Tag: Civil War

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 613

By Erik Loomis

In General

On January 16, 2020

This is the grave of George Thomas. Born in 1816 in Southhampton County, Virginia, Thomas grew up in a family of slaveholders. They owned 685 acres and 24 slaves in 1829, despite the fact that his father had died in a farming accident. In fact, he was very nearly killed in Nat Turner’s Revolt. The […]

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 456

By Erik Loomis

On April 13, 2019

This is the grave of George McClellan. Born in 1826 in Philadelphia, McClellan was a brilliant young child from a leading family. He started at the University of Pennsylvania in 1840 to study the law,

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 448

By Erik Loomis

On April 2, 2019

This is the grave of Abner Doubleday. Born in 1819 in Ballston Spa, New York, Doubleday grew up in Auburn, the son of a 4-term Congressman. He was sent to Cooperstown to live with an uncle and receive

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By Erik Loomis

In General

On March 6, 2019

Scott referenced Jamelle Bouie’s Times piece on the problems of free labor ideology and the failures of Reconstruction. It is really outstanding. The most important thing to understand about mid to late 19th century America is free labor ideology. But it’s hard to easily grasp. Basically, it is the idea that the future of the […]

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 425

By Erik Loomis

On March 3, 2019

This is the grave of the traitor James Seddon. Born in 1815 in Falmouth, Virginia, Seddon was a pretty sickly child, so he was largely home-schooled. This wasn’t so uncommon among the southern e

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 400

By Erik Loomis

On January 19, 2019

This is the grave of the traitor George Pickett. Pickett was unfortunately born in 1825 to an elite Virginia family in Richmond. For awhile he was going to go into the law and even left the South to d

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 359

By Erik Loomis

In General

On November 28, 2018

This is the grave of Fernando Wood. Born in 1812 in Philadelphia, Wood’s Spanish first name, highly unusual for an English-American at the time, came out of a gothic novel his mother liked. His family moved to New York in 1820. Wood became a bar owner, became a successful merchant, and went into politics as […]

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 348

By Erik Loomis

On November 11, 2018

This is the grave of the vile traitor Albert Sidney Johnston. Born in 1803 in Washington, Kentucky, he was educated first at Transylvania University in Lexington and then at the U.S. Military Academy

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 344

By Erik Loomis

On October 31, 2018

This is the grave of Mary Custis Lee. Born in 1807, Mary Custis was born into the highest ranking of the Virginia elite. She was Martha Washington’s great-granddaughter after all. She was very c

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 337

By Erik Loomis

In General

On October 14, 2018

This is the grave of the vile traitor Robert E. Lee. There isn’t much reason to provide a complete biography of someone like Lee, who is extremely well-known. So a couple of points. First, despite all the attempts over the years to apologize for Lee’s treason in defense of slavery, he had a choice and […]

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 333

By Erik Loomis

On October 2, 2018

This is the grave of Joseph Johnston. Born in 1807 in a plantation house near Farmville, Virginia to Virginia elite, Johnston attended West Point where he did well and graduated in 1829. He stayed in

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 329

By Erik Loomis

On September 20, 2018

This is the grave of the traitor Fitzhugh Lee. Born in 1835 in Claremont, Virginia, Lee was part of the famous elite Lee family that included the traitor general Robert E. Lee and Harry Lighthorse Lee

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