Official blog
TWS Website
TWS Website
U

MENU

Civil War

Emperor of Nicaragua: William Walker

Emperor of Nicaragua: William Walker

,

On November 8, 1855, in front of the Parroquia Church in the town square of the Nicaraguan city of Granada, a line of riflemen shot Gen. Ponciano Corral, the senior general of the Conservative government. Strangely, the members of the firing squad hailed from the United States. So did the man who had ordered the execution.  His name was William Walker. Though later generations would largely forget him, in the 1850s, he obsessed the American public. To many, he was a swashbuckling champion of Manifest Destiny. To others, he loomed as an international criminal. In Walker's own mind, he was a conqueror destined to create a Central American empire. His bizarre career would leave a legacy that shadows the relationship between the United States and Central America to this day. Biography of William Walker Walker was born in 1824 in Nashville, Tennessee, to James Walker and his wife, Mary Norvell. His father was the son of a Scottish immigrant. His mother was the daughter of Lipscomb...

read more
Famous Army Units: The 20th Maine Infantry Regiment

Famous Army Units: The 20th Maine Infantry Regiment

,

On 7 Jun 2019, the “Ballad of the 20th Maine” (not written and composed by Griffin Sherry until 2015) became Maine’s official State Ballad by an act of Governor Janet Mills. Organized from the Maine Volunteer Militia in August 1862, the 20th Maine mustered into Federal service several weeks later. The precursor regiment’s enlistments ran up in 1863, but about half the unit had signed papers to serve for the three years, so they were amalgamated into the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment raised primarily from the Brewer area. Assigned to the Army of the Potomac, the regiment fought in the Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville campaigns. At Gettysburg, the 20th was commanded by Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain (aka “the Lion of Bowdoin”), a former professor at Maine’s Bowdoin College.

read more
The Sand Creek Massacre: Silas Soule and Joseph Cramer

The Sand Creek Massacre: Silas Soule and Joseph Cramer

,

The Sand Creek Massacre, occurring on November 29, 1864, was one of the most infamous incidents of the Indian Wars. Initially reported in the press as a victory against a bravely fought defense by the Cheyenne, later eyewitness testimony conflicted with these reports, resulting in a military and two Congressional investigations into the event. Two of those eyewitnesses were cavalry officers Capt. Silas Soule and Lt. Joseph Cramer who had the courage to order their men not to take part in the slaughter. It was these two that were also the driving force in getting the government to conduct more in-depth investigations on what really happened at Sand Creek.  Conflicts and Tensions Before the Sand Creek Massacre The causes of the Sand Creek massacre and other atrocities inflicted on the Indians were rooted in the long conflict for control of the Great Plains of eastern Colorado and to the river to the Nebraska border to the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Around the same time, gold and silver...

read more
Adm. David G. Farragut, U.S. Navy (1810-1870)

Adm. David G. Farragut, U.S. Navy (1810-1870)

,

We've all heard the phrase, "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" at some point in our lives. We may have even used it ourselves. But do we know what it actually means, aside from being a really cool thing to say right before you do something insane, irrational, or both? If you're a fan of U.S. Navy history, you might know it was the command barked by David Farragut during the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864. The Legacy of Adm. David G. Farragut Badass orders weren't the only legacy Farragut left behind. He served some 60 years in the U.S. Navy. Farragut was also the reason Congress created new flag officer ranks for the Navy and is also probably the only naval officer that had to be tied down by his crew for his own safety. The life of Admiral David Farragut is a case study in favor of the old axiom "Fortune favors the bold."  Farragut joined the U.S. Navy at age nine, becoming a midshipman in 1810. During the War of 1812, he was aboard the frigate USS Essex, wreaking havoc...

read more
U.S. Military Rank Insignia

U.S. Military Rank Insignia

,

The U.S. Military Rank Insignia has a long and proud history. Many of the ranks adopted by the United States military at the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 are still in use today. The early military took a lot of inspiration from the British and French forces. Over time, the military rank insignia has come to represent American valor. These emblems, worn on the uniform to denote rank, help people identify military personnel’s rank and pay-grade at a glance. Evolution of U.S. Military Rank Insignia There are general rules for ranks that can help those unfamiliar with ranks to get a broad idea. The US Military rank insignia has humble beginnings. Initially, while the Continental Army had militia with a rank structure based on British tradition, they lacked uniforms or the money to buy them. At the time, General George Washington proposed “badges of distinction” to separate enlisted men's appearance from the commissioned officers. He recommended a color-coding system. This...

read more
Civil War – The Battle of Antietam

Civil War – The Battle of Antietam

,

The early days of the Civil War were some of the darkest for the Union. The Confederate Army won many of those early pivotal battles, and where the Union did see success, it often failed to follow up on them. What so many Americans in the North believed would be a short war, a spanking for the unruly South, was turning into a long, drawn-out bloodbath – and things would get much worse before they got better.  The Turning Point for European Recognition The Confederates needed a hard-fought, decisive victory over the Union if they were going to get recognition from European powers. Meanwhile, the Union needed to prove to Europe that the Confederate States had little to no chance of success and weren't worth intervention. The South had one of the most capable commanders of the day in Gen. Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. In contrast, the Union had Gen. George B. McClellan, who was capable but feckless. Robert E. Lee's Invasion Begins the Battle of Antietam On Sept. 3,...

