Why do you like the ACW

[Manassas 1861]

What got you interested in Civil War history? For me it was a trip to the ACW museum in Harrisburg and meeting reenactors, the next day I got to go to Gettysburg for the first time. I went back to Gettysburg a few months later and bought my first war relics. Those are the reasons why I know love the ACW. If it wasn't for that trip to Harrisburg and Gettysburg I wouldn't be part of my reenacting unit, or talking to here on CWT.

 

[Fairfield]

Several yeas ago our historical society's go-to person on the ACW had the nerve to retire and move away. We discovered that his vast knowledge was in his head so we had no idea as to who fought or where. Unable to answer relevant queries, I volunteered to "throw together" some facts & statistics. I expected that it would take me about 6 months. I had always avoided studying any civil war because there is such sadness attached. I joined this forum because my knowledge of military matters was pretty abysmal. Thanks to CWT I can separate Gettysburg from Chickamauga. The 6 months dragged into several years and resulted in a multivolume work.

My interest in history in general is based on a question: why did they do what they did? Following that query led me deeper into studying the war. I was especially interested in local Quakers who enlisted contrary to their stated opposition to violence. That led me into studying abolition and the underground railway. ACW is like an onion in that one field peels away and leads to another. Before I knew it, I was hooked.

 

[WestCoastSB]

What got you interested in Civil War history? For me it was a trip to the ACW museum in Harrisburg and meeting reenactors, the next day I got to go to Gettysburg for the first time. I went back to Gettysburg a few months later and bought my first war relics. Those are the reasons why I know love the ACW. If it wasn't for that trip to Harrisburg and Gettysburg I wouldn't be part of my reenacting unit, or talking to here on CWT.

There was a confluence of events. Around my late pre-teen years, my mother [of blessed memory] started to take an active interest in family history, becoming our amateur genealogist. She initiated the process of uncovering lost family roots, and some of those discoveries involved service in the CW/WBTS.

As we became enraptured by these discoveries, we also joined a fantastic CW/WBTS living history group; I was young, so I joined as a snare drummer.

 

[Pollaco]

The opening question really is a "toughie", you can't make someone be interested in anything. He either is or he isn't, they are or they are not. I suppose what you're asking is what sparked the interest that was already there. Or what created that spark, maybe?

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

The thread title and the first post pose two different questions.

What got you interested in Civil War history?

I had a general interest in the military as a child, probably due to my veteran father. Ken Burns Civil War miniseries and TNT's Gettysburg came out at a formative time in my life, and my middle school teacher had Hutsell's CW Battles and CW Strategy (DOS games) on the classroom computer. Then in high school I decided to read Foote's trilogy instead of...well, anything less extensive. It all snowballed.

Alas, my life-changing trip to Gettysburg, Antietam, and other battlefields didn't occur until I was a decade removed from high school, but that plus the sesquicentennial shifted my interest into a higher gear.

As to the other question: "Why do you like the ACW?"

I think this is the more difficult question, at least for me. Many will say ancestors who served (I don't have any) or maybe the collecting aspect (I don't collect anything for myself except knowledge and memories).

In my youth, I think it was mostly the West Virginia aspect (seceding from secession appealed to me) and the involvement of the only famous person - at least that I knew of when I was a child - named Joshua, besides some guy in the Bible who yelled really loud, even though I didn't read much about either West Virginia or Joshua Chamberlain.

As an adult? I think the ACW is in a sweet spot in terms of the size and scope, compared to many other wars throughout history. Being able to visit many of the battlefields is probably part of the appeal.

Perhaps most of all I read a lot of nonfiction and I tend to read widely rather than deeply. We are blessed with a lot of good modern literature about the ACW (I love lighthouses but good books about them are rare). After 15 years of avid reading I'm still finding good books about aspects of battles, generals, and other aspects of the war I've not read about before. My curiosity remains unquenched, unlike some other subjects that have exhausted my interest.

I have over 2000 books on my Goodreads account (Read or To Read). 460 are tagged American Civil War, more than any other category. Among miitary conflicts, WW2 ranks a distant second with 114 books. Even books tagged Florida (the state where I live and about whose history I read both for personal and professional interest) has 255.

