The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

“A Wise Ending to a Singularly Foolish Beginning”: An Analysis of the Chiriqui Colonization Project

Hayden C. Strittmatter — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:06:59 PDT

Ambrose Thompson, a Pennsylvanian entrepreneur, aimed to profit from his title to coal-rich lands in Chiriqui by negotiating with several presidential administrations. Thompson’s plan during the Buchanan presidency centered on constructing naval bases and extracting resources for the navy. Although the Buchanan administration withheld their approval of the scheme, Thompson pounced on the opportunity to renew conversations about his colonization project with President Lincoln. This article examines how Thompson targeted Lincoln's racial and political ideologies in letters to launch the project and explores the factors that ultimately molded Lincoln’s decision to abandon the Chiriqui scheme during the Civil War.

Echoes of Antiquity: The Romanticization of the Classical World Through Architecture in the Old South

Cait Gurley — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:06:45 PDT

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the American South looked to the Ancient World as cultural and ideological model. Specifically, the Old South conceptualized Ancient Greece as a glorious land filled with honorable heroes who defended their home and way of life. Confederates utilized formal education in Classical studies to instruct the public on its ideologies. However, the economic downturn immediately following the Civil War forced Confederates to find another means of disseminating their ideologies to the public. Thus, in Reconstruction, ancient Greek-inspired architecture, as demonstrated in the Nashville Parthenon, acted as a vehicle for transporting ideologies. Yet, the drawbacks present in the original architecture remain in its reproductions.

Deeds That Demons Would Be Ashamed Of: The KKK, Justice, and Bystanders.

Michael J. Aaron — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:06:33 PDT

Abstract: The Ku Klux Klan used a number of tactics to impact the judicial system of the South, tactics that can be seen in public interviews of Congress’s Report of the Joint Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States. Intimidation was a powerful and widespread strategy of the KKK to create fear and inhibit the judicial system. Deception was also key to KKK activities, as many times KKK crimes went unprosecuted due to the secrecy of the offenders. Some popular support for what the KKK stood for and judges who were either ineffective or KKK sympathizers made up a final group that held the judicial system’s power in check. These actions had impacts on the judicial system that resulted in a widespread fear of the KKK, the spread of aggressive amounts of misinformation, people in power corrupted by KKK ideology, and widespread political and racial bias.

Letter from the Editors

Danielle S. Russell et al. — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:06:28 PDT

Front Matter

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:06:22 PDT

Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era 2025

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:06:17 PDT

Book Review: Love and Duty: Confederate Widows and the Emotional Politics of Loss by Angela Esco Elder

Margaret G. Matheson — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:21:59 PDT

Although we often hear of the Civil War’s heavy death toll, scholars rarely peer behind the numbers to chronicle the effects of these deaths on individuals, families, and the state. In Love and Duty: Confederate Widows and the Emotional Politics of Loss, Angela Esco Elder explores the diverse experience of Confederate widows and situates their experiences within the standards of nineteenth century southern society. Elder examines the ideal of widowhood as commitment to the Confederate cause by proxy of widows’ commitment to their dead husbands. Some widows used their political capital to legitimize the Confederacy, but Elder also demonstrates the variation in these narratives, as many women struggled with their material circumstances, and the emotional burden of their loss and societal expectations. [excerpt]

The Unseen War: Struggles of Andersonville Survivors

RJ Lehal — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:21:52 PDT

The American Civil War lasted from 1861-1865, in that period many lives were lost and many more lives were forever transformed. Families had lost loved ones and those who returned home were not themselves anymore. This paper will examine the post-war mental health of Andersonville survivors. Focus will also be placed on the difficulties of survivors trying to return to their post-war lives; along with the difficulties survivors faced in receiving a pension. And how Andersonville in recent American memory has been transformed into a place of remembrance, for all American POWs in all American wars. Different sources will be used to help show different effects Andersonville had on survivors. Primary sources used in this paper include personal narratives from the survivors and newspapers. Scholarly secondary sources helped expand the understanding of Andersonville.

Beyond Boundaries: Women in Border States During the American Civil War

Carly A. Jensen — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:21:40 PDT

From 1861-1865, the previously United States was torn apart by the Civil War. While many Southern states succeeded and joined the Confederate cause, five slave-holding states remained part of the Union. Women across the nation found their lives upended by the conflict, but those living in border states faced particular strife as neighbors turned against each other because of political ideology. Soldiers of both armies invaded towns in border states and used their positions to steal and take advantage of the women residing there. However, these women remained strong, demonstrating their enduring morale. This paper examines personal correspondence from women living in border states. An analysis of their journals exposes the insecurity, nervousness, and anger many felt because of the conflict. The diaries of Frances Peter and Lizzie Powell reveal the multifaceted battles women in border states endured between other women and enemy soldiers.

