History (book reviews, news, and tertiary articles)

Historical perspectives that support genealogical research

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Why Tearing Down Civil War Statues is Meaningless

All this fuss about tearing down our Civil War statues and monuments initially got me into a rage. The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized it’s all MEANINGLESS! Don’t let these acts of illegal historicide get you down, here’s how you can act now. There are […]

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Who Shot Nathan Bedford Forrest?

Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest was among the most brilliant tacticians of the Civil War. Having served the Confederacy with such distinction and valor that even Ulysses Grant and Tecumseh Sherman could not help heaping military praises upon the man! Nathan Bedford Forrest’s infamy is illustrated in this incredible Civil

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Union or Confederate? Which Side of the Civil War Would You Be On?

Which side of the Civil War would you be on if you had to choose now? Would you join the Union or the Confederacy? More importantly, HOW would you make that choice? Would you choose because of where you live? Because of how you were raised? Because you like the

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Civil War Blunders: Abraham Lincoln’s Runaway Ship

Why did a ship runaway from it’s mission under direct orders in April 1861? Civil War Blunders abound but this one involves the USS Powhatan, Fort Sumter, and an over-ambitious lieutenant named David C. Porter. History recalls this story as the Seward-Meigs-Porter Affair. As the story goes, at the outset

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Why The Civil War Was Lost Before It Even Started

Why was the Civil War lost? It’s not why you think: the Civil War was lost before it even started! It was lost sometime around 1846, some 15 years before fighting actually broke out in 1861. According to author Clifford Dowdey, the South got caught in a LOGICAL TRAP that

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The Cold War Before the Civil War: Psychological Battleground

The Civil War raged from 1861-1865; however, did you know there was a 30-year COLD WAR before the Civil War that proceeded it like a cancer? This fresh perspective on the Civil War is important for both historian and family historian alike. This Cold War ran from 1832-1861 (29 years)

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5 Best Civil War Authors and Books in History

There are literally THOUSANDS of books on the Civil War, here’s 5 recommended Civil War authors and books that are historically accurate, well written, and balanced in their approach to both the North and South. The trick is to understand the difference between Civil War authors and books. Some authors

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3 Facts About the Civil War I Bet You Didn’t Know

Here’s 3 facts about the Civil War I bet you didn’t know. From President Abraham Lincoln to a little-known maritime disaster, there’s much more to this historic contest that meets the eye. I hope what you read makes you want to learn more about the American Civil War, aka The

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What Was the Civil War About? Why Were They Fighting?

The Civil War in America ran from 1861-1865, but what was it about? What were people fighting for and why did they choose to fight? The answer can be found not in ideologies and political doggerel, but in personal choice. The answer to what made the Civil Was such a

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Which States Make Up The South?

Our nation is not very different from other nations around the world in that there are geographic divisions that also represent cultural divisions. Saying “north” or “south” invites a concomitant cultural designation. However, the two are not coterminous. So, which states make up “the South?” We know Yankees come from

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The Battle Of New Orleans, the battle that never should have been!

The Battle of New Orleans was a battle fought as the culmination of the War of 1812. The War of 1812 is an interesting conflict in American History because, in many respects, it was an offshoot of the American Revolutionary War in that postwar tensions, as well as the ongoing

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Unfurling My Opinion On The Confederate Flag

As a person who didn’t grow up in the South yet has a deep connection to its past via his ancestry, I’d like to unfurl my opinion on the Confederate Flag. First of all, there exists the fallacy of composition which states (paraphrased) that you cannot apply a logical inference

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Across the Cumberland Gap

“Across the Cumberland Gap.” The fall leaves brought forth their majesty, all around the hollows of this changing border town. The winds swept through the clean mountain air, plucking out, one by one, the mustardy-red leaves which annually signaled change. The air was crisp, the farmhouses stood tall. Facing north

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The Steamer Sultana Explosion and the Collins Family

This is the story of Joseph Henry Collins (1817-1865) and his eldest son James Robert Collins (1844-1919). The bio of Joseph Henry Collins below is reproduced, in its entirety with permission, from the following Find A Grave memorial. It is also the story of the Steamer Sultana, the worst maritime

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