read more
Civil War – The Battle of Shiloh

Civil War – The Battle of Shiloh

,

The first year of the American Civil War wasn’t a great one for the Union Army. Losses at places like Bull Run and Ball’s Bluff overshadowed a string of smaller but equally important battles across the country. President Abraham Lincoln’s general-in-chief, George B. McClellan, was highly regarded by his men but was difficult to deal with, increasingly insubordinate, and failed to follow up on his victories.  However, a shining star was beginning to emerge in the Western Theater of the war. Ulysses S. Grant began the war in 1861 as a Colonel but was elevated to command a campaign along the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers by Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont. Grant, it would turn out, had the aggression necessary to take the fight to the rebels. He bloodied the Confederates at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, the two most significant Union victories at the time, forcing the rebels out of Kentucky.  The Battle of Shiloh: The Bloody Turning Point President Lincoln promoted Grant, now...

read more
Civil War – The Civil War Within the Confederacy

Civil War – The Civil War Within the Confederacy

,

The civil war within the Confederacy is often overshadowed by the actual Civil War. The American Civil War was a titanic struggle between the overwhelming numeric and material advantages of the Union, and the tactical and leadership advantages of the states that would form the  Confederate States of America. In such a large conflict many stories, unfortunately, go untold and it becomes easy to oversimplify each side. The war did not become inevitable simply because of the Republican Party and the election of Abraham Lincoln to the executive branch of the federal government.  Even describing the conflict as "North vs. South" is inaccurate to a degree, as support for the war was far from unanimous on either side. On occasions when dissent within each side is discussed today, the focus is almost always on the Union's Copperheads. However, it should be remembered that there was a vigorous pro-Union movement in the South, particularly in areas where not many people owned slaves....

read more
You’ll Be Scared – Sure You’ll Be Scared by Philip Cole

You’ll Be Scared – Sure You’ll Be Scared by Philip Cole

,

What possesses a unit of soldiers to run headlong into a frontal assault on a heavily defended position, knowing that the chances of success aren't great and that they could die? Many might ask: aren't they scared? The answer is: of course they are. That's not really what matters at that moment, however.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear." Nowhere in American military history was that something more important than in the Civil War. Union soldiers marched into the grim melee of the world's first modern war, knowing they might be maimed or killed.  Psychological Strain on the Battlefield: Insights from "You'll Be Scared - Sure You'll" Fear is the natural process that keeps us alive and (hopefully) unharmed in the face of overwhelming danger. It's what provokes us to run away to safety or prepare to stand our ground. But war is different. Soldiers can't run away from...

read more
Civil War – Andersonville Prison

Civil War – Andersonville Prison

,

There were 150 prison camps on both sides in the Civil War, and they all suffered from disease, overcrowding, exposure, and food shortages. But Andersonville was notorious for being the worst. Some men agreed to freedom and fought for the South as galvanized soldiers, fearing the dangers of imprisonment to be greater than those of the battlefield. Officially named Camp Sumter, the most notorious Civil War stockade was hastily constructed in early 1864 near the town of Andersonville in southwest Georgia. The number of Union soldiers held near Richmond had swelled with the breakdown of prisoner exchange agreements, posing a threat to the Confederate capital's security and taxing Virginia's already limited resources. Andersonville Was Jammed with over 32,000, Almost All Enlisted Men In late February, Federal prisoners began to be transferred to the still-unfinished Georgia facility. By July, Andersonville, built to accommodate up to 10,000 captured soldiers, was jammed with over 32,000,...

read more
Civil War – Sherman’s March to The Sea (1861-1865)

Civil War – Sherman’s March to The Sea (1861-1865)

,

The March to the Sea, the most destructive campaign against a civilian population during the Civil War (1861-65), began in Atlanta on November 15, 1864, and ended in Savannah on December 21, 1864. Union General William T. Sherman abandoned his supply line and marched across Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean to prove to the Confederate population that its government could not protect the people from invaders. He practiced psychological warfare; he believed that by marching an Army across the state he would demonstrate to the world that the Union had a power the Confederacy could not resist. "This may not be war," he said, “but rather statesmanship.”  General William T. Sherman Prepares For March to The Sea After Sherman's forces captured Atlanta on September 2, 1864, Sherman spent several weeks concerned with preparations for a change of base to the coast. He rejected the Union plan to move through Alabama to Mobile, pointing out that after Rear Admiral David G. Farragut closed...

read more
The Battle of Buena Vista

The Battle of Buena Vista

,

The Mexican War was one of the United States' shortest wars, and it's a conflict that often goes overlooked in American history books. But it was one that literally shaped the country and its future in so many ways. It added more than half a million square miles to the United States, from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Ocean, establishing a southern border and creating a territory that truly spread from sea to shining sea.  It was also where many future commanders of the American Civil War would cut their teeth in the art of war, applying what they learned from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. These notables included Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, George G. Meade, George McClellan, George Pickett, Joseph E. Johnston, Braxton Bragg, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant.  The Battle of Buena Vista: General Taylor's Stand At the start of the war, the Mexican claimed its border with Texas was the Nueces River, while the U.S. upheld the Texas claim that the border was the...

read more