The New York History Blog

Historical News and Views from the Empire State

Civil War

Civil War Round Table: Coming War, Refugee Slaves

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capital district civil war round table podcastThe latest episode of the Capital District Civil War Round Table Podcast features Dr. Rachel Shelden and Dr. Amy Murrell Taylor.

Rachel Sheldon talked about her book Washington Brotherhood: Politics, Social Life, and the Coming of the Civil War. Shelden’s book focuses on the personal relationships forged by Washington politicians during the tumultuous 1850s. While much of the country remained divided over slavery, elected officials, insulated by the fraternity-like atmosphere of Congress, failed to recognize the gravity of the secession crisis. [Read more…] about Civil War Round Table: Coming War, Refugee Slaves

Black Vets Focus of New Paltz Juneteenth Event

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New York Regiment United States Colored Troops ReenactorsHistoric Huguenot Street is set to honor its community’s African-American veterans with a Juneteenth celebration consisting of live musical performances, a community cookout, educational tours, and a living history program with Civil War era reenactors of the NY US Colored Troops.

Juneteenth, which is traditionally celebrated on June 19, celebrates the day in June of 1865 when Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas carrying news that the Civil War had ended and that those still enslaved were to be freed. [Read more…] about Black Vets Focus of New Paltz Juneteenth Event

Civil War Era Carriages and Wagons Talk Sunday

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capital district civil war round table podcastThe next North Country Civil War Round Table has been set for Sunday, May 19th, at 2 pm at the Carriage Barn of the St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum, 1755 State Route 345, Madrid, NY. Marty Snye will speak about Civil War era carriages and wagons. This program is free and open to the public. [Read more…] about Civil War Era Carriages and Wagons Talk Sunday

Podcast: Brutus de Villeroi and the U. S. Navy’s First Submarine

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capital district civil war round table podcastA recent edition of the Capital District Civil War Round Table Podcast features Naval historian Chuck Veit who talked about his book Natural Genius: Brutus de Villeroi and the U. S. Navy’s First Submarine. Veit discussed the history of submarines and the remarkable life of French inventor Brutus de Villeroi, the man responsible for building the U. S. Navy’s first submarine. [Read more…] about Podcast: Brutus de Villeroi and the U. S. Navy’s First Submarine

Elizabethtown Civil War POW Benjamin Hall Talk in Ti

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depiction of Andersonville Prison by John L Ransom

In 1861 Benjamin Hall of Elizabethtown in Essex County was one among many young men who enlisted to fight against the South in the Union Army.

His wartime experiences took him to some of the major battlefields of the American Civil War, and finally to the notorious Confederate prisoner of war camp at Andersonville, Georgia. [Read more…] about Elizabethtown Civil War POW Benjamin Hall Talk in Ti

Irish Fenian Raids Talk Set for Albany Monday

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when the irish invaded canadaChristopher Klein, author of When the Irish Invaded Canada, is set to share the incredible true story of the Civil War veterans who fought for Ireland’s freedom on Monday, May 13 at 7 pm, at the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany.

When the Irish Invaded Canada tells the story of a band of Irish-Americans who fled the Great Hunger in Ireland, fought on both sides of the Civil War, and then united to undertake one of the most fantastical missions in military history — to kidnap the British province of Canada, hold it hostage, and ransom it for Ireland’s independence. With the tacit support of the U.S. government, the self-proclaimed Irish Republican Army attacked Canada not just once, but five times between 1866 and 1871 in what are collectively known as the Fenian Raids. [Read more…] about Irish Fenian Raids Talk Set for Albany Monday

Civil War Podcast: The Confederate South and Southern Italy

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capital district civil war round table podcastThe May episode of the Capital District Civil War Round Table Podcast was recorded in Galway, Ireland, with National University of Ireland Galway professor Enrico Dal Lago.

Dal Lago talked about his new book Civil War and Agrarian Unrest: The Confederate South and Southern Italy. The book places the American Civil War in the global context by comparing and connecting it to the Great Brigandage in Southern Italy in the 1860s. While historians have spent years looking at nation-building and social revolution in nineteenth-century Europe, Dal Lago offers a fresh perspective of the American Civil War by comparing it to the agrarian uprising that occurred in Southern Italy during Italian unification. [Read more…] about Civil War Podcast: The Confederate South and Southern Italy

Information Wanted: Irishman General Michael Kerwin, 1870-1912

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Michael Kerwin

Much like the ‘information wanted’ ads that appeared in 19th Century Irish American newspapers I am posting this notice seeking information on an Irish American living in New York City in the late 19th Century. His name was Michael J. Kerwin, formerly of Philadelphia, and usually was identified either as Colonel or General Kerwin.

I am researching General Kerwin from my home in Sammamish, WA for an article about him for the New York Irish History Roundtable’s annual journal.  I have access to digitized historical newspaper archives and have scoured the internet.

Kerwin was commented on frequently in the New York City newspapers from the mid-1880s until 1900, but I have found no collection of personal papers, there is no file on him at the National Records Administration archives in St Louis and I have found just two images of him. Given his higher visibility and notoriety in the papers of his day, I’m hoping materials exists about his time in New York from 1870 to 1912, tucked away somewhere in New York.

[Read more…] about Information Wanted: Irishman General Michael Kerwin, 1870-1912

Women Spies in the Civil War April 28th

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Postwar photograph of Elizabeth Van Lew The next North Country Civil War Round Table has been set for Sunday, April 28th, at 2 pm, at the St. Lawrence County Historical Association. Jim Dawson will speak on female spies of the war, focusing on Elizabeth Van Lew of Richmond. Visitors who own items with Civil War provenance are encouraged to bring them to the event for a “show and tell” session before the talk. [Read more…] about Women Spies in the Civil War April 28th