by readmore | Jul 27, 2015 | Civil War
One thing about being a publisher of historical works, a passionate consumer of the same, and having an interest in psychology, is that I can’t help viewing with fascination the way we view historical figures. Grant and Lee in the Civil War are a prime example....
by readmore | Jul 21, 2015 | Custer, Little Bighorn
I confess a weakness for Frederick William Benteen, the senior captain of the 7th United States Cavalry under Lieutenant-Colonel George Armstrong Custer. I find him fascinating for a number of reasons, not the least of which was his marvelous wit. His actions at the...
by readmore | Jul 20, 2015 | Custer, Little Bighorn
“Let no easy-going journalist suppose that an Indian campaign is a picnic. If he goes out on such business he must go prepared to ride his forty or fifty miles a day, go sometimes on half rations, sleep on the ground with small covering, roast, sweat, freeze,...
by readmore | Jul 19, 2015 | Civil War, Custer
“Come on, you Wolverines!” With this spirited shout, young General George A. Custer led his Michigan cavalry into the Battle of Gettysburg in the Civil War. After his death at the Little Bighorn, Custer was at first lionized as a heroic martyr. In the...
by readmore | Jul 17, 2015 | Civil War
The desperate times of the American Civil War spawned many a true romance. One of the most popular songs of the day was “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” which is referred to in nearly every Civil War memoir and regimental history. Many a soldier boy had his...
by readmore | Jul 16, 2015 | Custer, Little Bighorn, The Old West
Why would any Native Americans help the whites to hunt the Sioux? It seems strange, perhaps, that General George Armstrong Custer went to the Little Bighorn with Indian scouts in his entourage. In fact, there were many. And they had good things to say about Custer...
by readmore | Jul 15, 2015 | American Revolution, Diaries
“Is [the Revolution] a war of aggression, of cupidity, of conquest, of fierce passion, for tyranny and despotic sway? No, it is the noble endeavor, the strong purpose, founded in inalienable right, to throw off a galling yoke unjustly and perseveringly...
by readmore | Jul 15, 2015 | Custer, Little Bighorn, The Old West
Lieutenant-Colonel George Armstrong Custer was not given to asking for advice. This characteristic was so pronounced that one of his officers remarked upon the fact that he DID solicit ideas from his officers before the fight at the Little Bighorn. An Emotional Man...
by readmore | Jul 14, 2015 | Civil War
THE HUMAN SCALE OF HISTORY It’s history at the human scale that I find so compelling. When I get to peer behind the frozen images created by the mythology around historic people and events, they come alive in a way I can relate to; in a way that stirs my...