"Arkansas Would Ever Remain Under the Eagle": A Unionist’s View on Secession
Civil Discourse
by Zac Cowsert
1M ago
The following letter appeared in the pages of the Arkansas True Democrat in July 1861: “Van Buren, Ark., May 18, 1861.  Mr. Editor: In your issue of April 30, I notice the following: ‘Western Arkansas is a unit for immediate secession, and none are more strong than the heretofore union party. The whole people here, whatever may have been their opinions heretofore, are now united as one against what they deem the aggressive policy of the administration. A war feeling is now prevalent.’  Now, sir, allow me to speak a word in contradiction to the above. I will first say that I am a sou ..read more
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The Plight and Flight of Unionist Edwin R. McGuire: Divided Loyalties and Violence in Independence County, Arkansas
Civil Discourse
by Zac Cowsert
5M ago
On Friday, December 4, 1863, Missouri Corporal John Winterbottom recorded in his diary that just days before, “20 Rebels attacked the house of a rich unionist 10 miles West of here, by the name of McGuire. He killed two of the Rebels and then made his escape with a slight wound. The Rebels then burned his house, which was the finest in the country.” Two days later, on Sunday the 6th, two companies of the Third Missouri Cavalry rode out of Jacksonport, Arkansas, accompanied by a wagon train. Crossing the White River, the convoy traveled 10 miles west towards Oil Trough Bottoms, a fertile, low-l ..read more
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A Quiet Year for Civil Discourse
Civil Discourse
by Zac Cowsert
1y ago
As we slide into 2023, Katie and I usually like to offer a review of our popular posts from the year prior. Unfortunately, 2022 proved to be a very quiet year for our Civil Discourse endeavors! (See our lone post on guerilla warfare in Central Arkansas.) It’s been a busy year. For my own part, I accepted a new job, moved halfway across the country, and welcomed the birth of my daughter! Suffice to say, research and writing time have been short! I’m hoping to offer more new content in 2023. Of course, our substantial archives are always there for perusal as well! Happy New Year! Hopefully one f ..read more
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Chasing Bushwhackers: The 3rd Missouri Cavalry and a "Scout to Hot Spring County," Arkansas
Civil Discourse
by Zac Cowsert
2y ago
On February 8, 1864, blue-clad troopers of the 3rd Missouri Cavalry rode southwest out of Little Rock, Arkansas on a “scout to Hot Spring County…for the purpose,” explained Private Alexander W.M. Petty, “of driving out a company of bushwhackers reported to be committing all kinds of depredations there upon the persons and property of the loyal citizens.” Over the next week, the Federals journeyed over 200 miles, clashed repeatedly with Rebel guerrillas, suffered casualties, and took enemy prisoners. Their scout through Central Arkansas—typical of the countless small counterinsurgency expeditio ..read more
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Top 3 posts of 2021
Civil Discourse
by Kathleen Thompson
2y ago
It has been a slow year at Civil Discourse, but here are the top three posts of 2021. #3 The Industrial Confederacy: The Augusta Powder Works, by Katie Thompson Early in the Civil War, in spring/summer 1861, the Confederacy needed to establish a local supply of gunpowder in order to fight the Union armies. President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, tasked Colonel George Washington Rains with creating that local supply and Rains left Richmond, Virginia on July 10, 1861 to find a location to establish a powder works for the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis gave Rains this assignment before the a ..read more
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"Grant is beating his head against a wall": Lt. Col Walter Taylor on the Overland Campaign
Civil Discourse
by Zac Cowsert
2y ago
Walter Taylor, in hIs Virginia Militia uniform, pictured in April 1861 In preparation for a week-long visit to various central Virginia Civil War battlefields, I’ve been reviewing the writings of various military participants. Over at the Civil War Monitor, Gary Gallagher recently recommended a variety of writings essential to understanding the Army of Northern Virginia. Included in his list was the correspondence of Lieutenant Colonel Walter Taylor, who served as General Robert E. Lee’s aide-de-camp throughout the Civil War. With Gallagher’s recommendation in mind, I reviewed Walter Taylor’s ..read more
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The Industrial Confederacy: The Augusta Power Works
Civil Discourse
by Kathleen Thompson
2y ago
Drawing of the Refinery Building of the Confederate Powder Works (Library of Congress) Early in the Civil War, in spring/summer 1861, the Confederacy needed to establish a local supply of gunpowder in order to fight the Union armies. President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, tasked Colonel George Washington Rains with creating that local supply and Rains left Richmond, Virginia on July 10, 1861 to find a location to establish a powder works for the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis gave Rains this assignment before the armies clashed at the Battle of First Manassas, but after fighting had alr ..read more
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“The ‘Milk and Water’ Policy…Is To Be Abandoned”: The Battle of Lewisburg, the Yankee, and Hard War in Western Virginia
Civil Discourse
by Zac Cowsert
2y ago
This post is the latest in Zac Cowsert’s series “The Civil War in the Press,” which explores the interactions between soldiers and civilians, politics and the press throughout the Civil War. You can read other posts in the series here. In late May 1862, United States soldiers of the 44th Ohio Infantry occupied the abandoned offices of the Greenbrier Weekly Era in Lewisburg, western Virginia. Having recently emerged victorious in the Battle of Lewisburg and perhaps faced with the boredom of occupation, the soldiers set about publishing a newspaper they christened the Yankee. Though the Federals ..read more
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Retreat from Antietam: The Battle of Shepherdstown, September 19-20, 1862
Civil Discourse
by Kathleen Thompson
2y ago
“Ford near Shepherdstown, on the Potomac. Pickets firing across the river” by Alfred R. Waud, September 1862 (Library of Congress) On September 17, 1862 the armies of Generals George McClellan and Robert E. Lee fought to a bloody stalemate at the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, MD. On September 18, Lee ordered the Confederate army to withdraw from the battlefield and retreat back to Virginia. They used the ford near Shepherdstown, VA (now WV) known as Blackford’s, Pack Horse, or Boteler’s/Butler’s Ford. Cavalry under Fitzhugh Lee guarded Lee’s crossing at the ford while the rest of the Co ..read more
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Top Ten Posts of 2020: 1-5
Civil Discourse
by Civil Discourse
2y ago
Counting down the top ten posts of 2020! #5: Editorial: West Virginia Must Confront Its Confederate Monuments “In the autumn of 1910, a crowd of thousands gathered on the capitol grounds in downtown Charleston, West Virginia. The women and men, many of whom were Confederate veterans adorned once again in gray, had come from all over West Virginia to witness the dedication of a monument to Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy a year before, and sculpted by a former VMI cadet who knew Jackson, the monument was intended to acknowl ..read more
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