Unwritten Subjects

[Whitfield's Legion]

I am going on a road trip soon and want to write to pass the time. What are interesting parts of the war that are still largely unwritten?

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

The war in the Upper South. East Tennessee, Northern Georgia, Southwest Virginia, and Western North Carolina. Areas with considerable Union support

 

[JeffBrooks]

Is there a solid biography of Josiah Gorgas, or a work focusing on the remarkably successful efforts of the Confederacy to build a war industry from scratch? This seems an underappreciated topic.

 

[19thOhio]

Is there a regiment from your area that you might find interesting that hasn't had a history written? Even with a possible history written by one of the regiment's members just after the war it is very possibly experienced by just one's person's story which may likely be incomplete. A combination of that history along with other collections of diaries, letters, official records, news articles, photos could be an interesting search. It might even lead to a very interesting road trip. It did for me; several actually.

 

[Stryker65]

The Battle of Gettysburg has hardly been written about at all. Did you know there was a Civil War battle in Pennsylvania?

What's that? In history class, we learned Robert E. Lee bombed Fort Sumter and then surrendered to Grant at Apple Court House.

 

[Andy Cardinal]

Is there a regiment from your area that you might find interesting that hasn't had a history written? Even with a possible history written by one of the regiment's members just after the war it is very possibly experienced by just one's person's story which may likely be incomplete. A combination of that history along with other collections of diaries, letters, official records, news articles, photos could be an interesting search. It might even lead to a very interesting road trip. It did for me; several actually.

I'd love for somebody to write a history of the 7th Ohio, but that won't be me lol.

 

[Andy Cardinal]

A think a biography of A. A. Humphreys would be interesting.

 

[RedRover]

Really?! I wonder how it went, surely if I haven't heard of it by now it must have been insignificant

It was the most significant cat battle in the history of the Western Hemisphere. There's a museum!

Some have tried to reenact the battle with colobus monkeys instead, but without success... I've heard they thought the wool was too scratchy...

There was, apparently, also a theatrical attempt to reenact it with actors dressed as civil war cats, but it wasn't convincing...

 

[19thOhio]

I'd love for somebody to write a history of the 7th Ohio, but that won't be me lol.

The early regiments generally had a long service in the war and thus, a long history and lots of stories. The early musters, training and campaigns were followed with lots of reporters, letters; the men thinking it would be a short conflict and the beginning of an adventure. Interestingly, that seemed to be the thoughts of the Three-month 19th Ohio. At the end of their enlistment they were encouraged to reenlist for three years. However, about the only men that I could find in the Three-year 19th Ohio were some of the officers. Apparently the three-hour battle of Rich Mountain was enough adventure for most of the men.

 

[Andy Cardinal]

The early regiments generally had a long service in the war and thus, a long history and lots of stories. The early musters, training and campaigns were followed with lots of reporters, letters; the men thinking it would be a short conflict and the beginning of an adventure. Interestingly, that seemed to be the thoughts of the Three-month 19th Ohio. At the end of their enlistment they were encouraged to reenlist for three years. However, about the only men that I could find in the Three-year 19th Ohio were some of the officers. Apparently the three-hour battle of Rich Mountain was enough adventure for most of the men.

That's interesting. I was under the impression that most 3 months men enlisted for the three year term.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

- Supply lines. @Michael C. Hardy has written one of the few books on the Confederate commissary networks.
- Railroads. @DaveBrt has an amazing website, csa-railroads.com, that covers this.
- The Meridian campaign. There are two books on this campaign, one from 1975 and the other from 2006.
- USCT organization. (I'm working on some stuff.)
- The Hundred Days' Men
- Coastal Confederate artillery defenses in North Carolina. The late F. Ray Sibley was working on a comprehensive volume; his passing meant that the work would never see the light of day.
- Guides to certain Confederate state's units. McGhee's Missouri, Bergeron's Louisiana, Clark's North Carolina, Seigler's South Carolina, Tennesseans Volume 1, and Wallace's Virginia are the extent of the per-state units, IIRC.

Yes indeed. I have found nothing on the 64th GA Infantry outside the OR, despite it having been very active in key battles.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

Yes indeed. I have found nothing on the 64th GA Infantry outside the OR, despite it having been very active in key battles.

Have you seen these?

Sixty-fourth Georgia Infantry Regiment

battleofolustee.org

History | 64th Georgia

relivinghistory.wixsite.com

 

[19thOhio]

That's interesting. I was under the impression that most 3 months men enlisted for the three year term.

