Joseph Eggleston Johnston (1807-1891) grew up in Abingdon, Virginia, son of Judge Peter Johnston, Jr. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1929, in the same class as Robert E. Lee. He left the Army for a brief period, then re-joined as a first lieutenant and served with distinction in the…
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First Personality Pages Published
This encyclopedia will not only feature information about the battles of 1861, but also the personalities who fought them. Quality images of many of these individuals are hard to come by, since some died early in the war and others had lackluster military careers and were overlooked. So I've commissioned unique illustrations for each profile.…
A Standard for Battle Pages?
As I've been steadily updating the battle pages in this encyclopedia, a standard format has emerged that I hope to replicate across all the pages. My idea is to supplement a description of the battle with multimedia--photos, video, and audio recordings (reenactments) of testimony from eyewitness. I want to include graphs, timelines, and transcriptions of…
Illustration of Irvin McDowell
Irvin McDowell (1818-1885) was a Regular Army officer from Ohio who is best known for commanding the Union army at the First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1838, alongside his future opponent in that battle, Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard. He fought in the Mexican-American War, and…
Ravenswood Skirmish Debunked
Back in 2021, I thought I had stumbled upon a skirmish along the Ohio River in Western Virginia fought between Confederate forces commanded by Capt. Obadiah Jennings Wise and Union forces commanded by Col. Jesse S. Norton. It took place somewhere around Ravenswood in what is today Jackson County, West Virginia. This was based on…
Second New Creek Skirmish?
In late June, the small town of New Creek (today, Keyser, WV) along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was the scene of a brief skirmish between Maryland Home Guard and three Confederate companies, who ultimately burned the railroad bridge over the Potomac River. Accurate information on this skirmish is scarce, but while researching it, I…
Where did the Ambush at Greenbrier River take place?
The Ambush at Greenbrier River occurred on Friday, July 19, 1861 between Union forces commanded by Sgt. William D. Gault and an unknown Confederate irregular unit in present-day Pocahontas County, West Virginia. But where, exactly? It's hard to know for certain, but we can make an educated guess based on the primary sources. Most contemporary…
Continue reading ➞ Where did the Ambush at Greenbrier River take place?
Illustration of Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (1807–1870) was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia to Revolutionary War officer and Virginia governor Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III. Robert E. Lee chose a military career and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1829. He was an engineer by training, and fought in the Mexican-American War.…
Obituary Found for PVT Seeley E. Mensch
Finding a few new sources regarding the Action at Greenbrier River seems to have opened the floodgates, as I've now also discovered an obituary for Private Seeley E. Mensch, who was mortally wounded in the ambush. The obituary, posted on his Find a Grave page, contains a detailed account by a surgeon of the 14th…
New Sources Found in Greenbrier Ambush
The Action at Greenbrier River is among those "minor" incidents in the early months of the American Civil War that got lost among more dramatic events. It occurred a few days after Confederate resistance collapsed in northwestern Virginia and a few days before the First Battle of Bull Run. In summary, Sgt. William D. Gault…
Spirit of '61 