Mark discusses New Orleans during the Civil War. General Mansfield Lovell assumes military command of New Orleans and begins to shore up the defenses. He affirms that the threat will come upriver from the Gulf of Mexico, despite Richmond’s insistence that he transfer men and boats north. Construction begins on two super CSA gunboats, the…
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New Orleans fell to the Union on April 29, 1862. As we approach the anniversary of this historic moment, Mark takes a comparative look at developments leading up to the Civil War and the importance of the city of New Orleans to the Confederacy. Civil War New Orleans: Prelude to Conflict A comparative look at…
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Often we think that historically, not much has happened in the middle of winter. However, that’s far from the truth. From Charlemagne to Henry VIII, Secession in the Civil War to the Soviets battling the Finns in the snow during WWII, there has been a lot of historical heat generated in January over the centuries….
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In Part II of the Christmas in Wartime podcast, Mark reviews some of the happenings that American and Allied soldiers experienced during WWII. There are a few items from the home front and some from where the fighting occurred, as well as a few segments from POWs. First, a mention that I forgot to include…
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War brings few joyous moments. Over the years, Christmas time has provided a few glimmers of warmth. From a surprise victory for George Washington, to mules masquerading as reindeer in the Civil War, to a flare-lit soccer game between Brits and Germans in WWI, Mark shares some wartime Christmas memories.
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On this week’s podcast, I take a look at some historical events that happened in autumn from the American Revolution to the Civil War, World War I and World War II. I discuss the 1918 Meuse-Argonne offensive by the America Expeditionary Forces and the French army. Launched against the Germans on the Western Front, this…
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Mark revisits his conversation with Vince Dooley about his book, The Legion’s Fighting Bulldog: The Civil War Correspondence of William Gaston Delony. Greatly loved by those who served under him, Lieutenant Colonel William Gaston Delony possessed three admirable attributes: “commanding presence, bull dog courage, and superb generalship.” Through the letters of Delony and his wife Rosa,…
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This week, Mark takes a look at some of the events that happened during the month of August in the American Civil War and WWII. He discusses the infamous Quantrill’s Raiders, a group of pro-Confederate partisan guerrillas that included Jesse James, Nathan Bedford Forrest’s raid on Memphis, the 872-day Siege of Leningrad, and the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression…
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This week, Mark takes a cursory but analytical look at a few key July historical events. He discusses WWII, including the Einsatzgruppen SS mission in the Soviet Union, as well as the Civil War battle of First Manassas (Bull Run). He also takes a look on the lighter side—how Louisiana took an innovation from the…
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In conducting his Civil War campaigns in Mississippi in 1862-63, Union General Ulysses S. Grant put together a network of spies to provide him with military intelligence. He recruited a young brigadier general to run the operation and they often provided valuable information that enabled him to win several major battles and carry out a…
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