Threads From The National Tapestry: Stories From The American Civil War
by Fred KigerHistory is, indeed, a story. With his unique voice and engaging delivery, historian and veteran storyteller Fred Kiger will help the compelling stories of the American Civil War come alive in each and every episode. Filled with momentous issues and repercussions that still resonate with us today, this series will feature events and people from that period and will strive to make you feel as if you were there.
Copyright: Copyright Fred Kiger 2022
Episodes
24 - Misery at Murfreesboro - the Battle of Stones River
47m · PublishedAbout this episode:
For Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, the summer and fall of 1862 was a veritable roller coaster ride of emotion, from glimmering hope to hand-wringing despair. For Davis, the Confederate summer offensive may well have been the South’s greatest chance for foreign recognition - but by the end of October, that moment had passed. For Lincoln, far too cautious and deliberate generals allowed retreating Confederate armies to escape from Maryland and Kentucky. Both presidents had to accept that the conflict had no end in sight. And yet, as 1862 drew to a close, both saw opportunity in central Tennessee. Fought in weather that had to match the mood of weary men, officers, presidents, and American people, this is the story of the clash along the banks of Stones River. This is the story of the Battle of Murfreesboro. ----more----
Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
Braxton Bragg
Don Carlos Buell
Willian Rosecrans
Philip Sheridan
Leonidas Polk
Julius P. Garesché
Other References From This Episode
Actions on December 31st, 1862 - 8 a.m.
Actions on December 31st, 1862 - 11 a.m.
Actions on December 31st, 1862 - 4 p.m.
Actions on January 2nd, 1863 - 4 p.m.
Actions on January 2nd, 1863 - 4:45 p.m.
*** Maps Source: Hal Jespersen, http://www.cwmaps.com/
Recommendation for Further Reading
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
23 - Chattanooga - Part 2
46m · PublishedAbout this episode:
The Union commander-in-chief, Abraham Lincoln, was beside himself. In the northwestern corner of Georgia, there had been defeat and near-disaster back in September of 1863. There, along the banks of Chickamauga Creek, and now in November, the real possibility of yet another reversal at Chattanooga.
Besieged by Braxton Bragg’s Confederate Army of Tennessee, Major General U.S. Grant was called in to resurrect sinking morale and restore hope. He corrected the former with the opening of a cracker line. Full bellies and ample ammunition lifted spirits. Now, the man from Galena, Illinois determined to flip the military situation. What his men and officers did was nothing short of amazing. This is the story of the incredible events along the Tennessee River, and atop the heights of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. This is part two of the story of The Battle Of Chattanooga.
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Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
Braxton Bragg
Ulysses S. Grant
William T. Sherman
Thomas J. Wood
Philip Sheridan
Patrick Cleburne
Other References From This Episode
Map of The Battle of Chattanooga
Recommendation for Further Reading
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
22 - Chattanooga - Part 1
42m · PublishedAbout this episode:
It was fall in the year 1863. Much had changed since the summer. Back in July, a doomed assault on Cemetery Ridge meant Confederate defeat at Gettysburg - and now, back in central Virginia, Lee and Meade’s armies sparred. That same July, Vicksburg fell, and the Mississippi River became a federal highway. Yet the Confederacy’s heartland was still a beating bastion of defiance.
That’s why Abraham Lincoln wanted to drive into eastern Tennessee. That’s why he wanted a major railroad hub in the southeastern corner of The Volunteer State. This is the story of the Union’s attempt to crack the Confederacy from within. This is part one of the story of The Battle of Chattanooga. ----more----
Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
Braxton Bragg
James Longstreet
George H. Thomas
William Starke Rosecrans
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
21 - "I Wish I Could Forget Myself" - Mary Ann Todd Lincoln
43m · PublishedAbout this episode:
Three of her four children did not live to adulthood, and her husband was assassinated while he held her hand. If anyone ever deserved to be troubled, it was the wife of the sixteenth president. James Cornelius, curator of the Lincoln Collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois said simply: “She had the most tragic public life in American history.”
