From my home to yours: Robert E. Lee’s Christmas wish
Amid the crowded holidays, after a contentious election, Robert E. Lee offers us these thoughts: But what a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and…
Amid the crowded holidays, after a contentious election, Robert E. Lee offers us these thoughts: But what a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and…
Iowa during the Civil War offers drama: Noble leaders, scoundrels, bright hopes, and bitter disappointment. In short, we see a reflection of our common humanity. A respected colleague suggested that…
We never know where friendships will lead us. A Methodist preacher’s son from Mississippi, George Carson Leavell, was to discover that friendship “gladdens the heart, and makes the face to…
Governments on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line had an insatiable desire for military recruits. Pennsylvania native Samuel H. Bulger found this out during the Civil War. Samuel had moved…
I would like to invite you to come to one of my presentations. I’m scheduled to speak six times in the next two weeks. Below is a list of dates…
Six years after Appomattox, the Civil War was an emotional “live wire” in Iowa. Republican candidates for office tapped into the continuing agony, and they condemned Democrats with great vigor…
For the past six years, I’ve asked myself, “Why would someone leave a nice state like Iowa and serve the Confederacy?” Seeking insights, I read James M. McPherson’s masterful book,…
Pressing on through severe facial pain and “unutterable griefs,” Jefferson Davis wrote his farewell speech to the U.S. Senate. His personal struggles in January 1861 (after Mississippi seceded) foreshadowed the…
Many Americans can picture the “devoted patriot” Edwin Stanton, close to Lincoln’s bedside as the president lay dying. After Lincoln breathed his last, a stoic Stanton reportedly said, “Now he…
Confident and versatile are two words associated with West Point graduates. One such man protected Des Moines and ran a Confederate arsenal during his career. Georgia-born John C. Booth graduated…