 

[LCYingling3rd]

Fun questions! What got me interested is kind of a two-parter...

My father was from Baltimore and my mother was from Martinsburg, WV and I lived in Baltimore as a child. Both my parents were interested in history. My father had my great grandfather's discharge document on his wall and lots of Civil War books. When we visited my mom's family in Martinsburg my great aunt's home was like a museum of the Confederacy! I loved it! Also, every trip to Martinsburg was out old route 40 past Frederick, MD, over South Mountain into Boonsboro, MD, over the Antietam battlefield, through Sharpsburg, MD into Shepherdstown, WV, and on route 45 to Martinsburg. The fact that my parents took us to the Antietam/Sharpsburg Centennial reenactment in 1962 was a big influence too. As a kid I was surrounded by history and loved it. I remember this one relic shop in Ellicott City, MD where I had a blast, and bought lots of minie balls! The Civil War was in my blood!

Then I became a teenager and my interests, shall we say, shifted....

My interest in history in general and the ACW in particular were often in the background through my teens and early twenties. I had known I had ancestors that were in the war, but I hadn't thought much about them. Then, in the mid-1980's I was kind of getting back into it a bit and was visiting one of my great aunts in Martinsburg and she gave me her signed copy of Dennis Frye's History of the 2nd Virginia Infantry. My mom had two relatives in the 2nd and I was enjoying reading the book - until I got to the 2nd Battle of Winchester in June of 1863 and discovered that the 2nd VA infantry actually captured my father's grandfather's unit, the 87th PA. That old discharge document on my father's wall came to mind. It said he was captured June 15, 1863 and spent time in Libby Prison and Belle Isle Prison Camp. That kind of freaked me out a bit. Mom's ancestor captured dad's ancestor! Geesh, he was close enough to have killed him ... OMG...my mom's ancestor could have ended my life on that battlefield! Then I discovered My father's grandfather fought my mother's great grandfather at the battle of Cedar Creek; the only battle my two direct ancestors were both at. I essentially became obsessed after that. Phase two of my interest had begun!

Toss "Glory," in '89, and Ken Burn's documentary, in '90, into the mix with "Civil War Journal" and plenty of trips to Gettysburg with the kids and grandkids, annual pilgrimages to the Cedar Creek reenactment from '93 on and a few massive 135th reenactments, and you have a dangerous case of Civil War Mania to contend with! Participating in the Cedar Creek event in an artillery unit in 2006 could have been the topper, however, the 2014 150th anniversary weekend at Cedar Creek which ended on Sunday October 19th with me going to the exact positions my ancestors fought 150 years ago to the day, and with me being at the exact spot where my great grandfather stepped off with the 87th PA for the Union counter-attack, at 4:00pm - 150 years to the day, hour, and minute he was there. That was amazing, well, extremely meaningful, um; I would call it transcendent!

Which kinda answers why I like the ACW...being able to have experiences like these...and all the other stuff people mentioned...collecting, reading, the many aspects, or ways to look at the war period, that can keep an interest going...on and on.


I might need Civil War Anonymous.... "My name is Lew...I haven't been to a battlefield since... October 21, 2023... (far too long! LOL)

Fun questions! Enjoy your interest/passion!

 

[Gibbon]

As a 9_10 year old from OZ the bubble gum cards drew me in. I've been obsessed ever since

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

Then I became a teenager and my interests, shall we say, shifted

I imagine that happened to most of our forum members who had some childhood interest in the ACW. So it's not just about what got people interested or keeps them interested, but what pulled them back in.

I have pretty much always been an inveterate nerd, not "cool" enough to be invited to most parties (and bored by them anyway) and too "boring" to ever attract much interest from women. Thus I missed most of the usual distractions.

 

[Pat Answer]

I imagine that happened to most of our forum members who had some childhood interest in the ACW. So it's not just about what got people interested or keeps them interested, but what pulled them back in.

