Last Best Hope of Earth

Constitution Sunday: “The Republican” to the People

“The Republican” to the People

Connecticut Courant (Hartford), January 7, 1788

The liberties that Americans hold dear are not inherently self-sustaining. While the Constitution secures many liberties, it requires Americans to be vigilant in fulfilling their civic duties. This week’s Constitution Sunday highlights the Connecticut Courant, which explored these issues amidst the debate about ratifying the Constitution: Continue reading “Constitution Sunday: “The Republican” to the People” →

The Battle of Fredericksburg

48_2 — My Friend, The Enemy. By: Mort Künstler.

Throughout 1862, the Union embraced a defensive, passive approach to prosecuting the Civil War—shying away from incisive troop movements and relentless pursuits even after battles that left Confederates fatigued and fleeing—while the Confederacy had most recently displayed its more aggressive strategy by its attack near the Antietam Creek in Maryland. At the helm of the Union army, and the epitome of its quiescent nature, stood General George McClellan: a man who had come under fire for his failed Peninsula Campaign and refusal to pursue Confederate General Robert E. Lee after the Battle of Antietam. The latter decision prompted action from the White House. President Abraham Lincoln, whom McClellan had labeled as the “Gorilla,” replaced McClellan with General Ambrose E. Burnside on November 7, 1862.[i] Continue reading “The Battle of Fredericksburg” →

May 7, 2018 0

The Battle of Antietam

1280px-Antietam_field — The Battlefield at Antietam. By: Alexander Gardner.

Years before the Civil War started, Harpers Ferry, Virginia was the site of a federal armory that abolitionist John Brown raided with the hope of starting a revolution, causing distress throughout the Union that a revolution was in the making. In September 1862, Harpers Ferry became a thorn in the Union side yet again as Confederate General Stonewall Jackson raided and easily captured the town which occupied a strategically important position: the intersection of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. After taking the town, Jackson and his men advanced toward Sharpsburg, Maryland and the bubbling Antietam Creek flowing past the outskirts of Sharpsburg.[i] Continue reading “The Battle of Antietam” →

April 17, 2018 1

The Second Battle of Bull Run

tumblr_nfmy6gFZTn1tg8jkro1_1280 — The Second Battle of Bull Run. By: Mort Künstler

After General George McClellan’s campaign to take Richmond fell flat, he became even more disenchanted with the Lincoln administration but vowed that if provided with 50,000 men, he would mount another attack on the Confederate front.[i] Whether a man who had “lost all regard and respect” for President Lincoln and had called the Lincoln administration “a set of heartless villains” was dedicated to restoring the Union became a question for years to come, and Lincoln recognized that even if he sent 100,000 men, McClellan would find Confederate General Robert E. Lee to have 400,000.[ii] Regardless, a Union general from the Western Theater, John Pope, had come to the Eastern Theater prepared to replace McClellan as the top commander in the East and take on the Confederates with the tenacious and fearless approach to fighting that had characterized the western battles.[iii] Continue reading “The Second Battle of Bull Run” →

March 25, 2018 0

McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign

mort-kunstler-handsigned-numbered-limited-edition-print-valor-in-gray-4 — Valor in Gray. By: Mort Künstler.

General George McClellan, commanding 400 ships, 100,000 men, 300 cannons, and 25,000 animals, prepared to execute one of the greatest invasions in the history of the American military: a plan to take the Virginia Peninsula, a perceived weak point in the Confederacy, and march on Richmond.[i] He brought hope to his men that they would be part of the greatest campaign not just of 1862 but in military history. However, President Abraham Lincoln anticipated that it would be a futile effort as the Union men would “find the same enemy, and the same, or equal [e]ntrenchments” on which they had fruitlessly tried to advance before.[ii] Worse than that, he feared that the Confederates would take advantage of the massive Union deployment on the Peninsula and march on Washington. Continue reading “McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign” →

February 19, 2018 3

The Battle of Shiloh

0446f58c17eb4867373409ed7462db8e — Nathan Bedford Forrest Attacking Union Cavalry. By: Mort Künstler.

Two of the greatest Confederate generals in early 1862, Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard, rendezvoused in Corinth, Mississippi with a combined 42,000 men.[i] The city not only could serve as an origin point of a campaign into nearby Tennessee; it also was the meeting point for the Confederacy’s “main north-south and east-west railroads.”[ii] Given Corinth’s importance, Henry Halleck ordered Ulysses S. Grant to march his men to Pittsburg Landing, wait for his fellow general Don Carlos Buell to arrive with his army, and then move on Corinth as a combined force numbering approximately 75,000.[iii]

Continue reading “The Battle of Shiloh” →

January 22, 2018 1

Preparing for Invasion

july22firstreadingcolor — Abraham Lincoln Meeting with His Cabinet in 1862. By: Francis Bicknell Carpenter.

From the Union perspective, the dawn of 1862 presented as good an opportunity as ever for an attack on Richmond. If successful, it could force the Confederacy into surrendering and negotiating its reconciliation with the federal government with the only question being the extent of the retribution for secession. However, to be a successful strike on the Confederate capital, Abraham Lincoln must have known that military leadership as well as his administration heads would need to flawlessly execute a plan. This was particularly true given the Confederacy’s posture in the war: one that was entirely comfortable maintaining the status quo of defending its territory from the aggressor. Continue reading “Preparing for Invasion” →

January 7, 2018 0

Constitution Sunday: “Publius,” The Federalist X

“Publius,” The Federalist X [James Madison]

Daily Advertiser (New York), November 22, 1787

Following are excerpts from The Federalist X, authored by James Madison amidst the debates surrounding the ratification of the Constitution:

“There are two methods of curing the mischiefs of faction: the one, by removing its causes; the other, by controling its effects.

There are again two methods of removing Continue reading “Constitution Sunday: “Publius,” The Federalist X” →

December 10, 2017 0

The Blockade Runners

10527626_697081553712854_4544582711401611470_n — An Illustration of The Lord Clyde Vessel, Also Known as the Ad-Vance, in Wilmington’s Harbor in 1863. By: William G. Muller.

Throughout the Civil War, the Union navy encircled the Confederacy’s ports and confiscated property that was entering or exiting the country in an effort to restrict the Confederate economy. While its full effect may be debated, it played a significant role in reducing the Confederacy’s foreign trade and consequently the strength of its economy and ability to conduct the war.

Continue reading “The Blockade Runners” →

December 5, 2017 0