Browsing by Subject "American Civil War"
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Marines in gray: the birth, life and death of the Confederate States Marine Corps(2009-05-15) Krivdo, Michael E.This thesis explores and provides analysis on several areas of study related to the history of the Confederate States Marine Corps that have long been neglected. It examines the military and political processes that were instrumental in both creating and employing a Southern Marine Corps. It also investigates relationships between the U.S. and Confederate Marine Corps, particularly in light of how the experiences of former U.S. Marines shaped the growth of the Southern Corps. In particular, the thesis asserts that, despite shared origins, the CSMC seized on opportunities presented by the Civil War and became expert in new mission areas through the efforts of a core group of determined and experienced leaders. In the process, the CSMC came to eclipse its Northern cousin, becoming a valued and vital element of the Confederate Navy. The CSMC is examined in light of its national service, thereby affording fresh perspectives on the patterns formed by its actions as part of the Southern war effort. This new research framework supports a better understanding of the roles and missions expected by Southern leaders from their Corps, and more clearly illuminates the CSMC?s differences. In particular, this approach highlights the inherent strengths of the CSMC?s unique structure that lent itself to a more efficient concept of employment. Finally, this thesis asserts that the CSMC became, for its abbreviated history, the agile, innovative, and versatile fighting unit that, man-for-man, the U.S. Marine Corps would not achieve until some time late in the nineteenth century. However, the lessons of its service were not realized, in part because of its relative historical obscurity.Item The Cavalier Image in the Civil War and the Southern Mind(2012-07-16) Allgood, ColtThis thesis examines the methods and actions of selected Virginians who chose to adopt irregular tactics in wartime, and focuses on the reasons why they fought that way. The presence of the Cavalier image in Virginia had a direct impact on the military exploits of several cavalry officers in both the Revolutionary War and the American Civil War. The Royalist cavalry during the English Civil War gave rise to the original Cavalier image, but as migrants came to Virginia during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the image became a general term for the Southern planter. This thesis contends that selected Virginia cavalry officers attempted to adhere to an Americanized version of the Cavalier image. They either purposefully embodied aspects of the Cavalier image during their military service, or members of the Southern populace attached the Cavalier image to them in the post-war period. The Cavalier thus served as a military ideal, and some cavalry officers represented a romanticized version of the Southern martial hero. This thesis traces the development of the Cavalier image in Virginia chronologically. It focuses on the origins of the Cavalier image and the role of the Royalist cavalry during the English Civil War. After the Royalist migration, and especially during the American Revolution, Virginians like Henry Lee embodied aspects of the Cavalier image during their military careers. Between the end of the American Revolution and the beginning of the Civil War, some Southern authors perpetuated the image by including Cavalier figures in many of their literary works. In the Civil War, select Virginians who fought for the Confederacy personified the Cavalier hero in the minds of many white Southerners. Despite a Confederate defeat, the Cavalier image persisted in Southern culture in the post-Civil War period and into the twentieth century.Item The Great American Riddle: Ulysses S. Grant and Civil RightsCastillo, Christopher R; Blackwell, Deborah L; Menaldo, Mark AThe prevailing scholarship on Ulysses S. Grant and Reconstruction was established by authors who wrote on the subjects in the aftermath of Reconstruction. Scholars of the “Lost Cause,” include the likes of John Burgess and William Dunning and many pupils. The arguments set forth by these writers and scholars created the notions that Grant was a butcher general during the Civil War who sent thousands of Union soldiers to needlessly die during his military campaigns, and that he was one of the nation’s worst presidents. Furthermore, they have argued that Grant was intellectually incompentent, corrupt, and unable to handle the political aspects of the Civil War and Reconstruction. These arguments have created a social construction of the past that has dominated American thinking on Grant, and have been carried on by modern scholars in the field. Because Grant rarely shared his views, publicly or privately, he did not leave behind the large volumes of historical evidence one expects from esteemed generals and former presidents. Since he was silent on most issues, extensive analysis of what is available is required. Most historical scholars have not been able, or willing, to remove themselves from established writings on Grant and have failed to fully analyze the historical sources left by the general, leading to sweeping generalizations about his views an character. This thesis seeks to challenge the established historiography on Grant by arguing the he was more than capable of comprehending the political and military aspects of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Grant demonstrated this, as he progrssed from fighting for the Union first, to accepting and protecting emancipation and black civil rights. Moreover, as both Commanding General of the United States Army and President, Grant was willing to expand his use of the U.S. Army as the proper means of upholding cvil equality for free blacks and protecting the Union from further violence. It is necessary to understand the complex, yet evolutionary nature of Grant, as doing so will lead to a more nuanced understanding of how his policies aided in transforming American society.