Commanders
Published: 8/17/12
Hercules of the Union
Happy Friday! Today’s Friday Funny is a celebration of Union General Winfield Scott—cast here as the mythical Hercules slaying a secessionist hydra. Aiding Scott in his epic battle is the...
Published: 6/8/12
Masterly Inactivity
Good afternoon! This Frank Leslie cartoon parodies the extended military standoff between Union General George B. McClellan’s Army of Potomac and Confederate General P.G.T Beauregard’s Army of the Shenandoah during...
Published: 5/27/12
Nathan Bedford Forrest, Reconstructed
Today, Nathan Bedford Forrest is more popular than ever among the fans of the Confederacy. No doubt because he’s come to represent unyielding defiance, whether in victory or defeat, in...
Published: 5/18/12
Why Don’t You Take It?
Good morning! Today’s Friday Funny is an 1861 Currier & Ives sketch commenting on the Union’s substantial advantage in terms war materiel. The above cartoon illustrates the might of the...
Published: 4/27/12
Bowling with Beauregard
Good afternoon! Here’s a little Friday Funny to celebrate the end of the work week. Published in the April 26, 1862 edition of Harper’s Weekly, this Justin Howard cartoon celebrates...
Published: 3/27/12
Then and Now: Pope’s Canal to New Madrid
One-hundred and fifty years ago, Brigadier General John Pope faced a tactical dilemma on the Mississippi River. Confederate batteries at Island No. 10 blocked passage through a complex series of...
Published: 3/21/12
“I will not attempt to hamper you with any minute instructions.”
On March 21, 1862, Major General Henry W. Halleck, commanding Federal forces in the Western Theater, sent this message to Major General John Pope, then commanding forces at New Madrid,...
Published: 3/9/12
Voice from the Past: “How These Powerful Machines Are To Be Stopped Is A Problem I Can Not Solve”
Good morning! We continue our celebration of the Battle of Hampton Roads with another “Voice from the Past.” The following is Confederate Major General Benjamin Hunger’s report on the famed...
Published: 3/9/12
Voice from the Past: “In the Monitor Turret”
Good afternoon. In honor of the Battle of Hampton Roads, we bring you another Voice from the Past—this time from the Union perspective. The following is Commander S. Dana Greene’s...