they did rest for a couple of days in maryland near antietam. he headed towards washington. early was quite a character to say the least. he came from a prominent family in virginia. he went to west point but not to be a military man -- it was a good education of the time. he didn take part in the mexican war but he didn't see any action. he was a member of the virginia general assembly for one term. he was a lawyer. before the war started, he was part of the virginia secession. he became one of the most ardent confederates of diehards. he quickly gained a reputation of being an aggressive leader. he was in all the battles of the eastern theater. he was kind of a cantankerous guy. he was a hard-drinking, tobacco chewing -- he was famous for his cursing. he hated women. he was just not a pleasant guy to be around. he didn't get along with his fellow officers, generals. the men sort of loved him and hated him. lee liked early. lee called him "my bad old man," even though lee was earlier than -- older than early. lee liked him because he was aggressive. it is interesting that h

second manassas, antietam, gettysburg, chickamauga. this guy is a fierce, professional soldier and warrior . he lost part of an arm, lost a leg. you wonder, what kind of guy, what do you do after that career and you get into the insurance is nice -- business? my perception, he would be your prototypical ex-military guy, kind of stern and terse. he was far from it. 20,'s a letter, january 1870. i will just read this. toetter from john bell hood his wife. "my sweetest one," -- and that's how he addressed each letter -- "i have much to be -- indeed much to thank you for. among many things that the most penchant ofour early to bed and early to rise. you will i know rejoice when i tell you your example cause me to retire at seven and a quarter p.m. and rise at seven and a half a.m. this morning. however, soon as i was comfortably pressed between plaintiff and pillow there were many raps on my door. four gentlemen were trying to pay respects, but from your sweet and gentle training i remained as the highlander -- whatever that means -- and a

forget antietam. forget emancipation. it all hung in the balance on an afternoon here at fort stevens when a confederate general, had children out of wedlock, spit tobacco, lee's bad old man, of which i have a biography, pointing out many of his foibles. but he was a fighter. he was the last thing robert e. lee had as an instrument for changing the war and he came with 8000, 10,00, maybe 12,000 men, battle hardened veterans, and was coming again change or in the east. the timeline, the citizen soldier, the lawyer, who opposed the succession, but went with the state, never understood that because he was a west pointer. after the war, he used to look across and complain about the barber pole flag, the american flag. he swore allegiance to it. so i don't have much for his comment on the american flag. how close? it is all a matter of speed. the delays begin for this previous week starting with the fourth of july when his men enjoy the repast set out by the union soldiers and he loses three days. he loses another day at frede

one father's day, we went through the antietam battlefield. i realized i understood the individuals so much better because he could set up the context of the event in the war and paint a picture of what happened that day and how the geography mattered and the personalities came to bear for good or evil to the outcome of the day. i learned a lot of history stories from him. christmas gifts were these huge books that had long footnotes that i did not like reading. but usually i got a strategy downward he would give me the book and i would read the first couple of chapters. i knew if i played my cards right and had a couple of big questions, i could get him to tell me the story so i would know what the book was about. i know that sounds very lazy. but historians were so much better than anything i could read because it made it come alive. i hope the arsenal women's story has come alive for you today. i want to thank you for coming out and remembering these women and hearing a bit of their story. thank you for telling their story in your own way.

from serious wounds he received --the battle in october 82 1861, and antietam in september 1862. , these ofwound shrapnel in his heel let the 1863, appeared less serious at first but required the longest. period before he could return to march 1864. -- to he had transferred to staff duty with general wright. a safer post than an infantry regiment but one that proved more exhausting and dangerous than he anticipated. on one occasion, he was almost captured. at the end of his three years, he mustered out in july 1864 and enrolled at harvard law school. certainlyuth was touched with fire. his experience in the ward did indeed teach him that life was a profound and perfect -- and passionate thing that could come to an end at any moment. as it happened, however, he lived another 70 -- 72 years after the third of the civil war wounds. during those 72 years, he alluded to his war experiences on several occasions on conversations with friends, but rarely in public. address ins memorial 1884 was his first public reference to the war since shortly after he had been mustered out 20 years earlier. a

from serious wounds he received at the battle in october 1861, and antietam in september 1862. his third wound, these of shrapnel in his heel let the battle of 1863, appeared less serious at first but required the longest period before he could return to his regiment in march 1864. he had transferred to staff duty with general wright. a safer post than an infantry regiment but one that proved more exhausting and dangerous than he anticipated. on one occasion, he was almost captured. at the end of his three years, he mustered out in july 1864 and enrolled at harvard law school. holmes' youth was certainly touched with fire. his experience in the ward did indeed teach him that life was a profound and passionate thing that could come to an end at any moment. as it happened, however, he lived another 72 years after the third of the civil war wounds. during those 72 years, he alluded to his war experiences on several occasions on conversations with friends, but rarely in public. in fact, his memorial address in 1884 was his first public reference to the war since shortly after he ha

