From a tour bus, the fields that comprise most of the Bentonville battlefield look flat and open. But as I stood on the edge of a cotton field at Tour Stop D, I could see small undulations in the ground. In fact, a small ridge blocked my view of the far tree line where Confederates once assembled.

Derrick Brown, the chief operations officer at Bentonville, chuckled. “It’s no Little Round Top,” he said.

But the small ridge did prove the point the terrain is never as simple as it appears, and only by standing on the ground can you fully appreciate the action that unfolded there. Bentonville served as a cotton-covered testament to the importance of battlefield preservation.

Indeed, that's what had brought me to Bentonville. I was co-leading a tour with Garry Adelman for the American Battlefield Trust, which has preserved more than 2,000 acres at Bentonville on 54 tracks, ranging in size from 1 acre to 180 acres.

Garry and I had the privilege to be joined on the field by Derrick and another of the park’s historians, Colby Stevens. (As it turned out, Bentonville has two Colbys, the other being Colby Lipscomb—as rare as that name is, go figure!) What a treat to be on the ground with two guys who knew the ground so well. Their colleague, Anna Kulcsar, waited in the Harper House to shared the story of the battlefield's witness structure, with bloodstains on the floor.

Fought March 19–21, 1865, the battle of Bentonville demonstrated just how poorly the war had gone for the Confederacy by that point: the Western Theater had shifted all the way to central North Carolina. Union Gen. William T. Sherman squared off against a newly reinstalled Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. An eclectic mishmash of officers from both Eastern and Western Theaters served under each commander.

Have you ever opened a high school yearbook and seen a former classmate’s photo, and it made you wonder, “Whatever happened to so-and-so?” The answer is probably: “They ended up at Bentonville.” Such was the battle’s motley assemblage of Civil War names we all know: Sherman, Johnston, Slocum, Hardee, Howard, Bragg, Logan, D. H. Hill, Hoke, Hampton, Kilpatrick, Mower, McLaws, Law. . . .

They all seem a little out of place, perhaps best exemplified by a statue of Johnston that stands literally out of place, on private land not far from the visitor center, a spot he never even got close to during the battle. (It reminds me of the out-of-place statue of Lee at Antietam.)

At Bentonville, the familiar seems different. You could spend the day unpacking what you think you know and what you think you see. For a battle that took place with just weeks left in the war, it has a lot of surprising things to teach. Fortunately for all us, the staff there—the wonderful staff there—is excited to share its story.

— Chris Mackowski, Ph.D.

Editor-in-Chief

(This column has been updated to correct a typo that had originally misplaced the battle in the wrong month. Chris apologizes for the error and says he has "May" on the brain because of all the stuff he's been writing lately related to his new book!)

Joshua Frye has been busy this month researching for his new book on the Native American role during the Civil War. The book will cover various Native American tribes, events, battles and units that performed vital roles during the conflict.

Jon-Erik Gilot recently announced the 2025 symposium for the Andrew Carnegie Free Library in Carnegie, PA. The symposium, scheduled for April 11–12, will focus on the Maryland Campaign and includes lectures by Scott Hartwig, Dennis Frye, John Hoptak, Ashley Whitehead Luskey, Kevin Pawlak, Harry Smeltzer, and a live recording of the Antietam & Beyond Podcast with John Banks and Tom McMillan. The weekend also includes author book signings, an expansive book sale, raffles, Espy Post Tours, and tastings/bottle sales from Arsenal Cider—a Civil War-themed hard cider distillery! For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit their website at 2025 Carnegie Civil War Symposium

Francis Jastrzembski visited the Resaca Battlefield Historic Site in Georgia to see the division position of General Henry Moses Judah on the May 14, 1864, disastrous assault. Frank is currently working on a book chapter about the famed general.

Tonya McQuade will be traveling to Missouri and Kansas in early October to promote her book, "A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree of Andrew County Missouri."

Tonya will be giving talks in several cities that played key roles in the war and in her book, including St. Joseph, Savannah, and Centralia, Missouri; and Lawrence, Kansas. On Oct. 3, she will be speaking at the St. Joseph Museum at 10:30 a.m., then later that afternoon at the Andrew County Historical Society in Savannah (time TBD).

In her talks, she will explain why many people believe the Civil War actually started in Missouri, read from some of the 50 Civil War letters included in her book, and share relevant photos, maps, and family trees. In St. Joseph, Savannah, and Lawrence, she will also discuss key events in the "Bleeding Kansas" border wars and "Bloody Andrew" events that played out in these areas. On Oct. 4, she will be speaking at the Book and Bean Bookstore in Centralia at 5 p.m., then the following day, at the Centralia Public Library (time TBD). In those talks, she will include a discussion of the Centralia Massacre and the Battle of Centralia, which will both be marking their 160th anniversary at the end of September. Tonya discovered she had family connections to Centralia on BOTH the Union and Confederate sides and wrote about these connections in earlier ECW posts. Finally, she will (hopefully) be speaking in Lawrence on Oct. 7 (time and location TBD).

Email Tonya at Tmcq1966@gmail.com for more information.

Evan Portman stopped through Gettysburg this month to see Little Round Top for the first time since its grand reopening in June! He also went to a D.C. United game and saw some Civil War related sites around the city. Next month, Evan will be presenting at the Pennsylvania Historical Association Annual Conference in Johnstown. 

