The Officer Behind the Cotton Bale Bridge Over the Big Black River
Life on the Civil War Reserach Trail
•
14m
Union engineer Andrew Hickenlooper received an order from Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson that seemed impossible. But, a stroke of genius led to an out of the box solution that saved the day and raised Hickenlooper even higher in the esteem of McPherson and other superiors. Here's what happened.
Up Next in Life on the Civil War Reserach Trail
-
Sergeant William Sturgis, Defender of...
William S. Sturgis Jr. served just four months in the Civil War, yet his two emergency militia activations came at critical moments. A sergeant in New York’s 22nd State Militia, he guarded Baltimore and Harper's Ferry in 1862 and rushed to Pennsylvania during Lee’s 1863 invasion, standing ready f...
-
The Case of a Grave Marker Inscribed ...
A grave marker in Loudoun County, Va., bearing the word “assassinated” leads to the story of a trooper in Confederate Lt. Col. Elijah Viers “Lige” White’s 35th Battalion Virginia Cavalry. Known for bold raids and relentless attacks, Mobberly terrorized the region until Union soldiers ambushed and...
-
80 Men Left Standing: A Regiment's De...
After hours of brutal combat at the Battle of Shiloh, only about 80 men remained of the 11th Illinois Infantry. They included Ira Beddo, who continued fighting despite a mangled hand. Their stubborn stand helped hold the line during one of the Civil War’s bloodiest engagements.