Remarks in Honor of Dr. Peter S. Carmichael

Carly A. Jensen et al. — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:21:32 PDT

Letter from the Editors

Emily Jumba et al. — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:21:27 PDT

Front Matter

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:21:21 PDT

Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era 2024

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:21:15 PDT

History and Implications of the Missouri Test-Oath Case

Matthew X. Wilson — Tue, 30 May 2023 12:11:36 PDT

Cummings v. Missouri (1867) is often overlooked in modern legal history, and very little scholarly literature exists chronicling the case’s implications for contemporary constitutional jurisprudence. When awareness does exist, there is a tendency to classify Cummings as simply a Civil War-era religious liberty case—a mischaracterization which reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the ruling’s background and modern relevance. In reality, born out of post-war paranoia over loyalty and past Confederate allegiances, the Cummings case is most notable as landmark judicial precedent in defining the U.S. Constitution’s proscriptions of bills of attainder and ex post facto laws, and possesses very little significance today for religious liberty jurisprudence. Beginning with an analysis of the contemporary historical and political circumstances at hand, this article seeks to reframe the scholarly conversation surrounding Cummings to reflect the true place of importance it holds in the anthology of American legal history.

Chaos in Congress: Masculinity and Violence in the Congressional Struggle Over Kansas

Ian L. Baumer — Tue, 30 May 2023 12:11:30 PDT

According to Joanne Freeman's recent book on congressional violence, in the years between 1830 and 1860, members of Congress engaged in 'manly' violence against one another more than seventy times. However, no issue caused more violent personal disputes in the legislature than slavery. In particular, the debate over the legal status of slavery in the Kansas Territory caused a panoply of incidents in Congress, including near-duel between John C. Breckinridge and Francis Cutting in 1854, Preston Brooks' caning of Charles Sumner in 1856, and a brawl in the House of Representatives in 1858. This article examines how these lawmakers' views on masculinity and slavery motivated their involvement in these incidents. Firstly, the article establishes Amy S. Greenberg’s dichotomy of martial and restrained masculinities as a lens of analysis; then it recounts each event and analyzes the masculine practices of each lawmaker. This analysis shows that these three violent encounters resulted from the practice of a specifically Southern iteration of martial manhood grounded in the service of slavery’s interests.

A Stolen Ship: Robert Smalls’ Daring Escape to Freedom

Riley M. Neubauer — Tue, 30 May 2023 12:11:23 PDT

This paper discusses Robert Smalls’ daring escape to freedom on the morning of May 13, 1862. Smalls was an enslaved worker on the Confederate ship the Planter. Along with other enslaved members of the Planter’s crew, Smalls commandeered the ship and sailed past Confederate forts and ships in the Charleston Harbor until they reached the Union. I argue that the story of Robert Smalls validates arguments that enslaved people were not bystanders in the quest for emancipation; rather, the unique circumstances of the Civil War and the morning of May 13, 1862, allowed Smalls to enact his carefully created plan to seize his own freedom.

Letter from the Editors

Brandon Neely et al. — Tue, 30 May 2023 12:11:18 PDT

Front Matter

Tue, 30 May 2023 12:11:14 PDT

Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era 2023

Tue, 30 May 2023 12:11:09 PDT

Pittsburgh's Explosive Mystery: A New Holistic Study of the Allegheny Arsenal Tragedy

Ethan J. Wagner — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 13:01:22 PDT

This research critically examines the issues surrounding the worst civilian disaster of the American Civil War, occurring on September 17, 1862 in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here, seventy-eight teenage girls perished as the Allegheny Arsenal munitions laboratory exploded. Investigations in the disaster’s aftermath, and more recent analysis, have remained largely hesitant in placing chief blame as to its cause. Furthermore, for an event that would seem so significant, its story has inadequately been told. Given that the national spotlight was elsewhere at the time, as the Battle of Antietam was fought on the same day, existing literature has tended to focus almost exclusively on the events unfolding on the battlefield. However, a careful consideration presents the necessary prelude to the arsenal explosions, eyewitness testimony, and the aftermath, to ultimately consider what might have caused the disaster, who should be blamed, and critical background that has been previously overlooked.