This is the story of the woman who once said, “I wish I could forget myself.”
This is the story of Mary Ann Todd Lincoln.
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Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
Elizabeth Todd Edwards
Stephen A. Douglas
Robert Todd Lincoln
William Henry Seward
Tad Lincoln
Elizabeth Keckley
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
20 - In The Shadows: Spies, Raiders, and Intelligence Gathering
45m · PublishedAbout this episode:
During the American Civil War, great drama was not exclusive to just the battlefield. There were many instances when what took place behind the lines, or behind enemy lines, was just as engaging and significant. Those instances bring life to the men and women who operated in the shadows, who dared to infiltrate and risk all in the process. These are the stories of selected spies, raiders, and military analysts. ----more----
Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
Allan Pinkerton Rose O'Neal Greenhow Belle Boyd William Norris Bennett Young Grenville M. Dodge Elizabeth Van Lew James J. Andrews John C. Babcock
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
19 - "Mighty Events Are On The Wing" - Second Manassas
43m · PublishedAbout this episode:
In the light of Union frustration after the unsuccessful Peninsula Campaign failed to take Richmond, and the Confederacy’s Seven Days Campaign which repelled the Union Army of the Potomac, the North’s military powers-that-be surrendered something they would regret: the strategic initiative. This is the story of what Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia did with it. In a dramatic turnaround in the Eastern Theater, we return to ground through which ran a stream that locals called Bull Run. This is the story of the Battle of Second Manassas.----more----
Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
Henry Halleck John Pope J.E.B. Stuart James Longstreet Irvin McDowell Isaac Trimble James Ricketts Other References From This Episode:
Action at Brawner's Farm, August 28th
Actions on August 29th, 3 p.m.
Actions on August 29th, 5-7 p.m.
Actions on August 30th. 3 p.m.
Actions on August 30th, 4 p.m.
*** Maps Source: Hal Jespersen, http://www.cwmaps.com/
*** Painting Source: Don Troiani
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
18 - "Hell Has Busted" - The Battle Of The Crater
42m · PublishedAbout this episode:
It was the fourth summer of the war, and Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign had sledgehammered its way down to Petersburg, Virginia. It had been a campaign that had bled both blue and grey armies white. There, east of town, under oppressive heat and humidity that walks hand-in-hand with the month of July, a daring plan unfolded - which, if successful, might end the war. Instead, it added to the slaughter. This is the story of an engineering marvel - a tunnel. This is the story of The Battle Of The Crater. ----more----
Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
Henry Pleasants George G. Meade E. Porter Alexander Ambrose E. Burnside Edward Ferrero James H. Ledlie Other References From This Episode:
*** Map Source: The Civil War Trust - CivilWar.org
*** Painting Source: Painting by Tom Lovell
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
17 - "His Name Might Be Audacity" - The Seven Days Campaign
46m · PublishedAbout this episode:
In March of 1862, Major General George B. McClellan began to land his massive army on the Virginia peninsula, created by the York and James Rivers. Its objective: Richmond. That army got as close as 4-5 miles, close enough to set their time pieces to the ringing church bells of the Confederate capital. Then, on the 31st of May and the 1st of June, there were two messy, inconclusive days of battle. One of the casualties was a significant one: Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston. Knocked from command of the army defending Richmond, President Jefferson Davis named another. That new commander was 55 years old, and for the first month he reorganized, ordered the digging of trenches, and postured before the enemy. For that supposed inactivity, the Richmond press derisively called him "Granny." Then came the 25th of June, and for the next week, what this commander unleashed was so audacious that no one ever called him "Granny" again. No one. This is the story of Robert E. Lee's first major offensive. This is the story of The Seven Days. ----more----
Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson Joseph E. Johnston Edward Porter Alexander J.E.B. Stewart Philip St. George Cooke Fitz John Porter James Longstreet Theophilus H. Holmes Other References From This Episode:
The Seven Days Campaign Battle Map
*** Map Source: Battles and Leaders of the Civil War
*** Painting Source: Don Troiani, Historical Art Prints
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
16 - Hell On Earth: The Battle Of The Wilderness
43m · PublishedAbout this episode:
Since the Battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863, the two, George Gordon Meade and Robert E. Lee, and their respective armies had shadowboxed down in Central Virginia. The sparring continued throughout the fall and winter, but in spring, there was a new federal presence, and he meant business. General-in-chief Ulysses S. Grant now wore a third star; the first true lieutenant general since George Washington, and rather than be mired in political intrigue in the capital, he chose to travel with Meade's Army of the Potomac. Before, Union generals ordered the Army of the Potomac forward, gave battle, retreated, and then sat on its haunches for months at a time before the next offensive. That would not be the case come spring of 1864. U.S. Grant was going to give battle and do so in relentless fashion, and so in May, he launched a campaign unlike anything the Federal Army of the Potomac had ever experienced before. This is the story of the first battle in what would be called "The Overland Campaign." This is the story of the first encounter between Lee and Grant. ----more----
Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
Winfield Scott Hancock Ulysses S. Grant Gouverneur K. Warren Charles Griffin James Wadsworth Ambrose Burnside James Longstreet Richard Stoddert Ewell Other References From This Episode:
Battle Of the Wilderness: May 5, 1864.
Battle of the Wilderness: May 6, 1864 - 5am.
Battle of the Wilderness: May 6, 1864 - 6-10am.
Battle of the Wilderness: May 6, 1864 - 11am.
Battle of the Wilderness: May 6, 1864 - 2-6pm.
*** Maps by Hal Jespersen, www.CWmaps.com, http://www.posix.com/CW/
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
15 - Shiloh
1h 0m · PublishedAbout this episode:
It was April of 1862, and the war was just about to enter its second year. The beginning of that year had been a bleak one for the Confederacy. In February, Fort Henry, Roanoke Island, North Carolina, and Fort Donelson all fell. Now there were invasion routes into "The Old North State," the interior of Tennessee, and the very heartland of the Confederacy. In the first week of March, Missouri was for all practical purposes lost to the confederacy thanks to Union victory at Pea Ridge. In the east, more cause for southern concern. The ironclad USS Monitor had revolutionized Naval warfare, and neutralized the Confederacy's CSS Virginia, and George B. McClellan finally stirred from his slows to land 121,000 men on the Virginia peninsula with its sights on Richmond. Though there had been all these military events, there were still some, North and South, who believed that particularly if the southern capital fell, the conflict would soon end. In fact a year earlier, A.W. Venable of Granville County, North Carolina declared that he would wipe of every drop of blood shed in the war with "this handkerchief of mine." Naive words. In his most vivid and terrible nightmares, he never dreamed of two days like April 6th and 7th, 1862. Neither had an entire nation. Two horrific days that churned and burned near a river landing and a little Methodist church built for the Prince Of Peace. Two bloody days that served as a national wake up call; a call that announced the sobering reality of how terrible civil war would truly be. This is the story of those two days. This is the story of the Battle of Shiloh. ----more----
Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
Don Carlos Buell Ulysses S. Grant Willie Lincoln Albert Sidney Johnston Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard Braxton Bragg William H.L. Wallace William T. Sherman Benjamin M. Prentiss Other References From This Episode:
1st day of the Battle of Shiloh: Confederate Offensive.
Second day of the Battle of Shiloh: Union Offensive.
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
Threads From The National Tapestry: Stories From The American Civil War has 74 episodes in total of non- explicit content. Total playtime is 64:57:16. The language of the podcast is English. This podcast has been added on November 28th 2022. It might contain more episodes than the ones shown here. It was last updated on May 22nd, 2024 04:42.