Always on the hunt for opportunities to inform my understanding of history, I’ve hit a gold mine. In addition to my fascination with the Civil War, I am equally passionate about maritime history and am a degreed engineer. Those three fields of study converge in a fascinating symposium hosted by the DeepArch Research Group in Technology, Archaeology and the Deep Sea at MIT in April 2003 which they have made available for viewing on MIT Earth (TM). The symposium, Civil War High Tech: Excavating the Hunley and Monitor gives us an opportunity to hear from the senior archaeologist on the recovery of the C.S.S. ...
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Although active in the early part of the Civil War as a four gun mounted battery, Company A 2nd U.S. Artillery didn’t achieve its full measure of recognition until after it was converted into a horse battery in 1861. ‘Field-artillery is divided into mounted and horse batteries of four or six guns,’ explained Lt. John Calef, one of the battery’s acting commanders during the Civil War, in his memoirs, ‘the first serving with the infantry, the cannoneers walking, or riding on the ammunition chests, while the latter operate with the cavalry, the cannoneers being mounted on horses like the cavalry and riding in detachments ...
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Light Company A, 2nd U.S. Artillery earned respect for its dashing bravery and military acumen from both sides during the Civil Wa r—the Confederates nicknaming it “The Wild Cat Battery.” It had the distinction of firing the opening Union artillery rounds at the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg. The Battery’s fighting legend began during the Mexican War; where it served as Duncan’s Battery. Here it played vital roles in a number of U.S . victories. During the battle for Chepultepec a section, led by Lieutenant Henry J. Hunt, advanced ‘by hand’, along the infamous Bloody Causeway, finally engaging the Mexican guns muzzle to muzzle. ...
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I am returning in this post to a topic covered previously here on the discovery and recovery of the Confederate submarine, CSS H. L. Hunley , found in 1995 in the waters off Charleston, S.C. The Friends of the Hunley chronicled the archaeological discovery process which uncovered something very interesting. It was the “ID Tag” (see picture) of Ezra Chamberlin . This created somewhat of a mystery because Ezra was a member of the infantry of the Union Army. What would the ID Tag of a Union soldier be doing in a sunken Confederate submarine? Research by forensic genealogist Linda Abrams provided a plausible solution to the mystery as outlined in a story on the Friends ...
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I am thoroughly impressed with the photographic record of the American Civil War. In my ongoing search for ” primary sources ,” I have been exploring the National Archives and The Library of Congress. The photographic collections at both are simply excellent. Long time historians in the field are no doubt quite familiar with these. For me, humble graduate student, these are a real find. And as we all know, this kind of photographic record sets the American Civil War apart from previous wars. Because I want to have easy access to photographs, I’ve created a photographs ”category” on the right nav bar. The following are the best two sources ...
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