Author Sally M. Walker joins Mark to discuss the tragic disaster of the explosion and sinking of the Sultana in 1865. It was America’s greatest maritime disaster that occurred on the Mississippi River at the end of the Civil War—but so few people know about it. Her book, Sinking the Sultana, tells the intriguing story.

Mark talks with Professor Gerald J. Prokopowicz about Abraham Lincoln, his youth, early career, presidency and the Civil War. Professor Prokopowicz addresses some of the popular questions readers ask about the sixteenth president as well as some that may be more obscure.

Mark and guest Susannah J. Ural, a professor of history at the University of Southern Mississippi and co-director of the University’s Dale Center for the Study of War and Society, discuss her recent book, Hood’s Texas Brigade: The Soldiers and Families of the Confederacy’s Most Celebrated Unit.

General Parker Hills joins Mark to discuss the monuments at the Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi. General Hills’ book, Art of Commemoration, catalogues and details the magnificent sculpture, architecture, the artists and interpretations that memorialize this incredible Park.

Excerpt from the Introduction to Art of Commemoration

Soon after Vicksburg National Military Park was established in 1899, the nation ‘s leading architects and sculptors were commissioned to honor the soldiers that had fought in the campaign. The park’s earliest state memorial was dedicated in 1903, and over 95 percent of the monuments that followed were erected prior to 1917. An aging Civil War veteran who hastened to Vicksburg to see the resulting works was so impressed that he aptly described Vicksburg National Military Park as “the art park of the world: ‘ The work of commemoration has continued sporadically since 1917, and today, over 1,370 monuments, tablets and markers dot the park landscape. Unfortunately, some of these are on former park lands or are not situated along the tour road.

In touring the park, it is helpful to know that the ancient Roman writer, architect, and engineer, Vitruvius, insisted that there were two points in all matters: the thing signified, and that which gave it its significance. The thing signified at Vicksburg – the spirit of the park-is the valor of the soldiers and sailors who struggled as participants in the Vicksburg campaign. The memorials and markers, through their information, art and architecture, signify, or honor, these combatants. The bronze, stone, and iron works were created to help preserve the spirit of duty, honor and country, and hopefully, this spirit will be experienced by the viewer.

The best way to appreciate the park and feel its spirit is to park in designated areas and spend some time on short walks. The reward will be that the works of art will reveal details and fuel emotions that are impossible to appreciate and feel from afar. As composer Daniel Gregory Mason observed; “Art of any profundity can be experienced only slowly, gradually, in leisurely contemplation.” You are, therefore, encouraged to savor your time amidst the heroes of the past.

Parker Hills, Brigadier General (Retired)
Clinton, Mississippi

Mark discusses New Orleans during the Civil War. In 1861, the City of New Orleans prepared for an imminent invasion by Union forces after Louisiana joined the Confederacy. As a crisis loomed, leadership, politics and military shortcomings become evident.

Harry Laver, Professor of History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, returns to review Ulysses S. Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign, his rise to General-in-Chief of the Union Army, the Chattanooga campaign and his campaigns in Virginia.

Grant and Fort Donelson

General Simon Bolivar Buckner was in command at Fort Donelson when Union forces were moving by land in conjunction with a flotilla of gunboats to besiege the Confederate stronghold. They had known each other at West Point, classes of 1844 (Buckner) and 1843 (Grant), and remained friends after the war.

General Gideon Pillow had been in charge of the Confederates who pushed Grant back to the river at Belmont the previous November. The Tennessean had his men hold off the approaching Union forces but did not take advantage of a break in their lines. He retired to the fort and took command at Fort Donelson when General John B. Floyd decided to make a hasty departure.