I can certainly attest to this. The rekindling for me was reading The Killer Angels in the late 80s after high school and college. Then the Glory, Ken Burns, and Gettysburg era (1989-1993) happened, and my first trip to that "Mecca" in southern Pennsylvania followed.

 

[BigCity]

What got you interested in Civil War history? For me it was a trip to the ACW museum in Harrisburg and meeting reenactors, the next day I got to go to Gettysburg for the first time. I went back to Gettysburg a few months later and bought my first war relics. Those are the reasons why I know love the ACW. If it wasn't for that trip to Harrisburg and Gettysburg I wouldn't be part of my reenacting unit, or talking to here on CWT.

I have always liked military history. Then I found out my gg grandfather served for the Union.

 

[JoeCollector]

I have ancestors in the Rev War too. None in the ACW. I love learning about the war because there are so many interesting things to study. Naval warfare, New technology, uniforms, it's just a very interesting period.

If you had ancestors here for the Revolution , I'll bet if you look deeper into your family history you will find a relative that served on one side or the other in the CW.

 

[Borderruffian]

Family connection/history.

 

[DorwinBlack]

Family history was my primary reason as well. Interest was sparked by discovering a couple direct ancestors that served, and wanting to find out as much about their specific units and battles as possible. Eventually that expanded to reading the more general histories of Catton, Foote, and others.

 

[Rhett Butler]

This probably won't ring a bell for you but way back in the 1960s there was this thing called the Centennial. Books, magazines, bubble gum, even Walt Disney were broadcasting something about the Civil War. Books,magazine articles (with pictures), trading cards, TV shows etc. were all "preaching" about it. I just had to find out more about that Civil War. The seed was planted!

Born in 1953 so the Centennial does work for me! The "Horse Soldiers" with the great John Wayne started it. Bubble gum cards with cards depicting battle scenes and discovering I shared the same name as the CSA president Jeff rather than Jefferson but who cares and Davies rather than Davis. I am English so I had to wait for a number of years before I could see the battlefields but oh my what excitement I have had!

 

[Rhett Butler]

I was born just too late for the Centennial but one of the books that came out of it was the American Heritage Picture History and the "young readers" version by Golden Books. Not only interesting reading but those David Greenspan battle paintings inspired hours of play with Blue and Gray plastic soldiers… and the rest, as they say, is history: nearly fifty years of books, articles, strategy games - and increasing knowledge of how much I don't know.

Glad you mentioned the Greenspan battle maps- inspirational and I have used them to build wargames terrain. I often wondered why he didn't do other wars or indeed other Civil War subjects. I did some searching on the mighty internet and sadly he died suddenly through illness. A great loss.

 

[FiremarshalBill]

A trip to my Grandmother's attic in 1964 where digging through some old boxes I came across a Minie ball wrapped in a hand written note explaining that this ball was pulled from my G-G-Grandfather's back at the Manton, MI funeral home (when he died in 1913) and then presented to my Grandmother as a memento of his service to his country. Up until then, I had no idea I had any relatives who fought in the ACW but after that, I was all in!

 

[Sgt. Tyree]

I love frontier history and western history, so the Civil War sort of fits in with that. I like the Civil War, but I still read way more about mountain men, Indians, frontier cavalry etc., than I do about the Civil War.

 

[Pollaco]

I found the Topps trading cards and the black and white pictures in the history books to be sort of a "challenge".They sort of intrigued a person to learn more.The reproductions of the Confederate money that came in the Cheerios and the bubble gum were also something of an "door opener".

 

[Sgt. Tyree]

The "Horse Soldiers" with the great John Wayne started it.

I love that movie. But you have to be able to overlook 1873 Springfield carbines on an 1863 raid.

 

[Pollaco]

I love that movie. But you have to be able to overlook 1873 Springfield carbines on an 1863 raid.

Some of the others jumped on that Civil War theme for their movies, shame some (or most) didn't get it right.

 

[WestCoastSB]

For me, the photographic evidence of the war also makes it "accessible" to us moderns. The fact that we know how countless thousands of people - soldiers, sailors, nurses, medical staff, civilians, slaves, servants, among others - looked humanizes the time period and makes it more interesting.