The American Civil War - Chronologically

December 2 and 16, 1859, and March 16, 1860 Hanging John Brown and his men  Charleston, WV * The Col. who oversaw this execution then built himself a mansion in the shadow of the gallows . Weird. Are you, are you, going to the tree... A private home today: "Kids, clean your toys - you're going to ruin the site of the gallows' scaffold!"  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=41650 John Brown Hanging Site Creation of a Martyr — Prelude to War — This is where seven men were hanged in December 1859 and March 1860 for their part in John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry. The scaffold stood here in a large field. A month after the trial, on December 2, 1859, John Brown was the first to die. He rode here in a wagon, sitting on his casket, with his arms tied. His last message, which he gave to a jail guard, read: “I John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land: will never be purged away; but with Blood. I had as I now think: vainly flattered myself that without...

Oct. 25 - Nov. 2, 1859 Trial of John Brown  Jefferson County Courthouse https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=170247 The Trial of John Brown Jefferson County Courthouse — Prelude to War — One of the most famous trials in American history was held in this building in 1859, when John Brown and his followers faced charges of treason against Virginia, inciting slaves to rebel, and murder. Judge Richard Parker presided. The trial began on October 25, a week after the raiders were captured, and ended on November 2. Those tried then and later included Brown, John Cook, John Copeland, Shields Green, Edwin Coppic, Albert Hazlett, and Aaron Stevens. Col. Lewis W. Washington, kidnapped by Brown's men from his home, Beallair, and held hostage, was a principal witness for the prosecution. The jury convicted Brown in forty-five minutes. Brown addressed the court, saying, "If it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood furth...

October 16-18, 1859  John Brown's Raid  Harper's Ferry, WV * If I've said it once I've said it a thousand time: the Civil War began in [what is now] West Virginia. The first major battlefield I ever  deliberately visited [this was 8/10/21; ignore the "Published on" dates] was, appropriately enough, the five scattered locations that make up the Harpers Ferry battlefield. Of course, John Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry, which tragically ended in this building, preceded the war. So too did the attempt by some local militias to also capture the garrison and weapons factory there. It could have been the opening shots of the war, but the Union troops just set the armory on fire to keep it from falling into rebel hands and left, so there was no battle. Yet. Control of Harpers Ferry changed hands many times during the war. [It gets several additional entries in this blog.] https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=4420 Here is a building with a curious past. Since its constructi...

Welcome, please allow me to explain what's going on here.  I started off trying to visit each Civil War battlefield in the Eastern Theatre in the order they occurred. That quickly spiraled out of control. Now, I'm just visiting every Civil War-related site I can, with an emphasis on the East (and especially my home state of Maryland), and then assembling my observations in chronological order. I try to minimize editorializing, and tend to just copypasta information directly from the sources I encounter- and credit. Sometimes though, I can't help it. My acute interest is compounded by the fact that I and my neighbors still live on sacred ground soaked with the blood of the American Revolution and Civil War. These events literally created the nation we have today. It's fascinating to see a fast-food place where a hero died - and so few care. I also agree with Grant who said the cause of the Confederacy was "one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for...