This week I have decided to use the assignment I previously gave as a bonus opportunity. Last week's response rate was improved, but still some class members are failing to complete the assignment at all or on time. Remember how important the homework component is to your grade!
This assignment continues our study of the Civil War, focusing on the events of the war and individuals who participated from the state of Kentucky. Several significant battles were fought in the commonwealth, and soldiers from Kentucky fought on both sides of the war.
Although we typically say that Kentucky was a slave state that did not secede, in truth, there was an attempt (unsuccessful) at secession, that would have made Kentucky a member of the Conferedate States of America. Near Somerset the Battle of Mill Springs was important in securing Union control of the Ohio Valley, and the Battle of Perryville was one of the hardest-fought battles of the war. You already know that both Civil War presidents (Lincoln and Davis) were born in Kentucky, and some families had members to fight on opposite sides (such as the Breckinridges - dad and one son were Union generals, another son was a Confederate general).
General Grant first commanded in Kentucky, as did Gen. William T. Sherman (who had a nervous breakdown while overseeing Louisville, and was sent home to recuperate when he imagined that the Confederates were teaming with Native Americans (none of whom lived anywhere near Kentucky) for a massive attack. He was the laughing-stock of the country when he requested 20,000 soldiers to protect Louisville against Indians!
These are just a few of the amazing Civil War stories and individuals related to Kentucky that played a major role in the war. Your assignment this week is to research a Civil War person or event related to our state and post an essay revealing your findings. Unlike previous weeks I am not giving you a specific web site, so please cite your references. Did your family play a role in Kentucky Civil War history? That would be a great story to share!
I chose to write about Barton Stone Alexander, he was born September 4, 1819 in Nicholas County Kentucky; he died December 15, 1878 in San Francisco, California. He was an American commander during the American Civil War and rose to the brigadier general in the regular army. He also graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point . Barton Alexander served in the Mexican-American War, he built fortifications to protect the American supply lines on Mexico City. At the very end of the war, he was stationed in Washington, D.C., where he served as architect for the Scott Building and other Buildings at the United states Soldiers' Home and had taken over the completion of the Smithsonian Institution Building after extreme dissatisfaction with the pace of the first architect who had caused him to be dismissed. I think this guy was interesting to read and write about, I think it is pretty interesting to learn about especially to learn about people who have fought for our state or who fought and were even from my state. I think this was a good assignment because I gives us a chance or an opportunity to learn about people from our state or even maybe some of our ancestors.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:People_of_Kentucky_in_the_American_Civil_War
For my report, I have decided to write about confederate general George B. Crittenden. Crittendenwas born in Russelville, KY in 1812. His father was a politician and his brother and cousin were both UNION generals. That is a prime example of the type of division that the civil war caused between families. After resigning from the Black Hawk War, Crittenden attended transylvania university and became a lawyer. He soon moved to the southern republic of Texas and joined the army. He was promoted to major general of the confederate army in 1861. On january 18, 18862, he and Gen. Felix Zollicoffer were defeated by the union in the nearby battle of Mill Springs. He died in danville in 1880.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_B._Crittenden
Lincoln said, "I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game. ... We would as well consent to separation at once, including the surrender of the capital." I don't think many people know how important Kentucky was to the Civil War. I must admit that I didn't think Kentucky was much effect to the war and I have lived here my whole life. Kentucky had to have been important or Abraham Lincoln wouldn't have said the words above. For this assignment I have picked a familiar topic, but what really happened at Mill Springs? Mill Springs occurred in Pulaski and Wayne County and I have resided in these two counties back and forth for years and went to Mill Springs several times, but I didn't know much about what happened there. George H. Thomas was in charge of the Union soldiers ( a total of 4,400).
ReplyDeleteGeorge B. Crittenden was the leader of the Confederate soldiers (a total of 5,900). The Battle of Mill Springs was January 19, 1862. This was the first significant win for the Union in the war. Thirty-nine were killed and two hundred and seven were injured on the Union side. On the Confederates' side one hundred and twenty-five were killed and four hundred and four injured or missing. The Confederates called this the Battle of Fishing Creek and the Union called it the Battle of Logan's Crossroads. Even though this battle wasn't major compared to some of the others Mill Springs was still significant (at least it was for the Union).
