COUNTERPUNCH, October 7, 2014 Sheridan’s Scorched Earth Campaign The Civil War and 150 Years of Forgotten US Military Atrocities by JAMES BOVARD George Orwell wrote in 1945 that “the nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.” The […]
Tag Archives | Civil War
Wash. Times: Shenandoah Burning – Forgetting Atrocities Breeds New Wars
Washington Times, October 1, 2014 Lessons for today from the Shenandoah’s Civil War flames When civilian atrocities are forgotten, war and its injustices become more likely By James Bovard This is the 150th anniversary of one of the Civil War’s most destructive and controversial campaigns. After Confederate armies had used the Shenandoah Valley to launch […]
Anniversary of Hanging of Mosby’s Men in Front Royal, Virginia
This is the 150th anniversary of the execution of six of John S. Mosby’s Rangers by Union forces under the command of Gen. George S. Custer. The hills and mountains I roamed as a boy was previously known as “Mosby’s Confederacy”- thanks to the courage and savvy of the guerillas led by Col. John S. Mosby, the […]
The Tariff and the Civil War – New Study by Michael Griffith
Michael Griffith has just posted an excellent analysis and survey of the role of tariff conflicts in paving the path to the American Civil War: The Tariff and Secession: Statements on the Tariff as a Major Factor in Sectional Strife and Southern Secession http://www.mtgriffith.com/web_documents/tariffandsecession.htm : Northern and Southern leaders began arguing over the tariff almost as […]
FFF: How Trade Wars Shaped Early American History
Future of Freedom, June 2014 How Trade Wars Shaped Early American History, Part 1 by James Bovard Fair trade is once again a rallying cry for many Americans. Many contemporary leftists believe that the U.S. government should impose restrictions or tariffs on imported goods that are alleged to have been produced by underpaid or […]
Confederate John S. Mosby’s Great Berryville Wagon Train Raid
On this day 150 years ago, John S. Mosby’s Rangers attacked a wagon train delivering supplies to Union General Phil Sheridan. I will write more about Mosby next month pegged to the 150th anniversary of Union General George S. Custer’s hanging of six of Mosby’s men in my hometown, Front Royal Virginia. I will also […]
Wall St. Journal: Sheridan’s 1864 Torching of the Shenandoah Valley
WALL STREET JOURNAL, July 26, 2014 Violence, Chaos and the Expansion of Government Power in 1864 Gen. Grant’s order to turn the Shenandoah Valley into a ‘desert’ signaled an unsettling new chapter in the Civil War. By James Bovard During the second weekend of July, Washington, D.C., celebrated the repulse of Confederate Gen. Jubal Early’s […]