The book of essays pulled from the New York Times’s Disunion column has been out for a couple of weeks now. It’s a pretty hefty volume that includes over 100 essays on the period between 1861 and the beginning of 1863. My only complaint is that the table of contents does not list individual essays, [...]
John Winsmith
A few days ago I offered a few speculative words about the names of deserters that litter the letters of Captain John Christopher Winsmith of the 5th South Carolina Infantry. One of the recurring names in the letters is that of Bill Taylor. He lived in the Spartanburg area and so it seems reasonable to [...]
One of the things that I find particularly interesting about Winsmith’s letters home is the attention he gives to reporting on the conduct and overall well being of his men. This is not surprising given his rank of captain and command of a unit raised in and around Spartanburg, South Carolina. Winsmith clearly assumed responsibility [...]
John Christopher Winsmith was what historian Jason Phillips refers to as a “diehard rebel.” Throughout the war, Winsmith never wavered in his enthusiasm for the cause. He believed that it was incumbent on everyone in the Confederacy to make the necessary sacrifices in the army and on the home front. In letters that routinely characterized [...]
My recent work on camp servants has finally brought me back to the letters of John Christopher Winsmith, which I initially planned on editing for publication way back in 2006. I came across this collection while researching the Crater book at the Museum of the Confederacy and was immediately struck by the content and the [...]
It’s always nice to hear from readers who take the time to share how much they enjoy your work. Though it’s a bit more painful to read, I also appreciate readers who point out my interpretive shortcomings and downright factual errors. That is just what happened in response to my essay about John Christopher Winsmith, [...]
My latest column at The New York Times’s Disunion page is now available. The essay briefly explores the relationship between John Christopher Winsmith and his body servant, Spencer. The Winsmith letters are housed at the Museum of the Confederacy and offer an incredibly rich account of the war from a Confederate officer in the slaveholding [...]
As many of you know I am in the beginning stages of a book-length project on the subject of black Confederates. While much of my blogging has centered on countering the nonsense coming out of certain camps concerning numbers and vague references to “loyalty” and “reconciliation” my real interest in this subject is firmly grounded [...]