Lydia, i really liked your essay because you described it so well to where since i didn't know who it was i know basically everything about the person and what they had done or accomplished.
ReplyDeleteNathan, i liked reading your essay because it was very self-explanatory and was very well written. (:
For my essay, I chose to write about Felix Zollicoffer. He was a Confederate brigadier general born in Tennessee. He was the grandson of a Revolutionary war captain. Prior to being in the war, he worked as a printer in Knoxville. He was also involved in politics; he was even a congressman (March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1859) as a Whig. In the Civil War, Zollicoffer’s main job was to guard the Cumberland Gap, but he advanced westward towards Somerset. Then, he settled in Mill Springs But soon the Union Army came and attacked at what we call today, The Battle of Mill Springs. Zollicoffer’s men were routed from the field where the battle took place. Some people say that as the battle was coming o an end that Union colonel Speed S. Fry shot Zollicoffer. He was struck by enemy bullets several times and died because of the wounds at Mill Springs. To this day, there is Zollicoffer Park, a confederate cemetery, which contains a mass grave of Confederate soldiers. This is located inside of our county in Nancy, which is only 10 miles west of here. I think it’s interesting that some of the War happened right here in our “backyards”.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Rebecca
Site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Zollicoffer
For my History assignment I decided to write about the Battle of Mill Springs. Believe it or not, Kentucky was a very important state during the time of the Civil War. Lincoln even believed that whatever side had Kentucky would win the war. The Union army was led by George H. Thomas and the confederate army was led by George Crittenden. It is important to note that this battle took place early in the morning on a dark, fogy day. The fighting mostly took place not at Mill Springs but actually at Logan’s Crossroads (now Nancy). Although it usually doesn’t make it into the history books it was actually a fairly important battle. It was one of the North’s first major victories, also General Felix Zollicoffer died in this battle. Zollicoffer was killed by one of his own men, who couldn’t see through the fog and accidently killed him. After the battle the South made a long retreat back to Tennessee. Along the way several troops died and where just left for the people to burry. And of course, the union troops all got proper burials. This short, seemingly insignificant battle was actually quite important as it marked one of the first Union victories of the war.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry if I post it late but I was at the NACA Nationals and there wasn't so much wi-fi to do homework. This week I have to talk about a person that was coinvolt in the Civil War. I decided to talk about William Preston; he was born in Louisville, Kentucky on October 16, 1816. He was a lawyer, a politician, a ambassador, but also a brigadier general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He attended Yale and he graduated in Harvard University.He was a colonel of the 4th Kentucky Volunteers in the Mexican–American War and after the war a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. President James Buchanan sent him in Spain and he resigned him as ambassador at the outbreak of the Civil War. Even if his home state, Kentucky did not secede from the Union, he joint the army and he became a general.
ReplyDeleteAfter the war, he was a member of the Kentucky State house of Representatives. He died in Louisville, his born place, on September 21, 1887.
Thank you,
Marta.
Amanda, I really like your essay! I understand all te details about Barton Stone Alexander! Rally good job. I like it because you wrote all the different part of his life. He's almost like William Preston. It's beautiful that person like them were born in Kentucky and you can say that your state has an important part in the American Civil War!
ReplyDeleteBobby,I like your essay but I think that you had to write about a person and not a war. But good job!
Lydia, as usual good job! I really like your essay and I like the citazion of Abraham Lincon! Really good job!
