe they were only regrowth after be ing cut for making coal to power Virginia Governor Spotswood’s iron furnaces established about 1716. The underbrush is also not quite as thick. Still, if you tr to walk a straight line of ten people in one end of the forest they would never emerge in that straight line. Imagine the armie in 1864 trying to keep any sort of organization fighting in thes woods, especially when the forest erupted in flames from the i tense musket blasts. I am extremely interested in the entire Civil War, particular ly the Overland Campaign and
its battles. Being within walkin distance of the Orange Plank and Brock roads as well as Saunders
Field and all the battlefield in tween, I am most fascinated with
CWN the Wilderness since it is so eas ily accessible. It is thought pro voking when you wake up each morning and immediately stare into the throat of the beast that significantly hindered fighting by both Union and Confederate troops in early May 1863 and 1864. For General Lee, it was the great equalizer with his army being only a portion of the size of Grant’s. For General Grant, it took away his cavalry and
plates on vehicles buzzing around my area, that people were coming from all over the United States, fact the world, to visit these si When you live near or within an historic area, it is easy to begi taking it for granted. For me, it made me dedicated to help saving it. This is important history I often wonder how many of my neighbors are aware of what took place in their backyards. About twenty-five years ago, shortly after moving here, I read in our subdivision newsletter, of group trying to form with the intention of assisting the National Park Service in preserving and promoting the Wilderness Battlefield. I attended that meet ing and never looked back. The Friends of Wilderness Battlefield was formed. I held several positions in this organization, culmi nating in five years as its presi dent. The Friends organization is still going strong today. As is true with all of us, lif sometimes gets in the way. I had to retire from the preservation cause for a couple of years to ta on my day job’s travel demands. This did have an upside; it gave me the opportunity to visit many
battlefields across the country and learn more and more about the conflict. I was able to speak
with other like-minded battlefiel preservationists and came away
with best practices and success stories. I always remind myself how fortunate I am to live on one of these battlefields, arguably one of the most important, when realizing that General Grant’s decision to follow General Lee contrasted with previous Union commanders who simply positioned their armies back where they started. A few years later, I met an old friend, Dr. Mike Stevens, at a
ly? To make a long story short, I wound up on the CVBT Board of Directors and for years held several positions culminating in, you guessed it, becoming the current President of CVBT. Never miss a meeting! I am extremely honored to hold this position and work alongside our most dedicated Board members and staff. We have a staff of two, and the rest of us are all volunteers. Although I have a comfortable CVBT office in Fredericksburg, I still do most of my work at my home office in the Wilderness. With my day job, I accomplish much of my preservation work at odd hours, and it makes for some exceptionally long days. When these hours begin to wear on me, I simply look out the window, overlooking the Wilderness, and imagine, in my mind’s eye, what occurred here in 1864. This reminds me why I am so passionate about preserving these battlefields.
The Atlanta Campaign The American Civil War was the first war in w used entrenchments, repeating rifles, ironcla communications. It was also the first American War to be exte Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner and Timothy O having made iconic photographs in the Civil W George N. Barnard deserves to be ranked in th work in the war’s western theater. A civilian photographer hired by Gen. William take pictures of fortifications around Atlant them in and around the city in the fall of 18 100 Significant Civil War Photographs: Union Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson’s death in 1864. Thus far, no comprehensive, definitive listin Atlanta Campaign presents a riveting work. The Library of Congress has 130 images; the U Point, New York, has at least 98 photographs, collection of George Barnard’s camera Other repositories, such as the Gilder Lehrma New York City, have smaller collections. For this book we have chosen a hundred images work. Most of the photographs are from other students may wonder at some of our sele
We hope that this work will stimulate further Barnardiana, and that other scholarly volumes Barnard’s time in Atlanta, mid-September
Federal occupation of the city. 128 pages, photographs,
advances the scholarly literature of ISBN: 978-1-61850-151-6
I had a dear friend and wellknown Overland Campaign author stay over at the homestead one night. I had to ask, what do you think happened on our property in 1864? He paused for a sec ond or two and answered, well, Burnside might have stopped for lunch in your front yard. To this day I am not sure if he was kidding me. When we read a brilliantly written book chronicling one
those grounds where so many were wounded or gave their lives. Each one of those men has a story to tell, and those stories are em bedded in those fields. The men outside my window tell me their stories each day, a I listen to them. I answer back; I am doing my best to keep your memories alive. At CVBT, we are doing our best to save the ground where much of our nation’s history is embedded. We consider Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania battlefields our backyard, and for almost twenty-five years, we have been preserving it for futur generations to learn and conceivably better understand our past.
Tom Van Winkle is the President of the Central Virginia Battlefie Trust and author of several articles regarding the Civil War. He also an historical film maker and has produced several films includ ing a popular local cable TV seri “History Scene™”
hief engineer to several hundred of mous is the site of