Floyd was the senior Confederate commander. As U.S. Secretary of State before secession, he had been under indictment in Washington for the questionable transfer of military stores to southern states before the hostilities broke out. He desperately wanted to avoid capture by the Federals for fear of charges for treason. Before this could happen, he loaded his two Virginia regiments and some artillery onto a steamboat and “skedaddled” upriver (to the southeast) to Nashville. He turned over command to Pillow who had once echoed Patrick Henry’s statement about a preference for death over loss of liberty. When the situation looked grim at Donelson, Pillow had a change of heart and sought “liberty” in a rowboat across the Cumberland river under cover of night. General Grant had a terse assessment of him as an adversary: Pillow “was no soldier, and possibly, did not possess the elements of one.”

On February 13, the Union continued to move into position and surround the fort. Both division commanders ordered attacks against the Confederate works without success. This gave the Confederates precious time to reinforce the garrison, increasing the ranks to about 15,000 to 17,000. They now had a force nearly equal or slightly larger than the attackers. Grant sent word to Fort Henry ordering W.H.L. Wallace to bring his brigade to Donelson. That night the wind shifted and the temperature began to drop. A heavy rain that soaked both armies, changed to sleet then freezing rain and finally a snowstorm that lasted all night. By morning, there were several inches of snow on the ground and the temperatures remained well below freezing.

There are reports that many of the soldiers who had marched in the balmy weather discarded their overcoats and blankets. They were unused to such mild days in February and enjoyed the false dose of spring that was concealing a wintry blast. They regretted their hasted the following day when they were exposed to the snow and unprotected from the icy winds.

In the Podcast, we discuss the terms of surrender, Grant’s relationship with Buckner and how the Northern press picked up on the new moniker. Civl War Trust has an informative feature on Fort Donelson including statistics and an overview at CWT.com.

Mark and Harry Laver, Professor of History at the US Army Command and General Staff College will discuss Ulysses S. Grant’s early career and his leadership in the Western Theatre of the War up to the Vicksburg Campaign. This is Part 1 of a two-part podcast.

Grant at Belmont

In late 1861, Confederate General Leonidas Polk occupied Columbus in southwestern Kentucky on the Mississippi River. He broke the “neutrality” of the state and gave Union forces a reason to take aggressive action. Pro-union officers were actively recruiting Kentuckians to take up arms to support their cause and were breaking the neutrality in their own right. Just across the river, in far southeast Missouri, was the sparsely populated ferry landing of Belmont, where the Confederates had set up an outpost. Missouri’s U.S. military commander, General John Frémont sent Brigadier U.S. Grant into the region with 3,000 troops. Grant sent an initial force to overrun the Confederate encampment at Belmont. However, Polk learned of their approach and sent reinforcements who forced Grant’s men out and re-gain control of that section of the Mississippi River.

Grant’s plan was to capture the Confederate stronghold at Columbus, but first he had to take the Confederate garrison at Belmont. The 1,000 men that Polk had sent across the river to protect that bank of the river would be no match for Grant’s approaching numbers and Polk sent an additional 2,500 troops across the river to provide relief for his troops on the other side. He wanted to retain control of both sides of the Mississippi. Grant’s arriving force was able to push the Confederates back into a disorderly retreat and scatter them along the river. Discipline broke down within the Northern ranks, who prematurely began to celebrate their victory and engaging in wholesale looting of the Confederate camp.

General Charles Smith (who would also serve with Grant at Forts Henry and Donelson) began an advance from Paducah, Kentucky, just to the northeast. He was to make a feint and make Polk commit forces to pursue and keep them away from Belmont. Grant hoped that Polk would believe that Smith’s advance was the primary attack and that Belmont was the diversion. However, Polk recognized the move and dispatched additional troops to Belmont. Five Confederate regiments arrived as Grant was attempting to restore order and withdraw his men back to the river and move to a safer position. Grant himself narrowly escaped capture, but was able to get most of his force back to the boats, cross the river and retreat to Cairo, Illinois.

Union casulaties were 120 dead and 487 wounded or captured, while the Confederates lost 105 dead and 536 wounded or captured. Grant realized that maintaining order among the troops was of paramount importance. His men mistakenly felt that victory was theirs until surprised by the Confederate reinforcements. He had been facing General Gideon Pillow, who would later make his hasty retreat as Grant’s troops moved on Fort Donelson.