Monthly Archives: February 2011

Many of this blog’s readers are already familiar with Kevin Levin’s blog, Civil War Memory.  It is IMHO, one of the finest Civil War blogs around, arguably the best Civil War blog around. This evening, Kevin Levin has made a new post … Continue reading →

On February 8, 1861, the Montgomery Convention adopted a provisional constitution for their new nation.  It would be in force for a little over a month before it was replaced by a more permanent document. As John J. Miller states … Continue reading →

On February 7, 1861, the following item appeared in the New York Herald under the title, “Progress of the Slave Population.” “The returns of the national census, upon which we commented yesterday, show a very material growth of the slave … Continue reading →

February 6, 1861 was a Wednesday.  As such, people were busy or at least trying to appear busy.  In both Montgomery, Alabama, and Washington, D.C., the delegates at the conventions working respectively toward secession and reconciliation labored on procedural and house-keeping … Continue reading →

Yesterday’s Disunion blog in the New York Times, written by Daniel R. Crofts, focuses on Daniel W. Cobb, a substantial slaveholding farmer in Southampton County, Virginia.  The article explores Cobb’s gradual transformation from a unionist to a “Susseader,” a pattern common … Continue reading →

On the same day that Texas seceded (February 1, 1861), President-Elect Abraham Lincoln, still resident in Springfield, Illinois, wrote a letter to William Seward, Lincoln’s one-time rival for the 1860 Republican nomination and soon to be his Secretary of State.  The letter … Continue reading →

Tuesday’s Disunion in the New York Times contains a useful contribution by Elizabeth R. Varon entitled “Women at War.”  In the piece, Varon essentially makes the argument, accepted by most academic historians, that women and gender are important topics in understanding the Civil War.  That the … Continue reading →

150 years ago today, Texas seceded from the Union.  It was the last of the  Lower South states to leave.  The day following, February 2, 1861, the state’s secession convention issued a “Declaration of Causes” to explain its decision. In … Continue reading →