think about antietam. lee maintained the position around sharpsburg. the aggressive lee, that he's refusing to give up the field, that honor, taking hold of him once again, pride is in the way. he's risking his entire army. that overlooks the basic fact of, he just can't get across the potomac overnight. it takes time. it takes time to move an army. i think you raised a very good point. i think there's a hole in my sort of theory of what lee should have done. because i think it would have been very difficult, i think, probably to pull off. >> grant is my man. i'm from wisconsin. i studied grant almost all my life. general lee, i remember back at the university, he had a visitor and they sat down there discussing the war. and this visitor said to general lee, grant was a horrible general. and i can't understand how he didn't -- he was such a wonderful general. and he looked at him and said, if i was such a great general, why did general grant defeat me. and then the other thing about grant is, he was an enigma. people say why did grant succeed. everybod

think about antietam. lee maintained the position around sharpsburg. the aggressive lee, that he's refusing to give up the field, that honor, taking hold of him once again, pride is in the way. he's risking his entire army. that overlooks the basic fact of, he just can't get across the potomac overnight. it takes time. it takes time to move an army. i think you raised a very good point. i think there's a hole in my sort of theory of what lee should have done. because i think it would have been very difficult, i think, probably to pull off. >> grant is my man. i'm from wisconsin. i studied grant almost all my life. general lee, i remember back at the university, he had a visitor and they sat down there discussing the war. and this visitor said to general lee, grant was a horrible general. and i can't understand how he didn't -- he was such a wonderful general. and he looked at him and said, if i was such a great general, why did general grant defeat me. and then the other thing about grant is, he was an enigma. people say why did grant succeed. everybod

those that have been with brooke before, in antietam, where he - managed to get his co tour guido to tour rdantietam creek. i wonder what he's going to do to his tour guy this year in thy wilderness. is he going to go bushwhacking in the wilderness? you're setting them on fire, g e nice, brooks. brooks is going to speak to us contingencies and circumstances, u.s. grant and the problem of virginia in 1864.ks brooks simpson. s [ applause ] >> well, good morning, everyone. i'd like to first thank the teas at the civil war institute. especially alison and diane as well as peter. i must admit that i feel naked up here without a scarf on. peter's fashion attire will whie understand that reference. while peter recognizes that his adviser gary gallagher made d nc mistakes, my binder did no suchs thi thing. i also thought they would dwell on the sexual practices and fantasies of confederate generals and their historians.n i thoughtab i'd tell a little story of my own in this regard. not about me. that's a tmi moment, you'll have to join me on facebook for that one. that several years ago, my

the author, a distant relative of the general, analyzes his actions at gettysburg, byckamauga, and antietam delving into records released by his descendents. he says many of his controversial act are clarified or redeemed through the examination of the documents. this, from the atlanta cyclorama

lee's at pivotal moments during the seven days, antietam, briefly at gettysburg before wounds removed him from the field. now roughly six months after receiving command of the army of tennessee, hood rested on his crutches and stood amongst his friends that day as a battered, defeated, and emotionally broken man. my talk today will try to chronicle the history but more importantly the memories of hood's ill-fated tennessee campaign in the fall of 1864. i come to you today not as a military expert of these campaigns but as a hood biographer, particularly one who is interested in how we as generations of americans have remembered this complicated figure. while hood formulated a campaign plan that lifted the spirits of the confederacy and generated a wealth of excitement in the midst of devastating defeats around atlanta, hood lacked the luck, the resources and the manpower to achieve one last standing victory in the midst of so many ruinous military failures. after he lost his leg at chick awalking ga, john bell hood returned to military command as a core commander in the army of tennes

lee's at pivotal moments during the seven days, antietam, briefly at gettysburg before wounds removed him from the field. now roughly six months after receiving command of the army of tennessee, hood rested on his crutches and stood amongst his friends that day as a battered, defeated, and emotionally broken man. my talk today will try to chronicle the history but more importantly the memories of hood's ill-fated tennessee campaign in the fall of 1864. i come to you today not as a military expert of these campaigns but as a hood biographer, particularly one who is interested in how we as generations of americans have remembered this complicated figure. while hood formulated a campaign plan that lifted the spirits of the confederacy and generated a wealth of excitement in the midst of devastating defeats around atlanta, hood lacked the luck, the resources and the manpower to achieve one last standing victory in the midst of so many ruinous military failures. after he lost his leg at chick awalking ga, john bell hood returned to military command as a core commander in the army of tennes

those that have been with brooke before, in antietam, where he - managed to get his co tour guido to tour rdantietam creek. i wonder what he's going to do to his tour guy this year in the