(web site:wikipedia)
In the Civil War there was one particular case where two men decided to switch sides. To me this is extremely interesting it makes me wonder what motivated them to do so and what made them follow through. One of those two men is known by the name Captain Frank C. Armstrong of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry resigned his position, headed south and later became a brigadier general for the confederates. And the other guys name was Lieutenant Manning M. Kimmel who just like the other guy, took an important part in the battle of Bull Run. Armstrong and Kimmel I'm sure were not the only two men to do this but none the less they are the ones that are recognized for it today... there accomplishments were either very great or they were just really loud and opinionated about their decisions. Kimmel unlike many men was not forgotten throughout history... mainly because he was a father to Admiral Husband E. Kimmel the commander at Pearl Harbor. I guess it will remain unclear as to why these men switched side, I'll leave that for your mind to wonder... but perhaps they simply wanted to be a part of a winning team, don't we all (:
ReplyDeleteWorks sited:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/american_civil_war_retired/9627
The person I am going to do my essay on is General Jackson (also known as “Stonewall” Jackson.) I chose him because I just really think he is and interesting person, so a little bit about his life. Jackson was born in West Virginia in 1824. When he was a child his parents died and he was raised by his uncle. When he became 18 he went to be a teacher and then he married his first wife, Elinor Junkin, and he wasn’t married to her for a year before she died. After she died he went to spend some time in Europe and when he got back he got married to Mary Morrison. Then obviously he went into the Civil War and played a big role in that event. It was in the Battle of Bull Run when he got his nickname “Stonewall.” Jackson was a very good “leader” in the war and he was promoted to lieutenant General. Then one famous event he went to the front line and was shot by one of his own men and lost his arm, then while recovering from the loss of his limb, Jackson died eight days after on May 10.
ReplyDeleteRebecca: Like always I like your essay. They are always well written and have all good information in them. I liked how you put what his political group he was in which was a whig. Also I liked how you thought about the war and it is true that some of the battles and even the war happened in our back yards and very very close to where we live in Kentucky. Great job!
ReplyDeleteNathan: I liked how you put stuff in your essay that I wouldn’t of thought to put in mine. You put his occupation and where he was born and died. I think it is so cool to think that most of this Civil War hero’s were born and died in some of the closest cities and counties.
Amanda: I loved how you expressed what you thought in your essay and how you liked the assignments Very Good!
Works cited from my essay: http://www.civilwar.com/people/24-confederate-generals/148484-thomas-jonathon-stonewall-jackson.html
Amanda:
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your essay :) It was well written and full of information. And I agree, it's cool to learn about the people who affected our state. Your essays are always well written.
Rebecca:
You did a great job on your essay! It was full of great information :) Your essays are always well written.
Jessi:
Great job on your essay! Your information was concise and to the point :)
Bethany:
You did a great job on your essay! I agree with you that “Stonewall” Jackson was an interesting person. It’s sad that he was killed by his by his own men. Your essays are always well written.
Bobby:
I liked your essay because you did yours on the same topic as me. Your essay was written well;
good job!
Marta:
Great job on your essay! It was written well and full of information.
Nathan:
Great job on your essay! It was very informative.
Nathan,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your essay. I now feel very well informed... You put a lot of information that made the essay exactly what it needed to be... Very to the point and well layed out.
Bethany,
I really enjoyed your essay it was really good and I was extremely interested it definitely kept my attention. I think it's sad that Jackson's first wife died so soon after the marriage that would make my world crumble I'm not so sure I'd be able to move on. But anyways great job (:
Lydia,
I like how you started your essay with a quote... quotes are always good! I'm with you in the fact that I had no idea how important little Kentucky was in the civil war. It feels good to know that such a high up president noticed our state and had such positive words to say about it. Good job!
Bethany,
ReplyDeleteI like your essay because it was well written and was about an interesting person. But we were supposed to right about something or someone that was related to Kentucky.
Marta,
I liked how your essay because it was about someone I have never heard about. It was written in good detail and I learned a lot. I think it is interesting how he was a general for the Confederates even though he from Kentucky and Kentucky never seceded.
Nathan,
I liked how you where very straight and to-the-point. I liked how you mentioned the Civil War dividing families. I liked how some of what you wrote about happened close to home. Your essay was just a little too short; remember we always write at least two hundred word essays.
Amanda,
I thought your essay was very detailed and well written. From what you have said, I can tall that Barton Alexander was a very interesting man.
Bethany,
ReplyDeleteFirst thank you very much, your opinion means a lot to me. Now, to get to the assignment, I LOVED your essay it was very well written and informative. I knew a little about General Stonewall Jackson, but now thanks to you, I know much more. Good Job :)
Lydia,
Like I said to Bethany, your opinions do mean a lot to me. But, I enjoyed your essay because, like you , we see Mill Springs and we travel across our county every day, but we never realize all the history that takes place here. Now, thanks to your great essay, I learned about not only about our county’s history, but our own county’s history! I also enjoyed reading the quotes. Good Job ! : )
Jessi,
I enjoyed reading your essay because it’s interesting to learn that people switched sides during the war. I guess I never really thought about people doing that! Anyway, good job on your essay!