It may have been the regiment. I compared Co A of the 19th OH. Out of 80 men I could only find 5 in the 3-year 19th or other area regiments. A few went to other types of units. However the 13th OH also from our area 28 reenlist, mostly in the same regiment. Checking their history the 3-month didn't see any fighting as had the 19th.

 

[Bruce Vail]

I'd like to see the regimental history re-invented. Rather than a chronological narrative of major military activities, a modern regimental history would integrate the home front (including the back-home families of the enlisted men), some material on the post-war lives of the regiment's members, and some overall social history. Would be nice to see newly created illustrations, charts, and graphs using modern research. Even would be nice to see the old-fashioned roster updated to include more detail on the lives of the soldiers.

 

[Bruce Vail]

The early regiments generally had a long service in the war and thus, a long history and lots of stories. The early musters, training and campaigns were followed with lots of reporters, letters; the men thinking it would be a short conflict and the beginning of an adventure. Interestingly, that seemed to be the thoughts of the Three-month 19th Ohio. At the end of their enlistment they were encouraged to reenlist for three years. However, about the only men that I could find in the Three-year 19th Ohio were some of the officers. Apparently the three-hour battle of Rich Mountain was enough adventure for most of the men.

I found a 90-day man in my extended family tree. Apparently he volunteered in the initial excitement of the war. But the experience of being shipped from Connecticut to Washington DC to the field of battle at First Bull Run had a discouraging effect. He was discharged after the 90 days and declined re-enlistment at any other time during the war.

 

[19thOhio]

Bruce, I like to think that in "Dixie Odyssey" I did just that.

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

Don't see much about Confederate Army Conscript camps of instruction.

Some of the camps mentioned in 1861 enlistments seem yet to be located.

More about the battle at Prerryville, which is one of the overlooked battles of the western theatre.

I thought Noe's book covers it pretty well.

A companion book about Edmund Kirby Smith's army during the Kentucky Campaign seems needed.

Chickamauga and Pea Ridge don't get enough love but are arguably just as important as Gettysburg

Powell did a great job on Chickamauga with his "trilogy."

Hess & Shea did a great job with their Pea Ridge book, but it's old enough that it definitely warrants revisiting.

A think a biography of A. A. Humphreys would be interesting.

Agreed. And his personal papers survive!

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

Fort Moultrie needs a book to go along with the recent works about Sumter and Pinckney.

In a similar vein, although a forum member said they are working on a book about Fort Gaines, I don't know if Fort Bowyer/Morgan has had a similar modern work.

Forts Jackson & Phillip and Pike & Macomb are fort pairs that could be either two dual studies or just a single "Guarding New Orleans" book.

 

[Andy Cardinal]

I'd like to see the regimental history re-invented. Rather than a chronological narrative of major military activities, a modern regimental history would integrate the home front (including the back-home families of the enlisted men), some material on the post-war lives of the regiment's members, and some overall social history. Would be nice to see newly created illustrations, charts, and graphs using modern research. Even would be nice to see the old-fashioned roster updated to include more detail on the lives of the soldiers.

There a couple I think are really good models for what a modern regimental history should be:

The Sixth Wisconsin and the Long Civil War by James Marten

A Thousand May Fall by Brian Matthew Jordan

I also really enjoyed Tar Heels in Gray by John B. Cameron

I am currently reading Trumbull County Boys which is a unique regimental history in that it focuses on a specific company (Co.H, 20th Ohio). I haven't finished it but it is good so far.

There a few others with great reviews I have not read yet. Coming up soon on my list is the Invincible Twelfth by Benjamin Cwayna.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Have you seen these?

Sixty-fourth Georgia Infantry Regiment

battleofolustee.org

History | 64th Georgia

relivinghistory.wixsite.com

THANK YOU. I have the one from the Battle of Olustee site, but had never seen the other one.

 

[General Casey]

It amazes me how much has been written about it and yet how much of the new stuff that comes out is original and well done. In the Shadow of the Round Tops is one of the best books I've read recently, and Cody Pfarr's books and Scott Fink's book about the Rose Farm are also excellent and break new ground.

I do wish other battles received a little bit if that kind of intense scrutiny.

A couple of topics that come to mind --

The battle at Harper's Ferry in 1862, which seems to he relatively ignored in the broader context of the Maryland Campaign.

Related, a good coverage of the political and military actions in Maryland in 1861.

More about the battle at Prerryville, which is one of the overlooked battles of the western theatre.

A topic that interests me but I have no knowledge about, how geography affected battles during the war.

I had an idea to do a study on Maryland in 1861. I had started to gather some stuff but abandoned it due to time. I might take it up again.