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1860s

DC
Cross-Dressing Civil War Piracy on the Potomac

Cross-Dressing Civil War Piracy on the Potomac

12/17/2013 in DC by Claudia Swain

In the summer of 1861 the Confederate States found themselves annoyed by the U.S.S. Pawnee, a gunboat that patrolled the Potomac and made it difficult for the southerners to receive supplies from northern sympathizers. Fortunately for the Confederates, Col. Richard Thomas Zarvona had a plan...

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Virginia

Herndon’s Laura Ratcliffe: A “Very Active and Cunning Rebel”

05/14/2013 in Virginia by Claudia Swain

It is generally an accepted practice of militaries around the world to not tell the enemy what you plan to do. It’s also a good idea to avoid passing secrets to enemy spies, especially if you know they are enemy spies. Apparently, however, Union troops stationed in Herndon, Virginia didn’t get the memo. Either that or they were too mesmerized by local belle Laura Ratcliffe to think straight. She was a smooth operator to be sure.

In February 1863, Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby was riding with his soldiers near Ratcliffe’s home scouting the enemy position and hoping to best whatever Union troops came his way. Mosby had wreaked havoc on the Yankees before but this time they were ready for him. They set up a picket on Centreville Road near Frying Pan Church and then hid a much larger force in the woods around it, hoping draw the Gray Ghost into an ambush.

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DC

Impressions of Washington: Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1862

05/03/2013 in DC by Claudia Swain

Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, visited Washington, D.C. in 1862, as the Capital was gearing up for war against the Confederacy. If you remember Hawthorne at all from school, you won’t be surprised to find he had a lot to say.

He was particularly taken by the artist Emmanuel Leutze's painting "Westward the Course of the Empire Takes Its Way" in the U.S. Capitol and lamented what might happen to the work and the nation should the Union lose the war.

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Virginia
Where is Stonewall's Arm?

Where is Stonewall's Arm?

05/01/2013 in Virginia by Kim Phillip

At the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate Lieutenant General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was mortally wounded -- a very significant event during the Civil War. Indeed, historians have long debated the impact of Jackson's death on Confederate performance in subsequent battles such as Gettysburg. General Robert E. Lee, for one, felt the loss deeply, likening it to "losing my right arm."

While we are on the subject of lost arms...

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DC

Assassin's Cranium

04/11/2013 in DC by Claudia Swain

Lewis Powell, the would-be assassin of Secretary of State William H. Seward, was prone to goof-ups. You might even say he had the tendency to lose his head.

As you know from our previous post, Powell was one of the co-conspirators in the Lincoln assassination plot. After his bloody rampage in the Seward home, Powell was tried and hanged along with three other conspirators on July 7, 1865. That should have been the end of the story, but it took over one hundred years for Powell's tale to come to an end.

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DC
Even More Little Known Victims of the Lincoln Assassination Plot

Even More Little Known Victims of the Lincoln Assassination Plot

03/28/2013 in DC by Claudia Swain

April 14th, 1865 was a pretty bad day for a lot of people. Lincoln was assassinated, Clara Harris and Henry Rathbone had their lives torn apart, and Secretary of State William H. Seward was brutally stabbed along with most of his family and a few bystanders.

Oh, you hadn’t heard about that last one?

Booth and his co-conspirators’ plan was larger than just the assassination of Lincoln. Their plot included a number of top officials in the U.S. government whose death they hoped would bring the country to its knees. Lewis Powell, a twenty year old Confederate soldier, was chosen to assassinate the Secretary of State.

Luckily for the Sewards, Powell was probably the worst assassin in American history.

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DC
Little Known Victims of the Lincoln Assassination

Little Known Victims of the Lincoln Assassination

02/22/2013 in DC by Claudia Swain

The events of April 14, 1865 at Ford's Theatre in Washington are well known. Actor John Wilkes Booth went into President Lincoln's box and shot him. The President was mortally wounded and died the next morning. Meanwhile, Booth led authorities on a 12 day chase that ended with his own death in Virginia. What you may not know, however, is that there were others victimized that April night. This is their haunting story.

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DC
Online Exhibit from the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington

Online Exhibit from the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington

12/18/2012 in DC by Mark Jones

If you haven't seen it yet, make sure to check out the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington's online exhibit, "Jewish Life in Mr. Lincoln's City, 1861-1865." The exhibit provides an interesting look at Civil War Washington through the lens of the Jewish experience in our fair city.

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