Tim Talbott spoke at Henrico County's Libbie Mill Library in Richmond on September 5 about the Battle of New Market Heights to a great group of eager student and adult learners. Tim also helped organize and coordinate the Central Virginia Battlefield Trust's Annual Conference (Sept. 13-15), which hosted about 90 attendees. Lastly, to commemorate the 160th Anniversary of the Battle of New Market Heights, Tim made arrangements with the Varina Library to host three speakers (Jimmy Price, Dr. James K. Bryant, and himself) on Sept. 28, and offer walking tours of the New Market Heights battlefield on Sept. 28 and 29.

ECW Bookshelf

A Tempest of Iron and Lead: Spotsylvania Court House, May 8-21, 1864 by Chris Mackowski is now available from Savas Beatie.

John Hennessy, retired chief historian of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park and author of Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas, says:

“The complexities of the monumental, 13-day battle of Spotsylvania Court House often baffle the closest students of the war—and even the soldiers who were there. This book is the one-stop antidote to befuddlement. Chris Mackowski combines deep knowledge of the ground, careful consideration of historic sources, and his considerable literary chops to give us a vivid, fast-paced, sure-footed narrative of the defining days of Grant and Lee's 1864 Overland Campaign.”

Will Greene, former staff historian at Fred-Spot and author of A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg, says:

“Chris Mackowski combines an engaging writing style with an intimate knowledge of his subject to produce the first comprehensive account of the Spotsylvania Campaign in more than a generation. Deeply researched—unusually so for a relatively brief volume—A Tempest of Iron and Lead provides an outstanding summary of the second major engagement of the Overland Campaign, sure to please readers new to the topic as well as more seasoned students of the Civil War. A fine piece of scholarship and literature. Highly recommended!”

George C. Rable, University of Alabama Emeritus professor and author of Conflict of Command: George McClellan, Abraham Lincoln, and the Politics of War and Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!, says:

“The Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse brought the most sustained and some of the bloodiest fighting of the American Civil War. With outstanding descriptions of terrain, well-chosen quotations from officers and enlisted men, and a keen eye for revealing detail, Chris Mackowski presents a fast-paced narrative of a titanic clash between two great armies. A Tempest of Iron and Lead offers a critical analysis of the commanders and their subordinates, a perceptive assessment of tactics, and considerable attention to the common soldier experience of combat. Readers will learn a great deal from this sobering account of a battle that at times beggared description.”

Shrouded Veterans

Philadelphian Louis Soistman survived capture while serving the Pope in Italy in 1860. He returned to the United States and enlisted when President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers, sustaining two wounds as a first lieutenant with the 98th Pennsylvania Infantry.

You can learn more about Soistman’s military service and how a veteran headstone was eventually added to his grave at this link:

https://emergingcivilwar.com/2024/09/01/shrouded-veterans-a-soldier-for-the-pope-and-lincoln/

October

4–6: Chris Mackowski, Art of Command Conference, Middleburg, VA

7: Chris Mackowski, Atlanta (GA) Civil War Roundtable, Atlanta, GA

8: Cecily Zander, Fort Worth Civil War Roundtable, Fort Worth, TX

8: Brian Swartz, “Joshua Chamberlain and His Wartime Exploits,” Ellen Leach Home (Chamberlain Street), Brewer, ME

9: Jon-Erik Gilot, Jenkins’s 1862 & 1863 Trans-Allegheny Raids, Harpers Ferry CWRT, Harpers Ferry, WV

12: Dave Powell, “The Atlanta Campaign,” Kenosha Civil War Museum, Kenosha WI

13: Chris Mackowski, Civil War Roundtable of Central Louisiana, “A Series of Civil War Scribblings: The ECW Series” and “Grant @ 200”

13: Kevin Pawlak, “John Brown’s Raid,” Lovettsville Historical Society, Lovettsville, VA

14: Jon-Erik Gilot, “Dangerfield Newby’s Fight for Freedom,” Mahoning Valley CWRT, Canfield, OH 

14: Chris Mackowski, “Moments of Contingency and the Rise of Grant,” Rappahannock Valley Civil War Roundtable, Fredericksburg, VA

15: Jon-Erik Gilot, “John Brown’s Raid,” Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling, WV

16: Derek Maxfield, “Man of Fire,” Miami (FL) Civil War Roundtable (virtual)

17: Neil P. Chatelain, “Treasure and Empire in the Civil War,” Houston CWRT, Houston, TX

November

14: Kristopher White, “Lee’s Greatest Victory-Lee’s Greatest Defeat: The Battle of Chancellorsville,” Montgomery County Civil War Roundtable, MD

14: Brian Swartz, ” Louisiana’s Lost Love: The Saga of Cyrus Hamlin,” Joshua L. Chamberlain Civil War Roundtable, Brunswick, ME

19: Jon-Erik Gilot, “Dangerfield Newby’s Fight for Freedom,” Zanesville CWRT, Zanesville, OH

21: Tim Talbott, “Gobbled Up: Taking Prisoners of War during the Petersburg Campaign,” Powhatan Civil War Roundtable

21-24: Dave Powell, Chattanooga Campaign Tour, Blue-Gray Education Society, Chattanooga TN