I am a devotee of the War Between The States. I read as much as I can on the topic, and I used to be a Civil War reenactor. I do not hate either side in the war, although I am very glad for any number of humanitarian and political reasons that the Union won. To be perfectly direct, I think there was a right side and a wrong side, and the right side won the war. But I'm not one to villify the other side. As a general rule, I'm interested in learning about the war, not refighting it. I think it was a crazy war, and that is why so many of its great leaders were crazy men.
I have a small library of images from the war - mostly pictures of well-known participants and a couple of sketches of important events. If you have some and you don't mind my publishing them, let me know and I'll add them to this list:
A Sketch Of Fighting At The Bloody Angle At Spotsylvania - but it could be any battle, really.
The Dictator - A Huge Mortar Used In The Siege Of Petersburg - a truly formidable weapon. It was only fired something like 40 times in its whole career.
Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest - a strange and hateful man, but an unparalleled genius with Cavalry. He later founded the KKK. Not a nice guy at all. He had 31 horses shot from under him and survived a point blank rifle shot in the abdomen (which was close to unheard-of at the time.)
Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson - he was full blown batshit crazy, but he was a great general. His Shenandoah Valley Campaigns are taught the world over as a model of tactical and strategic genius. He was instrumental in just about every Confederate victory in the east up to Chancellorsville, where he was accidentally shot by his own troops while returning from reconaissance.
Abolitionist John Brown - He was full blown batshit crazy, too, but his heart was in the right place. He led a slave revolt in Harper's Ferry, VA, in 1859 and was tried for treason and hanged. The revolt was put down by Col. Robert E. Lee of the U.S. Army and his regiment.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee - (This pic is unfortunately truncated - if you have a whole one, please let me know!) - Look at his eyes in this picture taken shortly after the Confederate surrender. He has the most haunting look I've ever seen.
Click Here For A Picture Of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. - Old Honest Abe himself. What more needs to be said?
Union General William Tecumseh Sherman - Another of the full blown batshit crazy contingent, but this one wore blue. Don't toss his name around casually in Georgia or South Carolina.
Union General Daniel Sickles - A shameless publicity hound. Got his leg blown off at Gettysburg because he was stupid. If I were Lincoln (or any superior of Sickles) I'd have had him court-martialed and thrown out of the army for reckless endangerment of his command and the whole Union position. Not crazy, just a politician who managed to get a command beyond his skills.
Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart - The Genuine Article of a Cavalier from Virginia. This man was famous for his complete contempt for his opponents - he used to ride all the way around the opposing army and send telegrams to Lincoln complaining about the quality of supplies he was stealing from the Union armies. He was just 31 years old when he was killed at the battle of Yellow Tavern, VA, on May 11, 1864.
A (Very Mild) Sketch Of Senator Charles Sumner Being Caned By Rep. Preston Brooks On The Floor Of The U.S. Senate - Brooks was from South Carolina or some such state, and got incensed at Sumner's support for abolition and in the late 1850's, stormed into the Senate and beat Sumner (who later died of the injuries) with his cane. This made him wildly popular back home. Just remember that when you think the current batch of Congressmen are too partisan to govern properly...after this, members of Congress took to coming to legislative sessions packing pistols, knives, and swords.
In reenacting, I was a member of the Rockbridge Artillery (Army of Northern Virginia) and 5th Maine Light Artillery (Army of the Potomac) battery. We perform either side, as needed. My club fabricated our cannons out of modern materials and they give demonstration firings and do live firing as well. I have a couple photos - here's loading and firing a 3-Inch Ordnance Rifle at a live fire event.
If you're interested in getting involved in something like this, drop a note and I'll see if I can get you in touch with groups in your area.
For those who wish to know where to begin a study of the Civil War, allow me to suggest the following excellent books:
On the off chance that you're one of the approximately 17 residents of North America who have avoided watching Ken Burns' series on the Civil War, go get it and make a big bowl of popcorn and watch. By the end of it, you'll have a good nodding familiarity with the players and major issues. You'll also likely know if this is something you want to know more about. If the above reading list looks familiar to you from the series, well, it's all canonical.
