Category Archives: American Civil War

Boutwell: A Book Review

According to author Jeffrey Boutwell (a distant collateral descendant), George Sewall Boutwell was an “important public figure hiding in plain sight.” His life was long (1818-1905), and filled with an equally long list of political and governmental accomplishments. According to … Continue reading

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Grant, Greeley and the Strange Election of 1872

The Unlikely General Ulysses S. Grant was an unlikely general. West Point educated (class of ’43), he was a middling student, and other than his fine horsemanship, there was little that stood out. True, he served admirably in the War … Continue reading

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The Justice and the Presidents

OWH, JR Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior (1841-1935) was Massachusetts born into a solid and prosperous family. His father, OWH Senior was a physician and occasional poet, probably best known for the versifying part. As such, his son was attending Harvard when the Civil War … Continue reading

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Sarah Polk’s Fans

Miss Sarah Childress Sarah Childress Polk (1803-1891) was an intelligent, devout Tennessee woman. Her education, considered excellent for the time, was via a Moravian finishing school, but cut short by the untimely death of her father. At twenty, she married Tennessee … Continue reading

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Abraham Lincoln: A Big Apple Farewell

The entire country was stunned by Lincoln’s Assassination in 1865. New York’s Electoral Votes By 1860, New York had been the most populous state for more than a half-century. It accounted for a whopping 35 electoral votes, and gave them … Continue reading

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General Grant’s Last Escort

Serving as a pallbearer is the most unselfish “good deed” someone can do for another. The deceased can never return the favor.  The Great General Ulysses S. Grant was not born to anything even remotely connected with fame or renown … Continue reading

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Lincoln’s First Pardon: Private William Scott

By the time of Lincoln’s death, his reputation for compassion had become legendary. Captain Abe When Abraham Lincoln was around 22, living in New Salem, IL, he enlisted in the militia along with a bunch of his buddies. A skirmish … Continue reading

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Lincoln: The Triumphal Stroll

The Procession As far back as recorded time goes, when a Great War was over, the victors paraded through their towns and villages, trumpets blaring. Hundreds, and even thousands of soldiers glittered in their armor, assembled and proud.  Most marched. … Continue reading

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Captain Grant: A Turning Point

Grant: The 1850s Ulysses S. Grant had become a soldier under duress. His father insisted that his eldest son attend West Point. It was a free education. Not that Jesse Grant was poor; he was definitely middle class, with a … Continue reading

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Civil War Divas: Mary & Julia Part II

After the initial “how-do,” Mary Lincoln and Julia Grant did not meet again for a year. Mary Lincoln: 1864-5 Mary Lincoln took a long time to emerge from her deep grief over her son Willie’s death in early 1862. Custom … Continue reading

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