Midwesterners’ loyalties are divided, the region having for years been a lightning rod as the nation fought over whether or not slavery should be allowed in the region. Anti-slavery sentiment ultimately won the political battle, but the tension in the region ultimately had contributed to the coming of war. While the state of Missouri remains…
Readers of Southern newspapers this week learn of a seemingly harsh letter written by Union General Henry Halleck regarding the families of Confederate soldiers in the General’s jurisdiction West of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. In some of these western states, such as Missouri, many men are fighting for the Confederacy, although the remaining Confederates…
James Skidmore, born on April 12, 1830 in Hardy County, West Virginia, today enlists in the Fifty-First Illinois. Though a relatively young 31 years of age, Skidmore’s life to this point has been filled with sorrow. He married Rebecca C. McBee in Hardy County in 1852. In 1856 the couple moved, with their three children,…