Civil War History – Page 7 – Old Magazine Articles

The Battle of Kenesaw and the Goodness of Colonel Martin
(Confederate Veteran, 1922)

Here is a segment from a longer article found on this site that recalled the history of boys who had enlisted in the Confederate cause – this short paragraph tells the story of a Rebel colonel, W.H. Martin of the 1st Arkansas Regiment, who called out to his opposite number in the Federal ranks during a lull in the fighting for Kenesaw Mountain and allowed for a truce so that the immobilized wounded of the Northern infantry would be rescued from a fire that was spreading in no-mans-land.

The Humanity of Dick Kirkland
(Coronet Magazine, 1957)

He led no charge, won no thrilling victory. But men honor his memory because, in the midst of slaughter, he dared death to bring solace to his wounded foes… He was Sergeant Richard Kirkland of the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers.

We honor him on this page because he was one of the few men in war who simply refused to submit himself entirely to the savage spirit of war and surrender all sense decency.

On a cold Virginia day in 1862, Kirkland and his Carolinians were locked in a bitter struggle with Federal infantry. It was not a good day for the men in blue, and many of their wounded lay on the ground crying out for help. During the few lulls in the firing Kirkland decided he could take their cries no more and ventured out onto the killing ground bringing water and blankets:

The Union men were thunderstruck when a Confederate soldier, laden with canteens, suddenly climbed into view. Their surprise was probably what saved Dick, for in a few seconds he had sprinted to the nearest wounded man, given him water, covered him with an overcoat, and gone on to the next… Dick was the talk of both armies that day.

Click here to read about the heavy influence religion had in the Rebel states during the American Civil War.

A Humane Act at Gettysburg’s Bloody Angle
(Literary Digest, 1913)

During the 1913 Battle of Gettysburg’s fiftieth anniversary commemoration, a surviving member of Picket’s Charge encountered the Federal soldier who had saved his life at the Bloody Angle; this is the moving story of their encounter.

(Due to the broken title link above, you must Click here to read the article)

A Humane Act at Gettysburg’s Bloody Angle
(Literary Digest, 1913)

(Due to the broken title link above, you must Click here to read the article)

Lt. Colonel Fremantle at Gettysburg
(W.C. Storrick, 1951)

Lt. Colonel Frementle (1835 – 1901), a member of the Coldstream Guards, was a guest of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Gettysburg campaign. After the Battle of Gettysburg, he returned to England and published Three months in the Southern States. The following is a vivid extract, describing a part of the battle from the Southern lines:

The position into which the enemy had been driven was evidently a strong one. His right appeared to rest on a cemetery, on the top of a high ridge to the right of Gettysburg, as we looked at it.

General Hill now came up and told me he had been very unwell all day, and in fact he looks very delicate. He said he had had two of his divisions engaged, and had driven the enemy four miles into his present position, capturing a great many prisoners, some cannon, and some colors; he said, however, that the Yankees had fought with a determination unusual to them.

Traveling to the Lincoln – Douglas Debate
(National Park Service, 1956)

Stephen Douglas (1813 – 1861), Lincoln’s Democratic rival in the contest for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois, was a popular figure with a great deal of political capitol who enjoyed wide spread fame throughout much of the fruited plain; this all contributed to a robust ego which would not suffer anything less than traveling to the debates in a grand style. By contrast, Honest Abe traveled in economy class, packed among the masses (although as a railroad lawyer, he certainly could have afforded better).

This short paragraph (accompanied by a photograph of both men) was written by a friend of Lincoln who recalled his train ride with the (losing) candidate as he made his way to Ottawa, Illinois, the site of the first debate.

Ford’s Theater Layout
(Harper’s Magazine, 1865)

Attached is a schematic drawing depicting the theater box occupied by the President and Mrs. Lincoln the night of his assassination.

Featured in the image is the dark hallway leading to the President’s Box, the footlights and the stage by which Booth was able to make good his escape.

Click here to read about a dream that President Lincoln had, a dream that anticipated his violent death.

Lincoln’s Reconstruction Parable
(Harper’s Weekly, 1907)

President Abraham Lincoln told many parables during the Civil War; he told this one to General A.J. Cresswell on the last day of his life.

To read the story behind Lincoln’s beard, click here.