Thanks,
Rebecca
ROBERT E. LEE
ReplyDeleteRobert E Lee was born January 19, 1807 in Stratford, Virginia to General Henry Lee III. (Couldn’t find his mother’s name?) His father worked as a tobacco farmer and had some hard financial times raising kids. He was the confederates most famous general in the civil war and he attended West Point. Many southern generals attended West Point and thus the south had a huge advantage of many military master minds on their side, which included Lee himself. Military was something big in his family because his father, Henry, had been a very well-known general for his day. Like father like son. His father was a cavalry commander in the Revolutionary War in which he received the nickname “Light Horse Harry.” Before Lee became a general for the Confederate States of America he graduated West Point and became a successful engineer for the United States Army. I believed this to be ironic because he was helping those who one day he would be working to destroy. After the Civil War Lee became the president…of Washington university at which he would keep the position until his death at the age of sixty-three due to a stroke and then the catching of pneumonia.
Jessi:
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your essay because you included so many facts about Captain Frank C. Armstrong and I agree with you about the interesting paret of their story of switching sides and I think you did a great job about conveying this in your essay this week and I can’t wait until next week to read your essay. I also enjoyed the fact that you included the positions he filled in the army and the fact you didn’t just talk about one of the generals but both of them and the struggles the war caused on them. Your essay not only taught me about the struggles these men went through during this terrible time in American History but it also made me think of the reality of the stress and pain some people went through to pick sides to defend even if it meant to the death.
Bobby Heckel:
Good Essay!
Bethany,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your essay it was really good and it was very well written and informative. I was extremely interested it definitely kept my attention. It was pretty sad that Jackson's first wife died so soon after their marriage. It probably hurt him really bad, and his family too. But anyways, great job.
Lydia,
You started your essay with a quote, it is really nice you wrote that way. Great job on your essay. I had no idea how important little Kentucky was in the civil war either. It is good to learn about it. It is good to know that president noticed our state and had bunch positive words to say about it. You did a great job! I like it.
When I first heard about this essay, I had no idea about what should I wrote. I do not know any of those people or events either. So I struggled for such a long time. I searched and I kind of found the person who was talked about in the assignment. So finally, I decide to write about Gen. William T. Sherman. Full name: William Tecumseh Sherman. He was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Military historian B. H. Liddell Hart famously declared that Sherman was "the first modern general" for whom he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched earth" policies that he implemented in conducting total war against the Confederate States. Sherman served under General Ulysses S. Grant in 1862 and 1863 during the campaigns that led to the fall of the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River and culminated with the routing of the Confederate armies in the state of Tennessee. In 1864, Sherman succeeded Grant as the Union commander in the western theater of the war. Sherman is very important to American history.
ReplyDeleteNathan commented:
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
As you said, it is kind of cool to see the people who fought from our state and to see their backgrounds and how they are related to us.
Lydia,
I thought it was great how you wrote about something that happened close to us. I also think the Battle of Mill Springs was an interesting battle. Seeing that the commander got lost and then was seen by the other side after one of his men yelled at him. But the Battle of Mill Springs was very bloody and full of death. That’s why you see the huge graveyard as you enter nancy, and also the large mound where they buried the confederates.
Rebecca,
I thought it was good how you told a little bit of the history of this man. It just shows that these men came out of regular jobs to fight in the war. Overall, I thought it was a really good essay.
General "Stonewall" Jackson was an awesome general and military genius of his day. He was able too lead the others and never give up. Jackson didnt have the easiest childhood ever. He grew up in Virginia where both of his parents died when he was young. From there his uncle raised him. He had wanted to be a teacher but obviously that didnt happen. He married very young but she died after only being together for a year. Before going into the civil war he went to europe after his first wife died. Later he remarried. He became very successful and played a significant role in how the civil war played out. his army looked up to him to help make the right desicions in the war. He was shot in the frontlines and never recovered. he died nearly a weel after being shot. Stonewalll is still recognized today as being one of the civil wars best leaders and generals.
ReplyDelete